Korea National Contemporary Dance Company strives to explore the complex, interconnected nature of contemporary life through the lens of Korean identity in order to engage in an ongoing dialogue with global citizens throughout the world.
T H E C O M PA N Y
KNCDC opens a new horizon of contemporary dance with Korean identity. The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC) attempts to gain a new vitality through openness to new proposals and experiments from the perspective of ‘here and now’, based on senses penetrating various phenomena of body and Korean contemporary life. With contemporary dance, it talks about historical, social and daily experiences and raises relevant questions. It strives to create an environment for modern dance where all people enjoy themselves transcending classes, regions and generations. In sum, KNCDC pursues Korean contemporary dance communing with the global community. KNCDC produces optimized repertoire through cooperation among artists appropriate for specific projects. KNCDC plans and produces, on a project-by-project basis, works that present the most innovative and newest artistic visions at home and abroad. Diverse performers are selected depending on the characteristics of works, while repertoire is enriched by a variety of artists who collaborate with one another on different projects. These efforts produce dance renewing physical and earthly experiences. Trying to expand interpretation and reasoning, KNCDC forges a fully flexible working environment filled with creative energy. Artistic Themes and Missions for 2014 : Contemporary Perspective Emerging from the Past Amidst ongoing review of Korean modern dance, KNCDC is gearing up for diverse forms of projects under the theme of ‘history and memory’, with a focus placed on historicity. It is primarily interested in recounting the impact of Western culture on, and introduction of modernity in, Korean creative dance, and examining suppression of Asian thoughts and customs underlying an aggressive drive of capitalization and modernization, and an ensuing contemporaneous return. This suggests that somewhat mythological and monistic values unwittingly manifest themselves everywhere. KNCDC ensures that past works and important moments are subject to scrutiny to rehash them from a contemporary point of view. As part of such endeavors, it is preparing a new work incorporating contemporary values and inquiries rediscovered out of Korean materials and thoughts. It also pursues interdisciplinary programs and diverse other projects to look back over milestones, crucial works, and major artists in the history of Korean dance and art. 02
INTRODUCING THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
As a Korean contemporary dance choreographer, Ahn Aesoon always has been interested in the aesthetics drawn from Korean identity, history and culture. In seeking to develop Korean contemporary dance as a choreographer, Ahn’s multicultural approach gave rise to dance that reflects Korean identity, history, and culture. This artistic vision naturally leads to successful experimentation with topics and messages that are highly relevant in contemporary Korean society. Examples of such concepts include the following:
Aesoon Ahn A R T I S T I C D I R E C TO R
RE PRE SE NTATI VE CHO REO G RAPHI C WORK S 2013 In Gut(or Exorcism) Out 2009 B ul-Ssang 2007 W hite Noise 2003 O ne After the Other 2002 I -ee-go 2001 G ut, Play 2000 S cream 1999 O n Time 1998 1 1th Shadow 1994 A Blank Space 1992 S sit-Gim 1990 Karma 1990 E ncounter
1)Incorporating Korean traditional dance aesthetics into contemporary dance while retaining the essence of both; 2) suggesting the ritualization of dance by utilizing the motif of Korea’s traditional yin and yang concept of affection and bitterness; 3) exploring traditional Korean games’ validity through the investigation of dance’s primitive essences; 4) examining the contradictions and paradoxes that occur in the midst of Korea’s rapid modernization process; and 5) exploring the delusion of various types of individuality through the continuous experiences of collectives emphasized in Korean society. Her choreography emanates Korean sensations and aesthetics with exceptional compositions and evocative rhythm. Ahn’s ability to help dancers manifest their fullest potential and her expression of courageous contemporary dance through interdisciplinary collaboration has been widely praised by national and international audiences and critics alike. Since Ahn Aesoon became the first Korean who participated the French International Choreographic Competition (Les Rencontres Choerégraphiques Internationales de Seine Saint-Denis) in 1992 and earned ADAMI Awards(Prix d’ADAMI) in 1994, she has been invited to present her works at various international venues, including the World Dance Alliance Europe-Festival Global Dance (WDA), the Singapore Arts Festival, the Mexico Cervantino Arts Festival, the Yokohama Dance Collection, the Dance Biennale Tokyo, and the Art Summit Indonesia 2007. Such opportunities have enabled Aesoon to gain further international recognition. Ms. Ahn’s name is listed both in the Oxford Dance Dictionary and the World Dance Dictionary as one of Korea’s best-known representatives of the contemporary dance world.
03
PROJECTS OVERVIEW
CR EAT IVE ENDEAVORS Annual Performance: - New Premiere - National Choreographer Invitation Project - International Choreographer Invitation Project Project Performance : - Regional tour/International (Overseas) Tour - International Performance - Artist Incubating
EDU CAT IONAL E N DE AVORS Dance School: - Studio Classes for General Population/ Studio Classes for Dancers/ Theory Classes/ Workshops
Performances Ranging from new pieces appealing to innovative, contemporary sentiments to existing repertoire warmly received by the audience, a wide variety of modern dance performances are put on stage. In particular, young choreographers are given an opportunity of creation with full backing for their ambitious and experimental adventures. KNCDC produces and introduces a broad spectrum of uniquely attractive works. Besides, it invites overseas choreographers for cooperation with Korean dancers, producing works that harmonize global trends with Korean sentimentality. Residency and Experiment with Choreography For the benefit of choreographers, KNCDC forms a platform for their research and experiment, supporting new attempts to expand the possibilities of choreography creation. By building a network of young artists in different fields, it makes an environment where creative stimuli are incessantly produced. This offers a chance to develop charming and interesting programs and creative works to established choreographers who need to make new approaches as well as young choreographers who wish to exert their potential capabilities. Interdisciplinary Projects KNCDC does not confine its activities to production of works in a black box called a theatre. It attempts to introduce interdisciplinary collaboration and experiments. Towards this end, it held, in 2013, exhibitions and performances tapping into the boundary of dance and non-dance under the theme of ‘dance and media.’ In addition, it is preparing for a variety of projects including a performance project in combination with an art museum and a project inquiring into placeness. Research and Intermediation KNCDC conducts not only creative projects, but also intermediation programs for the academia and audience. Based on direct participation, the general public is given an opportunity to rediscover their body and daily movements and to widen the scope of their thoughts on dance. Theoretical courses involving aestheticians, humanists, artists and choreographers explore fresh viewpoints, discourse and experiments on dance. KNCDC also engages in research projects aimed at shedding new light on the remnants of the past and reinterpreting them from a contemporary angle. Furthermore, it pursues diverse studies and publishing programs such as recording the process of works, interviewing artists, and archiving.
