Modernising tradition through dance By Koh Young-aah
Publisher:The Korea Herald - Publication Date: 21-05-2008

The Millennium Road'dance has returned to Korea.

The third part of the Korean Fantasy series enables the audience to watch and experience traditional Korean dance through 100-minute performances. It is one of the signature repertoires of the National Dance Company of Korea, which has been performing for over 50 years.

They are probably more well-known in foreign countries, since they have performed in more than 60 counties outside Korea and received favourable comments.

Korean Fantasy aims to lead the Korean wave through dance, following numerous movies, dramas, and music that have become popular in countries like China, Japan, and those in Southeast Asia. Since dance does not require language to understand and appreciate it, the NDCK expects that it has a good shot at succeeding.

Renowned choreographers in the country, such as Bae Jung-hye, the artistic director of the NDCK who is a leading figure in the field of creative dance, and Kook Soo-ho, an intangible cultural asset in Buddhist dance reinforced the performance as well.

The third series, Millennium Road, attempts to show the beauty of Korean history while portraying the future of Korea in the new millennium. It intends to modernise the repertoire and present something new so that it can be enjoyed by the contemporary audience, based on the motto of Korean Fantasy, which is 'modernising the tradition'.

Aiming to show the modernised traditional dance, the piece consists of two acts. The Lords' Records shows the splendid life of upper class Koreans, especially the ones living in the palace. The first part describes the king, queen, court ladies, royal harems and ministers sometimes with delicate and other times with strong and dynamic dances. The Commoners' Records represents the life of common people adding humour and fun to the performance through various mask dances.

A total of eight parts are shown, each act comprising of four parts. Five dance directors including Bae, Kook and the young Ryu Jang-hyun took charge of the choreography, each of them contributing a part that reflects their character, yet being consistent as a whole.

The first thing that catches the audience's eye in the first act is the colourful clothes that the dancers are wearing. Dozens of dancers performing in their beautifully reformed hanbok, or traditional Korean, instantly drawing people's attention to the stage.

The second act shows more innovative and unconventional choreography, widely utilising traditional Korean plays such as mask dances and circle dances that have never been experimented by the NDCK before.

Meanwhile, the dance in the piece is different from the previous Korean traditional dances. Unlike people's expectations to see rather slow, loose and restrained movements of the dancers, the dances featured in the piece are traditional, yet fierce and dynamic.

Breaking the stereotype that traditional Korean dance is hard to understand and conservative, Millennium Road presents modern and sensational dance, along with glamorous outfits and stage settings that will entertain the audience.

The performance is an opportunity for Koreans to reconfirm their identities, and a chance for the foreign audience to be surprised by the diversity of traditional Korean dance.

Millennium Road will be staged at the National Theater of Korea located at northern Seoul through May 21. For details about the performance, call (02) 2280-4115, or visit www.ntok.go.kr.

foto

Attached Images

dance.jpg (10.7 KB, 1 views)