OZ Arts To Present Performances From South Korean Choreographer Soon-ho Park In March
The internationally acclaimed, Seoul-based dance company makes its Nashville debut with two signature works, Judo and Balance & Imbalance.
By: A.A. Cristi Feb. 19, 2025
Contemporary arts center OZ Arts Nashville brings internationally acclaimed choreographer Soon-ho Park and his Seoul-based Bereishit Dance Company to Nashville for the first time for two performances only on March 5 & 6.
The dynamic double-bill features two group dance works, Judo and Balance & Imbalance, that draw on South Korea's rich cultural history and showcase an innovative mix of martial arts, contemporary, and hip-hop dance.
Founded in 2011, Bereishit Dance Company is celebrated for its athletic precision and creative choreography, approaching traditional Korean culture from a contemporary perspective. The group takes its name from the first word of the Torah, meaning "in the beginning." Founder Soon-ho Park explores the relationships between the laws of physics and the human body and is especially interested in connecting actions from sports with inventive dance works. They have toured widely in the United States, including stops at the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and NYU Skirball, among others.
In the first of two visceral dance works, Judo, a group of nine dancers showcase explosive movement from athletic disciplines like martial arts and track and field, using sports as a framework to explore human competition and aggression. Performed on vivid red judo mats, the fusion of riveting choreography and irresistible rhythm suggests a tenuous balance between violence and rules, competition and cooperation, and conflict and peace. The widely acclaimed dance work tackles questions around violence in sports and masculine aggression in a sensory-filled 25 minutes.
Featuring live music, the second work on the program, Balance & Imbalance, provides a rare interplay between traditional Korean music and highly skilled contemporary dance. The visually gripping work illustrates the constantly turning wheel of opposition and harmony at the heart of all relationships. Finding balance in seeming opposites like contemporary and classical art forms, the work features a thrilling Pansori (traditional Korean musical storytelling) performance of the ancient parable Sugungga by a charismatic vocalist and two drummers.
"Soon-ho Park is one of the most exciting choreographic talents on the global stage today, and I'm thrilled to welcome him to Nashville for the very first time," said Mark Murphy, OZ Arts Executive and Artistic Director. "These virtuosic works showcase the incredible athleticism and grace possessed by the performers in Bereishit Dance Company. I predict that audiences will be left breathless by the experience."
Tickets to Soon-ho Park & Bereishit Dance Company at OZ Arts Nashville start at just $30 and are on sale now via this link.
About Soon-ho Park
Soon-ho Park majored in contemporary dance at Hansung University in Seoul, Korea, and actively worked as a professional dancer from 1992 to 2001. He then completed a choreography course at the Arnhem European Dance Development Center in The Netherlands where he developed his work, trying diverse experiments through his solo or trio pieces. He participated in many projects as a dancer in The Netherlands, Germany and other European countries and was selected as the New Choreographer by the German institution PACT Zollverein in 2003.
Soon-ho has done various works and projects with installation and media artists, and musicians, including a collaboration with Giga Hizume, who is the director of Sal Vanilla, a multimedia and live performance group in Japan. He has received major funding from Arts Council Korea, and awards including The Choreography Award of the Year by the Performing Arts and Film Review, The New Choreographer's Award by the International Modern Dance Festival, and the Best Choreography Award both from the Korean Dance Researchers and Critics Association and the ChangMu Arts Center. His work opened the Festival Asia in Barcelona, Spain, in 2007. Since then, Soon-ho's works have been presented at venues and festivals in many countries such as Poland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Uruguay, India, Switzerland, and Mexico, amongst others.
About OZ Arts Nashville
Founded in 2013 by the Ozgener family, OZ Arts Nashville has quickly established itself as one of the Southeast's most influential and respected producers and presenters focused on the creation and presentation of significant performing and visual artworks by diverse cultural visionaries who are making vital contributions to the evolution of contemporary culture. Through performances, exhibitions, and community events, OZ Arts focuses on producing and presenting the work of local and visiting artists who reflect our diverse society, utilize new artistic forms and technology in creative ways, and provide opportunities for meaningful engagement with audiences, students and cultural and civic leaders. OZ Arts' unique creative warehouse has developed a reputation as a major national and regional laboratory for experimentation and a home for contemporary dance and performance. More than 70,000 audience members have been introduced to adventurous artists from around the world since the organization opened, and hundreds of local and regional artists have used OZ's 10,000 square-foot warehouse theater to develop new works. For more information, please visit ozartsnashville.org.
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