Overseas Dancer's Reinterpretation of Our Shamanic Culture: Meeting with Emptiness

On the 14th and 15th at Gwangju National Asia Culture Center ACC Art Theater Theater 2
Experimental Dance Exploring the Relationship Between Han and Gut Through Eastern and Western Perspectives on Art

The National Asia Culture Center under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 3rd that it will present the Korea-Germany co-produced dance performance "Picture a Vacuum" in collaboration with the Korea branch of the International Dance Council. Photo by National Asia Culture Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] A performance reinterpreting Korean shamanistic culture, experienced by overseas artists, will be staged.

The National Asia Culture Center (ACC) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 3rd that it will present the Korea-Germany co-created dance performance "Meeting with Emptiness (Picture a Vacuum)" in collaboration with the International Dance Council Korea Headquarters.

The performance will be held on October 14 and 15 at ACC Theater 2 in Gwangju National Asia Culture Center.

This work was selected for the ACC's 2nd International Co-creation Performance Project. Based on various traditional ritual forms of different cultures, it unravels the sorrows of life and reflects on how communities accept them, as well as how humanity copes with social vulnerabilities and grief.

The performance focuses on the gut ritual, a medium to resolve han, a uniquely Korean sorrowful sentiment. It conveys messages of comfort, healing, and solidarity that can spread the meaning and value of community.

Hwanghaedo Mangu Daetak Gut inheritor shaman Min Hyekyung and creative dancer Jang Hyerim participated in all stages of creation. In addition to Korea and Germany, artists from France, Spain, Greece, and many other countries also took part.

An ACC official explained that the viewing point of this work is to discover how European artists interpreted and expressed the communal cultural perspective on grief and the relationship between Korean shamanistic rituals and art.

The performance was produced through collaboration between the International Dance Council Korea Headquarters, which has been hosting the "Seoul World Dance Festival" since 1998, and the "Mouvoir" dance company founded in Cologne, Germany in 2000, which pursues fusion of various art fields such as dance, music, visual arts, and video art with poetic direction.

Lee Kanghyun, director of the National Asia Culture Center ACC, said, "I hope that this performance, which unfolds a deeply Asian theme from a global perspective, will serve as an opportunity to further spread ACC works embodying Asian values."