Here Myself Alone choreographed by Kim Young-hee

Throughout the last few decades, Korean artists, long exposed to an influx of Western culture, have endeavored to return to the roots of their native traditions and indigenous emotions by looking within themselves for inspiration. By the 1990s, artists began trying to synthesize traditional values along with their individual styles. Particulary in the world of dance, such efforts drew strong sympathy and praise from the public and were received favorably by audiences. Arising first in this trend was the so-called New Dance movement, which sought to restore traditional aesthetics to Korean dance. Efforts to embrace tradition spread to ballet and also to modern dance. The movement was characterized by artists who actively sought to re-create and reconcile their native culture with Western styles of dance, rather than merely reviving traditional styles of dance.

"Han," a central tenet of Korean thought meaning mental trauma or a feeling of deep frustration, is often said to be representative of the emotion of Koreans because of their long history of suffering and especially the angst of women in a male-dominated society. However, the meaning of "Han" is complicated by the fact that it is also infused with the connotation of persevering and having a resilient character. These "indigenous" emotions have traditionally been expressed in dance through shamanistic rituals known as "Gut," the music and dance of farmers, referred to as Nongak, the masked dances, known as Talchum, and a traditional excorcism dance, called Salpuri-chum. All of these traditional, indigenous forms of dance, infused through and through with native Korean emotions, have been adopted and reinterpreted by Korean modern dancers.

Endless throngs of cars fill expressways and almost all institutions and stores are closed for three days. Family members get together, pay tribute to their ancestors, and visit ancestral graves. People living in cities return to their hometowns to observe Chuseok. Airplane and train tickets for those returning to their hometowns are usually reserved several months in advance. Among other festive days are Buddha's Birthday, which falls on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, and Christmas which not only Christians but most young people enjoy. On Buddha? Birthday, a huge crowd of Buddhists parade through the heart of Seoul, while lotus-shaped Buddhist lanterns are hung along major streets.

The Day of Dawn choreographed by Park Myung-sook

The search for Korean indigenous emotions through modern dance has assumed a number of diverse forms, according to the interpretation of the individual choreographer. However, three distinct themes have emerged: first, an emphasis on Korean femininity; second, an exploration into self-consciousness; and lastly, the expression of the Eastern sense of beauty through Western dance.



The Search for Korean Symbols and Femininity

A Woman Set Free...

Bullimsori choreographed by Choi Chung-ja

Deresa Choi's A Woman Set Free...(1998) depicts the ambivalence inherent in a woman's relationship with a man. In this production, a woman is confronted with a insoluble conflict within herself. The choreographer tries to express the absurdity of a woman who longs for her freedom yet desires to return to her lover.

In A Woman, Set Free..., Choi tries to depict the woman's inner conflict in a dance that features intense and violent movements, flailing limbs, tensed bodies and powerful spins and pirouettes. In the opening scene, three women appear on the stage, each one symbolizing a distinct aspect of womanhood. On stage they break the silence by pounding their chairs against the floor. Each of the three cries out to the audience, one in English, one in French and one in Korean, as if their freedom were a burden too heavy to bear. Their words, rather than expressing a yearning for freedom, resemble a groan of desperate loneliness. Then, under the beam of a spotlight and the shrieking sound of the music, the choreographer's intention becomes more apparent. The latter part of the performance portrays the ambivalent mentality of a modern woman struggling with herself. In the finals, the three women go their separate ways, symbols of the complexity of feminine nature.

A Woman, Set Free... by Deresa Choi

Emi (Mother)

Emi (Mother) by Park Myung-sook

Emi (Mother), choreographed by Park Myung-sook in 1996, is also a feminist work. It is noteworthy because it approaches feminist problems from a radical perspective, and is distinguished from past works focused on the struggle for women's political rights. The performance deals with a woman giving birth, enduring all the pains associated with labor to bring a girl into the world, then moves on to demonstrate how the mother represses her own wishes, sacrifices and seeks to realize her unfulfilled dreams through her daughter.

