The Mapo Cultural Foundation will hold the "7th Seoul Tap Dance Festival" from the 2nd to the 6th at the Mapo Art Center PlayMAC. The Seoul Tap Dance Festival is the only professional tap dance festival in Korea, created through the collaboration of Kim Gil-tae, the artistic director known as the "first generation of tap dance," and the Mapo Cultural Foundation.
Modern tap dance is divided into "rhythm tap dance," which focuses on rhythm and foot movements, and "theater tap dance," familiar to the public through films and musicals. This festival will present a rich stage where both genres can be enjoyed. In addition to tap dance performances combined with various formats such as musicals, concerts, and talk shows, there will also be competition programs to discover hidden talents.
The opening performance on the 2nd, "Carpenters," is a tap dance dance musical that showcases the essence of theater tap dance. This performance combines tap dance and musicals, telling the story of carpenters set against a construction site backdrop, featuring explosive rock music and well-choreographed tap dance routines.
On the 3rd and 4th, tap dance concerts by "Time Tap Dance Company" and "Korea Tap Orchestra" will be held. On the 3rd, Time Tap Dance Company's "REAL TIME" features videos and tap dance performances that capture the daily lives and sincere stories of tap dancers. About 30 rising tap dancers will take the stage together to unleash intense energy. On the 4th, Korea Tap Orchestra will premiere "TAP IN JAZZ," presenting a unique harmony created by jazz, a mainstream of early 20th-century American popular culture, and tap dance. The lively performance of a live jazz band and smooth jazz vocals blend with rhythmic tap performances, allowing audiences to fully enjoy the charm of rhythm tap dance.
On the 5th, musical actor and tap dancer Park Eun-seong will host the music talk show "Seoul Tap Vibe," where audiences will meet tap dancers with diverse personalities. Along with the talk, various styles of performance will be presented on one stage, including rhythm tap dance, theater tap dance, and Irish dance, a traditional folk dance from Ireland known as the origin of tap dance. Additionally, Yoo Soong-yeol, one of Korea's top tap dancers, will perform on stage with tap dancers from China and Hong Kong.
On the 6th, two competition programs featuring hidden tap dance talents will conclude the festival. The "Overten Tap Dance Contest," returning for its third year, features teams of two participants with an age difference of 10 years or more. This year, 23 teams with various backgrounds, including one team from Japan, teacher-student pairs, and academy friends, will compete.
Finally, the "4th Seoul Tap Dance Competition" will take place. Started in 2022, the Seoul Tap Dance Competition is Korea's first tap dance competition, producing talents such as musical actor Lee Sung-hoon (2022 winner). Last year, Hana Eliza, a young tapper from Japan, won the grand prize, attracting attention. This year, five tappers from Japan and Hong Kong will participate in the competition.
The Mapo Cultural Foundation plans to expand the festival by launching the "M Dance Festival," which showcases a wide range of dance genres. Starting with the 7th Tap Dance Festival, the foundation will present "Tango Argentina" on the 22nd and "Swing Dance - The Last Dance" in September, highlighting non-mainstream dance genres and contributing to the expansion of the dance genre base. They will also offer one-day experience classes for each genre to local residents, providing diverse cultural enjoyment opportunities.
For more details about the 7th Seoul Tap Dance Festival, please visit the Mapo Cultural Foundation website.
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