Korean Traditional Dance Performance [SHIGANE NAI], Tradition and Modernity.

 

△ A picture of <SHIGANE NAI>, performed by National Dance Company of Korea.

 

Photo courtesy of National Dance Company of Korea.

 

<National Dance Company of Korea: SHIGANE NAI>

Genre: Dance

Period: 2016-03-23 ~ 2016-03-27

Time: Weekdays 8:00pm; weekend 3:00pm

Place: "National Theater of Korea" Main Hall, HAE

National Dance Company of Korea Features <SHIGANE NAI>
Pleasant Unison of Korea and France, Tradition and Modernity

 

<SHIGANE NAI>, a new performance of National Dance Company of Korea co-produced with Theatre National de Chaillot and National Theater of Korea, is presented as the opening performance of 2015-2016 Annee France-Coree's (Year of Exchange between Korea and France)’. This co-production representing commemoration of the 130th year of diplomatic relationship of Korea and France features collaboration of National Dance Company of Korea and Jose Montalvo, the choreographer loved by the whole France. National Dance Company of Korea presents the work as the connecting point of the past and present through this collaboration while suggesting a new potential of  Korean dance based on the reinterpretation of the tradition.

 

△ Jose Montalvo

 

Korean tradition reinterpreted through French sensibility
Jose Montalvo, an executive choreographer of Theatre National de Chaillot boasts of an unique style of coming up with a work of art by pinpointing exclusive features of diverse genres of dancing such as flamenco and hip-hop.
He plans to actively utilize the ‘joy’ of Korean dancing with 24 male and female dancers that he couldn’t help noticing from his visit to Korea last year when the dancers of National Dance Company of Korea danced along with playing percussions. He was inspired from the Korean dancing style that enables coexistence of dynamism and highly slow movement as if time has been suspended. Especially for this performance of <SHIGANE NAI>, Montalvo aims to present his own artistic imagination with National Dance Company of Korea that maintained the beauty of tradition in the best way possible. The title contains the meaning of completing new things by accumulating experiences of the past. He commented, “Modern dancing suffers the issue of pursuing modern things only by ruling out all the past.” And puts emphasis on completing his work where diverse times coexist. This co-production is expected to be a work of special meanings of extracting unique beauty of Korean dancing as a bridge that connects Korean tradition and modernity, rather than presenting a completely new work with incompatible dancing language of a foreign choreographer. 

 

 

Unison of music, video and technology

The musical theme of <SHIGANE NAI> is ‘Bolero’ of Maurice Ravel, of which musical development structure via ever changing themes and rhythm with slow and static movements and dynamic expansion will be featured. While strengths of dancers that both dances and plays percussions will be actively utilized, repeating rhythm of Bolero will be converted into the drum performance of Korean dancing so that a totally brand new work of music may be presented.
Jose Montalvo who has effectively put video clips and computer graphics in use for all of his previous works plans to implement mutual communion between the dancers and the audience by utilizing video and technology. After frequent attempts at unison of video and dancing, he has been popular for playing video clips with analogue sensitivity for emotional approach to the audience. For <SHIGANE NAI>, chromakey video clips taken with collaboration of French and Korean video technology teams will be put to use while some previously unpublished clips as well as ‘Human’, a feature-length documentary by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, a French photographer renowned for projects such as ‘Earth from Above’ and currently an honorary ambassador of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) and an expert of aerial photograph who recorded natural changes of the earth.
Jose Montalvo revealed his impressions from working on <SHIGANE NAI> by saying, “I find that combined capabilities of National Dance Company of Korea dancers with both physical and musical technologies of Korean tradition so marvelous.” This co-production of National Dance Company of Korea and Theatre National de Chaillot will complete the unison of tradition and modernity via art beyond the realm of cultural exchanges.

 

 

 

Jose Montalvo meets National Dance Company of Korea. By collaborating with the choreographer who has established his unique style combining images and dance, the Company will provide the audience with unprecedented cheerfulness. Montalvo’s choregraphy is mainly about using the characteristics of diverse dance genres e.g. flamenco and hip-hop. Impressed by traditional Korean dance particularly when dancers dance and skilfully play percussion instruments at the same time, Montalvo will fully express the cheerfulness of Korean dance using percussion. The choreographer, who has made performances with a festival atmosphere like Don Quichotte du Trocadero and Y Ole, will add his own touch of humor to Korean dance to make something new.
This work is co-produced by National Theater of Korea and France’s Theatre National de Chaillot on the occasion of the Year France-Korea. After its Korean premiere in March 2016, it will be performed at the Theatre National de Chaillot in June of the same year.

 

 

 

 

 

△ An official poster of <SIGANE NAI>