As the curtain is raised, a girl enters on a bicycle. An elderly lady approaches her and offers her an egg from her purse. At that moment, a group of people rush onto the stage. The old woman tries to protect the young girl but she slips and falls down. The old woman is then taken to the emergency room where she does not receive proper care and suffers abuse at the hands of the uncaring staff. After her release from the hospital she returns to her home and her mindless work. As if in mockery of her lost dreams, a group of dancers wearing luxurious dresses stage a merry dance on center stage, while the old woman washes clothes in a dark corner of the stage. In the closing moments of the dance the mother disappears from the stage and her soul, symbolized by a butterfly, slowly floats away, leaving her unfulfilled dreams to the next generation.

Emi is a requiem to all women who have been suppressed and injured by the patriarchal society in which they live. The setting is a modern metropolitan city where people indulge in material -- rather than spiritual -- pursuits, reality rather than tradition. The old woman is driven by her own family into a corner of the city, and is alienated once again by the city itself.

Emi recalls the sad fates of Korean women throughout history: the so-called "comfort women" forced to serve the Japanese Army during World War II, and the women in former times who had no say in the selection of their husbands yet continued on in loveless marriages. However, the mother in this performance survives all of these adversities and manages to give birth to new hope. Emi is more than a modern dance performance; it is a mosaic of the lives of Korean women.


Bullimsori

Bullimsori is an attempt to combine the traditional Korean shamanistic ritual, called "Gut,"and modern dance. Since its first performance in 1989, Bullimsori has been presented in the U.S., Britain and Hungary. Choreographer Choi Chung-ja, known for her unique styles and subjective themes, wanted to describe the conflicts present in everyday life by using traditional music fused with a variety of dance techniques and presented in a dynamic fashion. The audience, while sensing the mystery involved in a shamanistic ritual, also experiences the freedom of modern dance. The production takes viewers on a journey to darkness, agony, thirst, and finally salvation, and intertwines religious elements throughout the performance.

The Table by Deresa Choi

Wedding and Funeral by Park Myung-sook

Bullimsori also has an historical element. It premiered in the late 1980s, at a time in Korea when the struggle against military rule had reached its peak. It was also a time when a new wave of popular culture arose in the nation, offering an alternative to the influence of Western culture in various genres. In this respect, Bullimsori, with its erotic and instinctive movements, depicted the social conflict of the times. In this work, some critics found a beautiful ensemble of classical ballet incorporated with the style of Martha Graham and the elegance of Korean traditional dance.

Despise and a Country House

Cho Eun-mi's Despise and a Country House is an abstract portrayal and critique of the individual's place in society. The production opens with a chaotic scene of dancers rushing across the stage seemingly at random. The stage is filled with more and more energy until suddenly everything lapses into silence and the performance ends.

Emi (Mother) by Park Myung-sook

This work has relatively few traditional Korean or Oriental elements in its dance. Although Cho pursues a more Westernized type of dance compared to most of her contemporaries, she, too, does not abandon shamanism. Her preoccupation with shamanism is apparent in other works such as The Isle, Namchon, 2nd Movement and Door, which were created in the 80's and deal with Korean spiritual themes.




The 11th Shadow

Ahn Ae-soon produced The 11th Shadow in 1998 to deliver Korean indigenous stories using modern dance techniques. Projected against a screen installed at the rear of the stage, a shadow play is shown to the audience before the performance begins. Shin Sun-hee displays the shadows of the 10 symbols of longevity, called the "Sipjangsaeng" reflecting elemental human desires for health, happiness and fulfillment.

The 11th Shadow by Ahn Ae-soon

The House of Yellow Doll by Park Eun-jeong

When the curtain is raised, the shadows of well-known Korean traditional mask dance figures are projected on the screen. Meanwhile, six dancers kneel on the floor in the darkness, their figures barely visible, moving to the sound of the Kkwenggwari (a small gong). As the light of dawn splits the darkness, the contours of the dancers, who are standing back to back, begin to form on the stage. The dancers scatter around the stage one by one. Some stand still and some move feebly. Their slow and simple motions tell their own stories. When the shadows of the Sipjangsaeng figures gather together like a family and then separate, the audience is transported into a mystic world. According to Ahn, "The 11th Shadow" which arises after the 10 symbols on the screen, is none other than the human being itself. Men, in the midst of the eternal Sipjangsaeng, are revealed to be nothing more than weak and helpless creatures.

