By Xu Aiying and Sohn JiAe
Photos∙Video = Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation

“For me, North Korean dance is like putting two different maps together as one.”

Internationally-famed dancer and choreographer Ahn Eun-me, known for breaking away from the norms with distinguishing and experimental choreography, will present North Korean dance moves under the title of “Ahn Eun-me’s North Korean Dance” at the Arko Arts Theater in central Seoul from June 1 to 3.

With only its title, the new project is jumping on the bandwagon as the inter-Korean relationship has recently thawed. However, she came up with the idea many years ago and put it into action starting at the end of last year.

“I’m so pleased that I will be able to put this performance on the stage at this time of better inter-Korean ties. I started this with some worries, as I was doing things about North Korea, a word that was too sensitive to even speak back then,” Ahn said as she was fine-tuning her dance moves for the upcoming show.

“Hopefully, small performances like this that connect one Korea to the other will continue, broadening the span of mutual exchanges between the two Koreas and brining peaceful and beautiful unity to the Korean Peninsula,” she added.



In the performance, Ahn will perform her own choreography of North Korean dances, dances that share a common tradition with South Korean dance but which have been divided for the past few decades, creating differences.

The dance gestures that she will perform stem from “Joseon Folk Dance Basic Steps,” a collection by dancer Choi Seung-hee (1911-1967) of illustrated records that depict fan, drum and sword dances, scores of instrumental accompaniments, and appropriate beats and rhythms. The collection is one of Choi’s representative works on North Korean dance.

In an effort to bring to life North Korean dance as they are today, Ahn learned the basic North Korean dance moves from Korean-Japanese dancer Seong Ae-soon who received her education in that specific genre.

“While South Korean dance is solemn and heavy, North Korean dance moves, meanwhile, are pretty cheerful and light, as if dancing in the air. You can do your wrist moves more lightly and cheerfully to tunes, juggling more diverse rhythms,” the dancer said.

She and her team will perform to the North Korean songs “Bangapseumnida" (반갑습니다), or “Nice to See You,” and to “Whistle" (휘파람).



In February next year, “Ahn Eun-me’s North Korean Dance” will be staged at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, where Ahn has become the first Asian resident dancer. This will be her first project as the resident artist there.

xuaiy@korea.kr