A Festival of Korean Dance Will Return This May

A well-established staple of the dance calendar, A Festival of Korean Dance is returning for its eighth year, bringing five companies to the UK including Korea’s premier dance company, Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC), who will be headlining with the festival’s largest show to date with a company of 17 dancers. London favourite Modern Table will combine Shakespeare with traditional Korean song and a live rock band, and festival favourite Melancholy Dance return with a show exploring falling following last year’s Flight. The festival is completed by two shows using video: one to explore the gap between different dimensions in a returning show from Choi x Kang Project, and one creating a sensory interplay between the natural and the artificial a UK debut from Ji-hye Chung. The festival is presented by the Place and the Korean Cultural Centre UK.

Opening the festival at The Place (7 & 8 May) as part of the company’s European tour, Jungle features a 17-strong company, gathered onstage for an extraordinary spectacle of vitality. The dancers embody all the elements of the jungle, from the animals, plants, winds and lights, to the humans who navigate it. Their movements, with all their senses and responses, are pure and raw.  Based on ‘Process Init’, an unconventional movement research method developed by Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s artistic director Sung-young Kim, Jungle is full of wildly instinctive movements which expand and unfurl, rich with the energy of survival.

Next, Kontemporary Korea is a double bill of 0g (zero grams) and A Complementary Set_Disappearing with An Impact (9 May Pavilion Dance South West, 15 May Dance City). 0g (zero grams) utilises the principle of ‘free fall movement’ to uncover the meaning of life anew within monotonous daily routines, inspired by the repetitive and seemingly pointless actions of the mythical figure Sisyphus. Following last year’s Flight, Melancholy Dance Company this year plays with gravity. Joining it, A Complementary Set_Disappearing with An Impact, seen at The Place in 2023, is an experimental piece using video and performance to explore the gap between different dimensions. Images filmed live on stage, re-broadcast on a screen behind the performers, battle with their physical presence for attention.

At The Place, 0g (zero grams) will be paired with Shinsegae (13 May), a choreographic UK debut from Ji-hye Chung, who trained in the UK and performed in residency at The Place. The lecture-style solo performance dissects our most unconscious everyday activity - the act of walking. Shinsegae, which means ‘new world’ in Korean, distinctively incorporates video imagery to represent the human body with a computer game, creating a sensory interplay between the natural and the artificial.

Closing the festival will be London favourites, all-male dance troupe Modern Table (Darkness Poomba, Man of Steel, Velocity) with Ham:beth (20 May Lowry, 23 & 24 May The Place). Loosely inspired by depictions of madness in Hamlet and Macbeth, Ham:beth combines traditional Korean songs with a live rock band to create a powerful gig atmosphere. Seven dancers in slick suits battle against the pressure to conform. Claiming their right to desire, their quests push them into becoming lone heroes as fast and furious choreography builds the thrilling sensation of relentless energy, danger and emotional charge.

Dr. Seunghye Sun, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre UK, said “As the Director of the KCCUK, I am delighted to co-host the 8th Festival of Korean Dance with five Korean companies. We are particularly excited to see a wide variety of contemporary Korean dance performances in multiple cities across the UK as part of the festival, further enriching the cultural connections between Korea and the UK.”

Jaeyeon Park, Senior Producer at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, said, “From the raw energy of Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s Jungle to Modern Table’s dynamic interpretation of Shakespeare’s classics with live rock in Ham:beth, we’re excited to be celebrating the bold creativity of Korea’s contemporary dance scene. With innovative works like Ji-hye Chung’s Shinsegae and the return of Melancholy Dance Company and Choi x Kang Project, the festival continues to push artistic boundaries and foster cultural exchange between Korea and the UK.”

Christina Elliot, Head of Programming and Producing at The Place, said, “This year’s festival showcases the depth of contemporary choreography in Korea. Each of the artists is engaged in deep investigation into the human condition, which they’re inviting us to experience through their performance – from Sung-young Kim’s movement research ‘Process Init’ in Jungle, to Ji-hye Chung’s using of computer gaming to dissect of the act of walking, to the sheer power of Jaeduk Kim’s music & choreography, this year’s programme is rich with distinct perspectives on the world.”

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