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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Sounds of Korea Reverberate in Sarajevo and Beyond

I participated in the 25th Jubilee International Festival Sarajevo, “Sarajevo Winter 2009,” as a staff member of the Kang Miri Hal Dance Company’s staging of “The First Flower People,” which had received the Grand Prize at the Busan Dance Festival 2008, and the Silver Prize and Stage Design Award at the National Dance Festival of Korea 2008. As a stage director, I found it a great honor, personally and professionally, to oversee the stage direction for the festival’s opening ceremony, which included live coverage via the Internet across Europe and the entire world.
The Sarajevo Winter Fest i val is an annual gathering of a variety of artists from around the world. It features drama, dance, music, film, and contemporary art events presented at various venues, including theater, gallery, art museum, and sport facilities. I was thinking that our performance would be part of the regular program, to be staged after an opening ceremony, until I arrived in Sarajevo, where I was told otherwise. There, the organizers said they had selected Korean performers to be featured in the opening ceremony to kick off the Sarajevo Winter 2009 festivities.



Day One
The day after our arrival in Sarajevo, we rechecked our schedule in regard to the rehearsal time and place, and then visited Dom Mladih, the venue for the opening ceremony of the International Festival Sarajevo, where we met with the festival organizing committee. At a press conference for the festival opening, a state broadcast firm briefly interviewed Hal Dance Company President Kang Mi-ri and Producer Park Byoung-uk. We then made our way to the main square in front of the Natural Theatre. Waiting for us there were a producer from the festival broadcast team, chief director of the opening ceremony, and staff members in charge of stage operation, audio, and video.
We were briefed on the opening ceremony program and then reviewed the camera position, stage size, and audio/video equipment. The opening ceremony events were being broadcast live in Europe and beyond. I had a brief meeting with the chief director of the opening ceremony and the lighting and sound crew to discuss the concept of our presentation and the movement of performers. At Dom Mladih, where our opening performance would be staged, we decided on the stage set-up and performers’ movements. Then, the Mac Theater Company and the Hal Dance Company rehearsed our opening ceremony performance, which would feature “Pungmul” (traditional Korean percussion) and a preview of “The First Flower People” presentation.



Day Two
We met with Dom Mladih officials at 10 a.m. to finalize the details for the opening ceremony performance. After exchanging opinions on the lighting, audio, and stage set-up, our discussion continued during the rehearsal session. The opening performance would be comprised of three parts.
We rehearsed “Pungmul” by the Mac Theater Company, and then “The First Flower People” by the Hal Dance Company. The reaction of the festival staff to our rehearsal was positive and encouraging. Festival and theater staff said it was their first time to see a “Pungmul” performance and that they looked forward to the actual performance the next day. They took photographs endlessly, all the while exclaiming “Beautiful!”
After the rehearsal, we helped the theater staff with the stage set-up work for our performance, and then went to the venue for the opening ceremony for a quick rehearsal. At the venue, we found that the stage, audio, and lighting equipment were all set up for our performance. When we started to rehearse, the sound of beating drums caused people in the area to pause and take a closer look at us. Our vibrant sounds, the essence of Korean music, reverberated through the center of downtown Sarajevo. Throughout our rehearsal, local residents sought to capture this unfamiliar scene with their cameras, while the broadcast and festival officials expressed their satisfaction with our performance.

Day Three
Finally, it was the day of the festival opening. After a light breakfast, we headed for the theater venue for a rehearsal of our regular performance. With the stage set up for Parts I, II and III, the performers rehearsed in full costume. Fascinated by the colorful hanbok, Korea’s traditional attire, the staff members repeatedly shouted “Beautiful!” Indeed, the beauty of Korean culture was being fully revealed, much to the delight of the Sarajevo people.



The opening ceremony program included congratulatory remarks, followed by a fireworks show, and the celebratory performance by the Mac Theater Company and the Hal Dance Company, broadcast live from 6 to 7 p.m. The theater performance of “The First Flower People,” by the Hal Dance Company, was scheduled for 9:30 p.m. The opening ceremony was attended by Ibrahim Spahic, Director of the Sarajevo Winter Festival Organizing Committee, who wore a traditional Korean hanbok, along with distinguished guests, such as the Mayor of Sarajevo, EU Parliament President Hans-Ger t Pot ter ing, Counci l of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis, the Czech Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, and traditional Korean costume designer Lee Na-kyoung. It also included a congratulatory message from UNESCO Director-General Matsuura Koichiro.
Through a preview of the Hal Dance Company’s “The First Flower People,” we sought to reveal the intrigue and appeal of Korean culture, while the Mac Theater Company’s “Pungmul” performance released the dynamism of Korean music, which reverberated throughout the area. Korean culture! Korean dance! Korean sound! Korean soul! All of this echoed across Europe and around the world.
Our performance sent out a wave of emotion that struck a chord with the audience, who responded with enthusiastic applause. Even well after the completion of our performance, people continued to linger, perhaps hoping to mingle with the performers.
The opening ceremony ran slightly over time, so we had no time to relax and we hurriedly departed for the theater venue. After having some snacks, we started to prepare for the regular performance. As the curtain time approached, many people who had heard about our rehearsals and the performance at the opening ceremony packed the theater.
The sound of drums signaled the start of the joint “Pungmul” performance by the Mac Theater Company and the Hal Dance Company. The audience applauded heartily as the scenes changed from Gilnori and group dance to Janggu-nori, Buknori, Sogo-nori, and 12-bal Sangmo. Encouraged by the audience’s enthusiasm, the performers responded with a noticeably energetic and vibrant presentation.
Thereafter, the performance by contemporary artists from New Zealand and Austria provided a kind of transition for our staging of the Hal Dance Company’s “The First Flower People,” a creative choreographic work based on the intricacies of Korean sounds and body movements. After the performance, the audience gave us a standing ovation and would not leave the theater. It was a rare and memorable sight. The performers made another curtain call and later joined the audience for picture taking.
I felt rather badly for the Czech Republic, the designated Guest of Honor of Sarajevo Winter 2009, since it seemed to be a festival for Korea, with the opening ceremony and first regular performance being staged by Korea. Moreover, Fest ival Organizing Committee Director Ibrahim Spahic wore traditional Korean attire for the opening.

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