04
THE REPERTORIES
<Eleven Minutes> Directed by Aesoon Ahn Choreographed and performed by Bo-Ram Kim, Joon-Wook Lee, Gyeong-Min Ji, Su-Jin Choi, and Hyo-Seon Heo Dramaturged by Gyeong-Ju Kim 5 dancers (with live music: trio) Stage 10m × 10m, 100 min Premiere Date September 5 – 8, 2013 Place Seoul Arts Center’s Jayu Theater Length 100 minutes (No Intermission)
Dramaturged by poet Gyeong-Ju Kim, this work consists of short pieces choreographed by five young choreographers, with Eleven Minutes, a novel by the same title authored by Paulo Coelho, as its motif. The choreographers focus on the point where one discovers a new body through his or her own, going beyond enumerating stories in Coelho’s novel about such matters as holiness and secularity, desires, contradictions, bias, rumors, relations, travel, and trade. This work is also a story about an encounter with oneself who exists as a human being, not as a part of social relationships. Thus, the five choreographers concentrate on presenting the ‘possibilities of a story’ construed in their own respective ways. In the process, they face a sense of shame or a guilty conscience that is rooted in the deepest recesses of the human mind or find truths about us that are concealed in vanity and countless conflicts and rumors.
05
THE REPERTORIES
<Into Thin Air> Choreographed by Idit Herman 9 dancers Stage 15m Ă&#x2014; 15m, 70 min Premiere Date November 22â&#x20AC;&#x201C;24, 2013 Place CJ Towol Theater, Seoul Arts Center Duration 70 minutes (No Intermission)
As part of the 2013 foreign choreographer invitation project, this work represents collaboration between Idit Herman, an Israeli choreographer, and nine Korean dancers and some production staff. Dramatic characters and scenes elicited from personal experiences of the dancers mingle with features of Korean pop culture researched by the choreographer, leading to a physical theatre approach. This work depicts, through black humor and sub-culture sentimentality, the hollowness of rapidly changing, affluent modern society, and it raises questions as to the purposes and values of our lives that seem to have vanished into thin air. On the basis of trash art, it utilizes everyday things such as coins, high heels, and instant noodles as stage props in order to express modern society's obsession with speed and mammonistic desires.
06
THE REPERTORIES
<Bul-Ssang> Choreographed by Aesoon Ahn 11 dancers Stage 14m Ă&#x2014; 13m, 60 min Premiere Date October 20, 2013 Place Theater Besar, Jakarta Venue 7th Art Summit Indonesia 2013 Duration 60 minutes (No Intermission) Supported by Cultural Fair Korea, Korean Embassy, Korean Cultural Center
Inspired by the pastiche of Buddha figure replicas with no aura of grandeur available at Buddha Bar in Paris and resultant cultural conflicts, this work paradoxically suggests that the Buddha figures show our true face as we go on living our mundane lives, not a face of God. Its title, Bulssang (a Korean word meaning misery) literally connotes both bulsang (a Korean word referring to a Buddhist statue) and the miserable lives of worldly people. A hybrid of various cultures and dances including Indian Kathak, Korean Jindo Drum Dance, Chinese Eighteen Arhat Skills, and Japanese and Mongolian traditional dances harmonizes with the pop artistic sense of installation artist Jeong-Hwa Choi. Experimenting with extemporaneousness through live music, the work presents a play-like performance on stage. It reveals an old Asian view of the world that, as lotus flowers bloom in mud, holiness can be found in vibrant life itself where complexity and diversity are respected without a hierarchical order, which remains a contemporarily effective principle of life.
07
THE REPERTORIES
<Cross-Cut> Choreographed by Aesoon Ahn 7 dancers (with live traditional Korean music, 5 persons) Stage 10m × 10m, 100 min Premiere Date December 8–15, 2013 Place Jayu Theater, Seoul Arts Center
Starting with a fundamental question, i.e. ‘what is modern dance?’, this work looks at various phenomena of dance, including traditional, ballet, hip hop, and contemporary dance, from the perspective of ‘here and now.’ Thus, it explores the essence of modern dance or contemporaneity. A judgment that this process requires something more than dance necessitates direct lectures by dancers on their own performance. On the border of dance and nondance, an inquiry is made into the intrinsic nature of dance, which expands to a bolder ‘cross-cut’ approach. The primary plan of the work is to mobilize contemporary dancers who are not considered modern dancers on stage along with modern dancers, but not to determine what they will say in advance. Accordingly, the dramatic framework of this performance is built on the basis of individual interviews with the dancers, with impromptu speeches made during rehearsal giving it substance. This makes their words their own stories, which nonetheless may be excessive gestures by the dancers who feel awkward at speaking. Despite such difficulty, the performance stages secret private stories, divergent understandings of body and motions, and genre-specific institutional problems.
08