KF뉴스레터-Audiences in Russia and Armenia Embrace<br> Korea’s Modern Dance

Audiences in Russia and Armenia Embrace<br> Korea’s Modern Dance

Recently, Mira Dance Company staged memorable performances in St. Petersburg, the Russian city renowned for its colorful history and culture, and in Yerevan, Armenia, where Korea has rarely engaged in cultural exchange thus far.

With no time to relax after participating in the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, the Mira Dance Company members boarded a flight bound for St. Petersburg, Russia. The members were somewhat weary but also excited about the group’s chance to perform in the land of Russia, which is known for its highly acclaimed arts and culture. When the plane arrived at the airport of St. Petersburg, we were greeted by a landscape covered with a blanket of white snow like a scene from a postcard. At the airport, our group was warmly welcomed by staff members of the Korean Consulate office. By the time we headed for our accommodations by bus, it was almost midnight in St. Petersburg.

Performance in St. Petersburg
As our bus approached the city, we were overwhelmed with various emotions. The Neva River wound its way through the city center that sparkled with such colorful lighting. Here and there, you could see plaza areas and palace buildings with illumination that outlined large spaces of darkness. Stately palaces and antique buildings stood alongside each other, as though we had been transported back into the distant past. Indeed, the group could see why St. Petersburg is sometimes referred to as the Venice of Russia.
The State Hermitage Museum, the venue of our performance, is said to symbolize the culture and history of Russia. Comprised of five buildings designed by the foremost European architects of the 18th and 19th century, the museum houses about 2.7 million pieces of artworks from the Paleolithic Age to the modern times, classified under 15 general themes. It is an enormous treasure house of cultural riches. Holding off a tour of the world-renowned museum until after our performance, we started to prepare for a unique presentation at the Hermitage Theater, which has hosted the most elite dance groups.
The Korean Consulate staff told our group that the Hermitage Theater was concerned with the quality of works above all, in line with its reputation as a theater of the legendary Winter Palace, which in the past staged performances for the Russian czar. The group was excited as well as apprehensive about its first performance at the historic Winter Palace, against a backdrop of wintery weather in St. Petersburg. In addition, there seemed to be a heavier than usual burden for us to put on a wonderful dance performance for the Russian audience, in spite of the people’s relative unfamiliarity with Korea’s dance culture.
The Mira Dance Company members, adorned in colorful hanbok, presented Korean dance on the small but elegant stage of the Hermitage, creating a truly delightful and graceful scene. The performance of traditional Korean dance on this Western-style stage enabled us to experience a special pleasure of harmonizing the cultural influences of the East and West. The audience, comprised of mostly Russian residents, highly praised the creativity of the Mira Dance Company works, which strive to reinterpret Korea’s traditional dance with the infusion of various contemporary elements. They thoroughly enjoyed our performance, as if they already had a deep understanding of Korean dance. While noticing how many in the audience observed the dancers every movement so intently, I felt that Russia and its people deserve to be known for their cultural advancement.
I felt grateful for this opportunity and proud of our group. When the performance concluded, the audience gave the dancers a standing ovation, along with loud cheers. Afterward, members of the audience praised the beauty of hanbok and its accessories and asked to take photos together with the performers. Many said they would long remember this performance that brought the culture and dance of Korea to Russia, at their historic site. The people of St. Petersburg greatly admired the refined characteristics of the Mira Dance Company’s dance repertoire, in addition to appreciating the stylistic artistry of our group’s Korean dance.

Korean Dance Comes to Armenia
We departed St. Petersburg, the diverse and attractive city with a vibrant environment for culture and art, and headed to Yerevan in Armenia for our next performance after passing through Moscow. We heard there was only one Korean family living in Yerevan. We thus believed that our appearance there would be an ideal opportunity to introduce Korea and Mira Dance Company to the people of this unfamiliar corner of the world. We arrived at dawn and relaxed briefly before making our way to the theater for a rehearsal. Upon seeing how busily our people and the local staff were working on the stage area, it was apparent that there might be various problems with the preparations.
In particular, the venue was designed for theatrical performances. Accordingly, the stage was not equipped with a surface suitable for dancing. The wood floor was too rough and worn out for the dancers to perform with beoseon (Korean socks) or regular dance shoes. After taking a careful look around the theater, I found that it was structurally sound, but due to a lack of sufficient maintenance the stage surface was unsuitable for our kind of dance performance.
Despite these adverse circumstances, the group was able to perform without any serious problems after a floor covering was hastily applied to the stage. As a result, the enthusiastic response of the audience in Yerevan was all the more satisfying. Especially, the audience members were delighted with the energetic rhythm of the Korean dance and the elaborate hanbok garments of the dancers. High points of our performance included Jinsoechum, to the musical accompaniment of samul (traditional percussion instruments), and Janggochum to the melodious tones of the gayageum (traditional ed instrument). Many remained after the performance to offer words of praise to the dancers and ask questions about the musical instruments.
Although there are often difficulties abroad, in terms of the local language and circumstances, through our concerted efforts we were able to stage a successful and entertaining performance, while also having time for
self-reflection during our final day in Yerevan. The chance to perform overseas is always an enriching experience for our group. Indeed, we could again see how the medium of dance can surmount differences in language and culture, along with leaving the audience and performers with a close connection. We also learned about the sentiments of people in a particular location and environment. For example, the audience in St. Petersburg focused on the creativity of our graceful dance, while the residents of Yerevan definitely enjoyed the folk rhythms of the samul accompaniment.
A touring performance provides us with an opportunity to experience the cultures of other countries, even as we seek to introduce Korean culture to people abroad. You could easily detect the tremendous pride of the people of St. Petersburg in their Russian culture and history. Then, the enthusiastic response of the people of Yerevan, who no doubt were experiencing Korean culture for the first time, gave me a sense of satisfaction and responsibility, as a member of a cultural delegation. I would like to express my appreciation to the members and staff of the Mira Dance Company, the Korea Foundation, and the Korean Consulate for making all of this possible.

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Audiences in Russia and Armenia Embrace<br> Korea’s Modern Dance

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Audiences in Russia and Armenia Embrace<br> Korea’s Modern Dance

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