By Honorary Reporter Suthida Chang from Thailand
Photos= Korea National Contemporary Dance Company

As an arts enthusiast, I consider YouTube my favorite way to catch up with performances and recordings by artists worldwide during the lockdown due to COVID-19. I was overjoyed to discover the "Step Up" Dance on Air project of the Korean National Institute of Contemporary Dance. Though the doors of Korean theaters remain shut due to the pandemic, the organization delivered the production online from July 10-13.

Established in 2010, Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC) is proudly the nation's only national company of the genre. Its productions reflect the dynamism, diversity and creativity of its artists in bringing stories of history, society and daily life to the stage. Even its company logo is inspired by the fluid motion shown in contemporary dance. The company aims to bridge performers and audiences to present contemporary dance as a genre appealing to people of all ages and regions.

The "Step Up" project marks its third year this year on the occasion of KNCDC's 10th anniversary. The project showcases contemporary dance from diverse perspectives and in various forms to develop sustainable dance repertoires to explore the relationship between the human body and the environment. Each performance features the individual perspectives and experiences of its creator based on his or her life and that of others.

The first performance, "Sense of Black 360," choreographed by Hwang Soo-hyun, uses a clever combination of sound, light and space to create a compelling audio experience that resonates to the viewer. Performing with their eyes closed, the dancers interact onstage with such precision in every move. The work explores the physical senses of the audience to show how the eyes are not the only way to enjoy a performance. I never imagined that a dance performance could produce this many emotions using sound as the primary medium. The repetitive vocals interweaved with silence and the stage dynamics also left a strong impression.

The second performance, "Hello, There," was choreographed by Lim Set-byeol, and I highly enjoyed this because of its simplicity and grace. Performers used forms of everyday greetings to draw attention to labor rights and the treatment of workers, especially laborers who must mask their emotions as part of their jobs. This work uses dance as a medium of communication out of respect for the unseen heroes in society.

The final performance "Hard Disk" follows the life of chorographer Kim Chanu as he explores the artistic potential of daily situations and objects. As an interactive performer, Kim incorporated multiple types of media and tools into his performance including video recordings, pebbles, fabric and walls to express the passage of time and space throughout the performance. This was definitely a unique and interactive virtual experience.

The company's artistic director Nam Jeong-ho said, "Art will become the entity that consoles and comforts the disconnect we each experience, and in that moment, dance will come to deeply touch our lives."

Check what KNCDC has to offer through this link: https://www.youtube.com/user/34721420
Explore "Step Up" on this link here: http://kncdc.kr/en/performance/detail?boardMasterSeq=1&boardSeq=926&pgm=info

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.