A Look into the inner world

Haeng-jang

Hwang Hee-yun choreographed Haeng-jang (Traveller's backpack) and played the leading role in this production, which was first performed in March of 1989. The lead dancer appears on stage with a heavy load on her back and carries it for over an hour. Yet, her moves are executed so deftly, despite her symbolic burden of life, that it does not appear to be wearisome. It is only because of the dancer's exquisite technique and superior stage management that she is able to carry off this performance.

Me, an Anybody by Kim Young-hee

In the first Act, "A Long Way," Hwang walks slowly across the stage in silence, wearing only a dress made of paper. After enacting the hardships of a dancer's life, the choreographer/dancer finally puts her burden down, and removes her paper clothing. In Act 2, "A Piece of Memory," Hwang moves in and out of her memory and dreams. A small child wearing colorful clothes appears on the stage fleetingly, depicting the dancer's memories of childhood. In the next act, the dancer goes on a voyage and meets her death beside the burden that she has carried throughout her life. The dance closes with a boy clad in hemp cloth seeing his mother die and then slowly walking away.


A Hunch

Kim Soon-jung & Lee Won-gook in Black Moon by Ahn Eun-me

Jeon Mi-sook's solo performance, "A Hunch," is a modern dance production designed for a small theater, involving sudden plot twists and minutely planned movements. The work deals with existential themes of individuals' being and meaning. Jeon's earlier works were lyrical and naturalistic but the main theme in all her creations, including "A Hunch," is the recovery of humanity. The performance begins with jazz-style, impromptu music combined with clashing metallic sounds and the playing of a bass saxophone. From a corner of the stage, Jeon Mi-sook stealthily appears on stage, crawling. Wearing light green clothing with a round hat, she lies on her back and moves her legs slowly and softly, as if imitating a beetle. She then stands up and moves her legs and hips like a grasshopper. A farmer appears on stage with a bottle of insecticide, sprays her, and watches her as she writhes and contorts through a 15-minute solo of death.

A Visitor describes the life that Jeon has lived since her days studying dance in London: the loneliness of a student in her early 30's, her peaceful life after returning to Korea, her fight against depression, and finally a period of serious self-reflection. While her works emphasized nature and self-identification in the 1980's, Jeon has turned the focus of her works to social criticism since the early 1990's.

Shadow by Oh Eun-hee

The Death of a Poet

A Child Who Caught the Moon by Nam Jeong-ho

Park Ho-bin's Death of a Poet (1994), which secured his place as a leading choreographer, also deals with existential questions. Modern urban life is the basis of his realism. This work, inspired by a story written by the French poet Jean Cocteau, is a cautionary tale of the dangers of losing touch with one's self.

A poet who ceaselessly questions his existence is the everyman figure in this work. The poet constantly searches for self-identity and tries to express the results of his search through his poetry. However, most modern people are vain, and separated from their true human nature. The poet in this dance falls victim to these ills of modern man, and in so doing he loses his poetic voice.


Everyday Dreams

Everyday Dreams, a creative ballet choreographed by Kim Soon-jung in 1994, is about the fantasy of a ballerina. Kim believes that dreams are the collected traces of one's thoughts and ideas, and that the self -- lost and ignored by the pressures of everyday life -- can be rediscovered through the exploration of one's dreams.

Dreaming by Kim Young-hee

Encounter by Ahn Ae-soon

To express her message, Kim begins her dance performance seated on a chair in the middle of the stage. She begins to violently struggle in the chair as if she is desperately trying to escape from some invisible force that is holding her in place. She struggles mightily, repeatedly takes off and puts on her clothes. But it is all in vain; she is unable to free herself from the invisible force. She is struggling with her dreams, which have been locked inside her, unable to be expressed. During the intermission, gorgeous scenes are projected on a screen set up behind the stage, heightening the feeling of dreams just out of the reach of possibility: visible yet insubstantial. When she returns for the final act, her dance does not seem like a dance at all, rather an explosion of desire. She makes powerful sweeping movements with her long body. Though seemingly unorthodox, her movements are highly-skilled. This 50-minute-long trilogy emphasizes raw emotions and gut feelings rather than storytelling. Kim Soon-jung defies classification or rules. Rather, she dances in her own way following her impulses.

