Distribution
Piece "Damcheong" – in direct translation, the color of Celadon porcelain – has countless shades of green and blue, which is found in the traditional porcelain pottery produced in the Korean Peninsula. "Damcheong” reflects the spirit of Korean dance, through imagery derived from the varieties of traditional Korean life. The choreography is a masterful blend of old and new, where each act takes the audience on a new journey through palace, folk, agricultural and religious traditions in search of the roots of Korean dance.
"Damcheong”, the hidden shades of Korea
"Damcheong” opens with the dawn surprising the sky with a celadon green, which you look at for a long time... Against this background, traditional motifs merge with graceful scenes, reminiscent of fine ceramics; suddenly a wave of color comes to life as the dancers appear on stage.
The light reflects on the edge of the sword...
The thrill of the snow lies over all Creation…
The living riches of nature and more will envelop you in the delicate shades of "Damcheong".
Act I – Palace
In the foreground is the Palace - a solemn place, full of authority, but shrouded in mystery. Shades of damcheong from under the dark gray roof they seem to capture the essence – the discrepancy between the jovial character of the dance and the rigor of the Palace. The humility of the formal dance merges with the fluidity of the sound, giving the piece an elaborate yet imposing sophistication.
- The Age of Prosperous Calm
This first part of Act I is based on Taepyeongmu (in direct translation The dance of the great peace), a royal court dance expressing the desire for the peace of the country and the prosperity of the royal family. Being a court scene, the king and queen are in the foreground, dancing delicately with graceful hand movements reminiscent of ancient shamanic rituals.
- Integrity
A dance made by using the tone and rhythm created by beating a bak, an instrument made of six thin, long pieces of wooden planks, tied at one end with a string. The white costume of the dancers and the sound of the simple instrument symbolize the virtue and dignity of the nobles.
- readiness
A creative dance, in which they are used abacus and hyangbal – percussion instruments used at the royal court. Brother is similar to a bak, but it is distinguished from it by its size, being smaller, but also by the material from which it is made - ivory or animal horn. Hyangbal it is a small instrument, made of two brass plates, which are held between the thumb and middle finger, the collision of which produces the characteristic sound. By using these two instruments, the artistic moment is characterized by a joyful rhythm, rich in movement.
- Force
A staging that captures the exquisite harmony between ancestral and traditional sword dance - where the captivating movements of the sword at once show us the spirit of the soldiers training in the martial arts, as well as their hidden ideals.
Act II – Garden
Women of noble lineage, limited in sharing their artistic passions, express themselves through dance.
- The Delight of Spring
The refined and enthusiastic dance expresses the subtlety of a woman's feelings; the blue-violet silk skirt harmoniously envelops the figure and captures the tenderness of the moment, and the melody sanjo envelops the show in an overflowing spirit.
sanjo (in direct translation wasted songs) is a traditional style of Korean music with drum accompaniment janggu (Korean hourglass drum).
- The Love Theme from the Pansori Korean Traditional Opera "Chunhyang Ga"
Being a famous repertoire, this theme is staged through a creative dance that elegantly captures the love story between Lee Do-ryeong and Chunghyang, the protagonists of a traditional Korean story of dress, "Chunhyang Ga" (in direct translation Chunhyang's story).
- "Janggu" hilarity"
This dance, which uses the most representative Korean instrument – janggu –, it is innovative and captures the emotion of a vivacious woman. The yin/yang harmony symbolized by the sounds coming from the two ends of the instrument, as well as the various techniques of beating janggu come together in an exhilarating production.
Act III- ritual
"Invocation" and "ceremony" are central to this act which draws inspiration from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The dances in this act invoke wishes to be freed from suffering, to cast aside worries and purify evil spirits, as well as to obtain a bountiful harvest.
- The four Dharani
This dance is inspired by dance only, a type of ritual dance of Korean Buddhist monks, performed in accordance with beompae (a Korean genre of Buddhist chants and chants). Based on the ritual of purifying the mind and spirit by driving away evil spirits, the dance expresses the powerful energy of masculinity as well as religious solemnity.
- Damcheong
Dance is inspired by the sky in the hue that bears its name – damcheong, a pale green that embraces the stillness of the dawn, expressing a clean body and spirit, in the form of a crane flying to another world. The concept heKorean culture is depicted through dance steps and rhythms sanjo to the tune of the Korean harp (geomungo), and the beautiful figure of the woman gives the dance even more grace.
- The festive dance of the farmers
When agriculture was the mainstay of the people, all the farmers gathered together, the unity of the community expressed through their specific music, made using four percussion instruments: kkwaenggari, janggu, jing and Beech. Through music and movement, this ceremonial dance of the farmers came into existence, which had the role of removing the fatigue left after hard work, but also to pray to the God of agriculture for an abundant year.
Artistic director and choreographer Sung-Joo Yun
Ms. Yun has been the 15th Artistic Director of Incheon Metropolitan City Dance Theater (IMDT) since May 2017, XNUMX. Ms. Yun is a traditional dance maestro and recognized for her exceptional talent in creating original works.
Throughout her tenure as Artistic Director of the National Dance Company of Korea she has received praise for her many original dances that have garnered global attention and applause.
In his current position at IMDT he has delighted audiences with new songs such as "Manchan – Jin, O-gui" ("Guest", 2017), "Bi-ga" ("Lamentation", 2018) and "Damcheong" (2019) .
