KF뉴스레터-NOW Dance Company Performed in Central and South America

NOW Dance Company Performed in Central and South America

NOW Dance Company staged a performance tour of three countries of Central and South America. The group presented its original works “Internal and External” in Mexico and Venezuela, and “So Far…, So Close…” in Argentina.

In Korea, few people are familiar with the contemporary dance of Central and South America as a result of a general lack of cultural exchange with the countries of this region, due in large part to the geographical distance and limited interaction thus far. Accordingly, our recent tour of this region, which included seven performances and two workshop sessions in Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina, represented a meaningful step in rectifying this situation.
Known for its creative works that integrate aspects of Korea’s traditional dance, the NOW Dance Company performed “Internal and External” at theInternational Dance Festival of Morelos, in Mexico, and the International Dance Festival of Maracaibo in Venezuela. “Internal and External” is a dance drama about the women of three generations, which received the Arts of the Year Award (2005) from the Arts Council Korea. In Buenos Aires, the group staged a collaborative performance with a local dance company, La Compania of Argentina.

Outdoor Performance in Mexico
In January 2009, I spent a month in Buenos Aires, the city of tango, to work on a joint project with La Compania of Argentina. The dance festivals presented in Central and South America, though relatively less known to people in Korea, are not much different from those held in Europe or the United States, in terms of content. On the other hand, there are various differences related to event operation and the audience’s perspective, which required our special attention.
Our first destination was the International Dance Festival of Morelos in Mexico (November 5-15). This two-year-old festival presented performances in five cities in the State of Morelos (Cuautla, Jojutla De Juarez, Zacualpan de Amilpas, Cuernavaca, and Tepoztlan). The sites are small-size cities clustered around Cuernacava, within a distance of an hour or two by car. The festival organizers arranged for the foreign participants to perform at three venues, in consideration of the characteristics of their works. NOW Dance Company performed at four sites, including an impromptu event with the dancers from various foreign countries. Our first show was staged outdoors in the small village of Zacualpan de Amilpas.
Portraying the humanity of three generations of women with quiet images and various symbols, “Internal and External” is an intense and intimate story based on Korean sentiments. I was rather concerned about the audience’s response to the emotional sensitivity of “Internal and External,” since the peoples of Central and South America are known for their light-hearted and cheerful nature. Because this was a small village with not many residents, I did not expect a large turnout for our performance. Nevertheless, all of the 400 seats were occupied at the start time. Almost all the village residents, including adults of all ages, seemed to congregate at the plaza area. While the dancers performed, there was a gentle breeze, enabling the performers and the audience to enjoy the natural environment of an outdoor performance. Although an outdoor event, with various distractions, the audience was noticeably serious, while viewing the proceedings in virtual silence. Then, at the conclusion of the performance, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause and words of encouragement.
I was curious about what the residents of this outlying Mexican village thought about our dance work. Interestingly, people expressed insightful observations about the performance, such as “I liked the depth and messages of the work,” and “It was so Oriental and exotic.” We also received a standing ovation and words of praise for our performances in the theater venues of Cuautla and Cuernavaca, larger cities than the village of Zacualpan de Amilpas. Seeing the wide gap between rich and poor, and a large majority of people living in poverty, you might think that they have little appreciation for culture and art. Many people of Central and South America do not enjoy economic affluence, however, they do have a strong interest in the arts. Without regard to art that might be high-brow or low-brow, the residents seem to equate culture with their everyday life.

Dance Festival in Venezuela
Along the Caribbean coast of Venezuela you can find the city of Maracaibo, which is well-known for its maritime trade. Under the rule of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela seems to have a surveillance camera on every corner, much like a secret agent film. The prices are so exorbitant that the ordinary people can hardly afford to shop at a supermarket, and you might be concerned about your safety after nightfall. However, the people’s attitudes toward art and culture are not what you would expect. The International Dance Festival of Maracaibo is a popular dance event of Central and South America, with a history of 15 years. For this year’s festival (November 9-28), the organizers invited 16 dance troupes from such countries as Spain, France, Italy, Korea, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Chile. As compared to festival in Mexico, this event was conducted at one venue. The program was unique for its efforts to link dance performance with cultural education. Of note, our group participated in a lecture and demonstration session that was especially impressive. This outreach activity was organized for the general public with a focus on the introduction of Korea’s dance culture.
Although the education session was held on a Saturday morning, about 800 people showed up mainly families with children. No one expected that such a large audience would be interested in a lecture and demonstration program, without a regular performance. During a question-and-answer session that followed the lecture, it was a complete surprise that so many people, including rather elderly persons, asked serious questions and listened carefully to our responses. Although living in poorly maintained areas of the city, amidst considerable economic difficulty, the local residents well appreciated the importance of culture in their daily lives. It seems that the people of Venezuela have managed to retain a love of art and their dreams for a brighter future.

Joint Performance in Argentina
After having spent a month in Buenos Aires, my return there was a kind of homecoming. The work we performed in Argentina, “So Far…, So Close…” represents a collaboration of two dance companies that had been premiered at the Seongman International Dance Festival, in April 2009. The original work had been refined for our performance in Argentina. Our participation in the dance festival included assistance from the Korean Cultural Center in Latin America, headquartered in Buenos Aires, which helped to facilitate the exchange between the dance groups from Korea and Argentina. In large part, the success of our performance can be attributed to the personal dedication of the center’s director, Lee Chong-yul. Indeed, he is so enthusiastic in his efforts to introduce Korea to the people of Argentina that he should be considered an unofficial Korean diplomat. Through email messages, he made thorough preparations for our performance, including the translation of subtitles. In fact, these efforts enabled our group to perform without any difficulty. When Korean embassies abroad or cultural organizations like this center help out with the preparations and details, our performers and staff are always most grateful.
In Argentina, we were able to perform “Internal and External” as well as “So far…, So close…” thereby adding diversity to our presentations. Our performances were successfully staged and the appreciative response from the audience was heartwarming. After returning to Korea, I can say that NOW Dance Company has been truly enriched by the experiences and memories of our performances in Central and South America. In particular, it was meaningful that our group became the first Korean dance company to coproduce a work with an Argentine dance group, along with being the first dance troupe from Asia to be invited to dance festivals in Mexico and Venezuela, which contributed to Korea’s cultural exchange with Central and South America. In addition to sponsorship support from the Korea Foundation, PAMS (Performing Arts Market in Seoul) of the Korea Arts Management Service provided valuable expertise, in regard to the development of our repertoire. It is indeed gratifying that these organizations are actively contributing to Korea’s dance sector, so that groups like us can perform on the international stage. The NOW Dance Company’s global appearances will continue in 2010, with a performance tour of five European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.

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NOW Dance Company Performed in Central and South America

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NOW Dance Company Performed in Central and South America

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