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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Korea’s Contemporary Dance Gives a Boost to its Global Image

In 2008, I attended the International Dance Fair event, held in Düsseldorf, Germany, in order to market my choreographic works. At my exhibition booth, I showcased a “Give Me Water” work. When I returned home, I found an e-mail message from Omar Rajeh, the art director of the 2009 Beirut International Platform of Dance, who said that after viewing a DVD of my works he wanted to invite me to perform at his upcoming festival.

In addition, Omar Rajeh inquired about my interest in organizing touring performances since there was a well-organized contemporary dance network among neighboring countries in the Middle East. I accepted his proposal, and we exchanged e-mails during the preparations, from September last year until our departure in April.
The Masahat Dance Festival represents a collaborative effort of dance troupes and cultural foundations in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Palestine, in conjunction with dance festivals of the individual countries. This is a large-scale festival overseen by Omar Rajeh, of Lebanon, and Khaled Elayyan, art director of the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival of Palestine. Tour performances in various cities had been arranged for dance troupes from Lebanon (Beirut), Syria, Jordan, Israel (Jerusalem, Haifa, Bethlehem, and Nazareth), and Palestine, as well as groups from Italy, Finland, Denmark, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Germany, the United States, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Egypt, Spain, Morocco, and Korea.



Influence of Khalil Gibran
Indeed, I was eager to perform at the festival that included the participation of performing groups from 18 European countries, along with Korea being the sole invitee from Asia. When I first received the e-mail from Omar Rajeh, an intriguing thought came to my mind: “This is not accidental but inevitable. There was something in Lebanon that must have long been seeking to attract my attention.” In fact, for sometime, I had been fascinated by the Lebanese poet, philosopher, and painter Khalil Gibran. His works, like “The Prophet” and “Sand and Foam,” and a collection of quotations from his love letters, entitled “Demonstration of Love Is Small, Compared with the Great Things in the Back,” are like sacred works to me. In light of Khalil Gibran’s far-reaching influence on my life and work, it seemed natural for me to have vague yearnings for the Middle Eastern region, the home of this artist with such extraordinary talent.
The message from Lebanon immediately conjured up thoughts of Khali Gibran. Though he had already passed away, perhaps he somehow sent me a message from the world beyond. As such, I was destined and determined to visit the Middle East, without regard to the risks of terrorist incidents. Moreover, for whatever reason, I sensed a safe visit and return home. In any case, we made our way to Lebanon for the group’s performances at Al-Madina Theater (Beirut), Al-Hussein Theater (Amman), Palestinian Theater (Jerusalem), Al-Midan Theater (Haifa), and Al-Casaba (Ramallah).
The venue for our first performance was in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon and a beautiful city known as the “Paris of the Middle East.” The residents of Beirut are said to possess an open-minded attitude and European-style cultural sentiments.
However, the presence of serious wounds, from more than 30 years of civil conflict, was readily evident in the deserted ruins of buildings in the downtown area. The resolve of people to emerge from this physical destruction was in part reflected by their participation in this contemporary dance festival. We had a great time at a dinner hosted by the Korean Embassy in Lebanon. Ambassador Lee Young-ha was pleased to welcome a performing group from Korea. However, he was concerned for our safety as well. I was grateful for the concern of the ambassador and embassy for our welfare. Nonetheless, for our initial presentation we staged “Arirang Arariyo – The Malady of Love,” in which Lee Seol-ae, Jeon Sujin, Park Cheol-jung, and Ji Gyeong-min rendered a vibrant and energetic 70-minute performance. After seemingly holding their breath all this while, the audience burst into a rousing standing ovation at the conclusion of our performance. I could sense the audience’s enthusiastic appreciation from their hearty applause and the fact that people lingered for awhile, as if to fully savor the memorable experience.



Unique Experience
It was quite a unique experience to reach Jordan by overland travel, while passing through Syria. It seemed as if militia troops might suddenly appear out of nowhere and pull us over. Outside, the desert appeared to extend endlessly in all directions. Despite the desolate nature of this environment, I wondered about discovering the hidden mysteries of Middle Eastern culture. There is so little that we actually know about this region and its people.
Sponsored by the King Hussein Foundation, our performance at the Amman Contemporary Dance Festival in Amman, Jordan generated considerable attention, which included the attendance of several of Jordan’s prominent legislators, along with the wife and two daughters of Prince Faisal, the younger brother of King Abdullah II of Jordan. After the performance, a Newsweek correspondent told us that this kind of contemporary performance has rarely been staged in Jordan, which is known for being more conservative than Lebanon. Korean Ambassador to Jordan, Shin Bong-kil, who hosted a dinner for our troupe, emphasized the importance of cultural exchange for the promotion of economic and political relations. We then made our way to Israel for performances in Jerusalem and Haifa, and another in Palestine. As for our performance at the 2009 Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival in Palestine, it was attended by a presidential secretary, along with being well received by the audience. Korean Ambassador to Israel, Ma Young-sam, lauded the artistry of our performers, while adding that this kind of noteworthy performance will help to boost Korea’s global image in this region. In light of the unpredictable security situation in Palestine, we appreciated Ambassador Ma’s efforts to assure our well-being.
Following a brief tour of the Dead Sea and a dance workshop, we wrapped up our two-week journey. People in Korea have only a limited familiarity with Islamic culture and people of the Middle East, while the converse situation might be even more prevalent. Nonetheless, this performance tour again confirmed the value of cultural exchange, in our case through the medium of contemporary dance, to foster mutual understanding and more cooperative relations.

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