Now In Korea
Beyond Tradition: Three New Korean Dance Works in November
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Three leading public Korean dance companies—the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Company, the National Dance Company, and the National Gugak Center Dance Company—are presenting new works in November that reinterpret traditional dance through contemporary perspectives. Seoul Metropolitan Dance Company performs “Mimesis” (Nov 6–9) at Sejong Center M Theater, choreographed by Yoon Hye-jung, reimagining eight traditional dances (e.g., gangbyeongmu, seungmu) with live music, deconstructed rhythms, modern costumes and accessories; notable dancer Ki Mugan, known from the TV show “Stage Fighter,” appears. The National Dance Company’s “2025 Choreographer Project” (Nov 6–9) at the National Theater’s Daloreum Theater showcases three emerging choreographers—Jeong Soyeon’s “Beyond,” about AI and humans using traditional jangdan rhythms with electronic sound; Lee Jihyun’s “Clothes,” exploring identity shaped by garments and social norms; and Park Suyoon’s “Juk Fest” (short for “Death Festival”), reframing death as a festival with raw sounds and live band music. The National Gugak Center Dance Company stages “Chunhyang-Danjeon” (Nov 14–16), a dance-drama retelling the classic Chunhyangjeon from the perspective of Hyangdan, turning her from a secondary character into a complex figure consumed by love, jealousy, and obsession; the production blends traditional dance forms (e.g., ganggangsullae, beoksom, geommu, gisaeng dances) with gugak (Korean traditional music) orchestra and jeongga (classical vocals). All three works keep the essence of traditional movement while presenting modern theatrical, musical, and visual reinterpretations.
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