Seodaemun-gu 'Aku Kadogo' Invitation Seminar

'Black Women's Narratives' Theme Event Held at Sinchon Cultural Development Center on 15th and 16th

Professor Aku Kadogo

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) will host a seminar and workshop on the theme of "Women’s Narratives" on the 15th and 16th at 4 p.m. at Sinchon Cultural Development Center (57 Yonsei-ro 2na-gil), a cultural and artistic community space. The event invites Aku Kadogo, Chair of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at Spelman College in the United States.

Professor Aku Kadogo is active as a performance creator, choreographer, and performing arts educator in the U.S., Australia, and Europe.

On the first day, the seminar will focus on Ntozake Shange’s 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf,' a debut work in which Professor Aku appeared as a Broadway premiere actress and is regarded as a monumental piece in American performing arts history. The seminar will discuss alternative streams of Black women’s narratives and their core creative methods.

This work has been continuously studied and reevaluated in both the arts field and academia since its Broadway premiere in 1976.

It is recognized as a unique work that sublimates American Black feminism into a bold and poetic language and movement, unprecedented in its form.

Black theatre history is difficult to access compared to the mainstream white male narratives in American performing arts. This seminar will share the author’s artistic world from a feminist perspective, the timeless symbolism and background in contemporary American performing arts history, and Aku Kadogo’s artistic views as a Black performing artist.

On the second day, the workshop will explore the choreopoem, first devised by poet, novelist, and playwright Ntozake Shange (1948?2018).

The choreopoem, which combines poetry, choreography, music, and song, was first introduced on Broadway through 'For Colored Girls...'

Although translated as “poetry of movement” or “dance poetry drama,” it does not remain limited to poetry or dance alone but emphasizes the importance of movement and nonverbal communication throughout the choreography so that all elements function organically within the work.

This workshop is expected to be the first in Korea where Aku Kadogo, who has adopted and experimented with choreopoem as a core dramatic expression in her creative process, meets Korean artists to experience ensemble creation based on choreopoem.

This event, organized to explore the possibilities and directions of “women’s narratives” as a new alternative subject in artistic creation, is free of charge. Detailed information can be found on the Sinchon Cultural Development Center’s website and Facebook page.

Since its opening in June 2018, Sinchon Cultural Development Center has established itself as a complex cultural space supporting various planning, creation, and presentations by young cultural artists. Seodaemun-gu Office Culture and Sports Division (330-4393)