Anybody series

In 1996, dance critic Kim Young-tae chose Kim Young-hee as the best choreographer of the year. Earning the distinction was her Anybody II, a variation of her earlier work Anybody I with the theme of death/life and silence/awakening. Originally, the Anybody series is about a woman's life and her relationship with the surrounding world. The choreographer juxtaposes death, often depicted as a barren tree on the stage, with life, which is expressed in music. The dancer uses her body to bridge the gap between these two extremes and convey her story.

Death of a Poet by Park Ho-bin

Haeng-jang by Hwang Hee-yun

Kim Young-hee's Where Are We Now? is regarded as a representative work of Korean creative dance in the late 1980s. The character of the work has a unique spirit and energy, likened by one critic to a bird frantically fluttering its wings as it alights from its nest. In contrast to the chiefly romantic works of choreographers before her, Kim Young-hee's dance tends to be dark, serious, twisted and violent as seen in Where Are We Now? Kim's search for her "inner self," consistently pursued in Anybody series and other of her works, was a common theme in modern dance in the 1980s as well as in other areas of art. Kim Young-hee is recognized as a pioneer of this movement that swept through the Korean art world in the 1980s.

Self-Portrait

Self-Portrait, which Nam Jeong-ho first performed in 1988, is a pantomime. Wearing red shoes and saggy red and blue clothing, she slowly walks onto the stage taking large, almost comical steps, accompanied by the sound of African percussion music. Her slow gait and her red and blue apparel reflect elements of Korean traditional dance. Nam looks like an innocent child. However, in a moment, she takes off her blue skirt, red overcoat and red shoes and throws them away. All of these articles of clothing are merely the symbols of decorative human culture.

Everyday Dreams by Kim Soon-jung

Finally, she removes her wig then walks across the stage slowly, swinging her hips to the music. She then puts on the blue skirt, red overcoat, red vinyl shoes, and the wig again, all the while continuing her dance. After she finishes dressing, she salutes the audience. While the audience applauds, she reappears, salutes, dances, and salutes again. The red shoes and the wig are said to symbolize tamed femininity while the red and blue clothing indicates submission to cultural tradition. To Nam Jeong-ho, dance and music enable her to become free from both of these.

Nam Jeong-ho's Self-Portrait blends wry wit and impromptu humor with modern dance and, unlike other productions that are less confident in themselves, is not afraid to engage in a little self-deprecating humor at the artist's own expense.



Western Art and Eastern Aesthetics

The Rite of Spring

Faust 2000 by Jang Seon-hee

Kook Soo-ho's The Rite of Spring is a large-scale work involving 60 dancers and choreographed to the powerful music of Stravinsky. The movements of the dancers are cloaked in an atmosphere of ancient rituals, weaving together modern dance and ancient rites. The violent modernism of Stravinsky's music collides with the chants and ritual movements of Korean dance developed over the long history of an agrarian society, producing an interesting stage vitality.

Faust 2000

Jang Seon-hee's Faust 2000 is a 70-minute piece that was performed at the Seoul Arts Center in July of 1999, and brought instant prominence to its choreographer in Korea's contemporary dance world. Jang did not attempt to modify the story of Goethe's novel but rather she tried to depict each character as accurately as possible. The stage is simple but solemn. In Act 1, a dynamic group of dancers in black and white symbolize the conflict between Faust and Mephistopheles. The fifth scene of Act 2 reenacts the historical pilgrimage in which Mephistopheles guides Faust. The group dance of Roman generals and a symposium of ancient philosophers fill the stage with expressive, flowing and vigorous movements. Jang Seon-hee displays her sensual beauty as Helen of Troy. The death of Faust takes place in a religious atmosphere accompanied by a solemn chorus.

Skyline of Tibet by Kook soo-ho

The Rite of Spring by Kook Soo-ho

rom beginning to end, dancers portray Faust, Mephistopheles and other figures with differing degrees of success, but with the help of superb sets and special effects, the production won the approval of the audience and in the process shattered the tenets of classical ballet.