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Home : Program : Dance |
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Chamber of Memory - Korea
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| Time : |
Nov 2(Mon) 19:30
Nov 3(Tue) 19:30 |
| Venue : |
Arko Arts Theater Main Hall |
| Ticket Price : |
General R : 40,000 won, S : 20,000 won
Y/S R : 20,000 won, S : 10,000 won |
| Choreographer : |
Sangcheul Choe |
| Company : |
Choe Sang Cheul Dance Project |
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Art by Seungyoung Kim, Dance by Sangcheul Choi and music by Jonghwa Park. Memory interwoven by these three contemporary artists attempts to make contact with the audience through different sensory organs. |
'Chamber of Memory' is a miniature version of space (nature).
Memory is produced, moved and even destroyed by a memory transporter within the cells of a living organism. The memory transporter, or sequence of the gene may be described as the chamber of memory.
The chamber of memory aims to facilitate communication with nature, the essence of life, instinctively sought after by humans since time immemorial. By continuously raising objections to the anti-nature attributes of society, humans are intrinsically being a part of nature.
In the Chamber of Memory, human memory is probed and explored utilizing butterflies. Active use of multi-media in harmony with dance displays and emphasizes that human memory in the consciousness is part of nature. As such, individual memory is intertwined like a ball of yarn in the numerous relationships of nature. Relationships between humans and between humans and society are explored through a journey of memory in four acts.
Act 1. Memory of a Butterfly
A butterfly flown in from outer space, and a man and a woman who are separated from a single butterfly.
Separation is love. It resembles the color of space.
Following the memory of the butterfly, a group of dancers flutter around the stage. The movements of the dancers are expressed with minimal restraint.
Act 2. Genetic Sequence
Emotional relationships in society and among humans are shown through repeating encounters and separations that are posited around a structure resembling that of the genetic sequence. The focal point in this act is the identity of our ever-changing society.
Act 3. Journey with the Butterfly
Under the motto of 'everyday urban life, escape and transformation', an escape from the daily humdrum of life and a fantasy-like situation are set up to maximize the memory of the butterfly residing within. A new memory of ideals, hopes and love sought after by humans is freshly created.
Act 4. Butterfly in Memory
Words such as 'goal', 'achievement' and 'success' in human memory show how dramatic conflict is heightened through a structure of confrontation and how much the butterfly is caught inside the boundary of society. By employing the butterfly, the desire for external stimulants can only remain unmet and the contradictory situation is infinitely repeated.
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An Unusual Performance by Three Artists
Chamber of Memory is a collaborative work by the installation artist at the recent Gwangju Biennale, Kim Seung-Young, the renowned pianist, Park Jeong-Wha, the acclaimed novelist of Consummation, Kim Su-Gyong, and the innovative contemporary dancer, Choe Sang-Cheul. The New York Times dance critic Jennifer Dunning described a performance by Choi, Sang-Cheul as mesmerizing the audience with his magical movements. Choe, Sang-Cheul will be bringing this magic to SPAF2009!
Although the installation, Chamber of Memory, was sold after being presented at the Gwangju Biennale, it is being re-installed especially for this occasion. Along with Choe. Sang-Cheul's performance, it will be used to fill up the entire stage as part of an impromptu act to surprise the audience and seamlessly unveil the conflict between the two memories.
The performance is accompanied by music from Park Jeong-Hwa who has been described as "The emergence of a young Korean genius who has appeared like a thunderbolt to charm the audience with his clear performance, excellent interpretation of piano and complete control over rhythm" (ABC of Spain). Under the concept that humans are a part of nature and relationships between humans as well as those between humans and nature can only be unraveled through the medium of memory, the interpretations offered by these four distinct artists may appear a bit challenging at times. Nevertheless, these impressions are repeated over and over to ensnare the audience and provide a breathtaking performance that will, no doubt, leave a lasting impact.
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| Choreographer |
Graduate of the Dept. of Dance, Hanyang University. BA in Arts from New York University, PhD from New York University.
Currently: Professor at the Dept. of Dance, Arts College, and Chungang University
Director of International Cooperation at Modern Dance Korea Association (MOKADO)
Director at the Korea Dance Education Association
Having graduated from the Department of Dance at Hanyang University, Choe, Sang-Cheul moved to the US to continue his studies. He received a BA in Arts from New York University and later, a PhD in philosophy from the same university. The foundation of his choreography has been impromptu through contact', which he experienced for himself in New York. In 2001, he was the artistic director at the Improvisation Festival, which was held for the first time in Korea. He continues to work as a dancer, choreographer and lecturer. The renowned critic, Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times, acclaimed his Clouds and Boulder: "He has enthralled the audience with his magical movements. His dance is like a small jewel."
Returning to Korea in 1996, Choi has enjoyed collaborations with experts from other fields in music, image and art. Since 2000, his main interest has moved on to multi-media in dance. Black Angel (2000), Contact (2001), and Red Swan (2002) provide glimpses into the intellectual discourse on dance under the supposition of a merger between dance and imagery or high technology and the human body.
<Awards>
Young Dancer to commemorate the Year of Dance from Funding for Promotion of Culture and Arts (1992, [The Woman with Time in her Hands]),
The Fifth Dance Critics Award by the Korean Association of Dance Critics (2000, [Black Angel]) |
| Company |
Choe Sang Cheul Dance Project Dance Project strives to combine high-tech multi-media and dance as an equal medium for the human body.
Images in dance projects may be one of the most universal crossover elements in the merger with dance in recent years since the optical factor is maximized. But, it is also true that such images have largely been delegated to a supplementary role in the majority of cases to help deliver a message or elaborate on the background. Jang Gwang-Ryeul, a critic, has pointed out that Black Angel by the Choe Sang-Cheul Dance Project has moved the use of imagery up a level. The company is eager to display such enhanced performances as a merger between multi-media and dance. |
Reviews
"Poetry of Dance"
His ordinary movements characterized by sensitivity and speed mark this piece. Dance evolving around the motions of a butterfly is shown, moving between images provided in motion and the protagonist in reality on stage. The image of the butterfly is symbolic of glimpses of human memory. The butterfly moves from the genes of the protagonist to the brain to eventually settle in the mind. The intention of the choreographer is to illustrate the point that human memory is not the outcome of biological mechanisms recorded in the brain but the psychological history left in the mind. The installation art by Kim Seung-Young is not used merely as a backdrop, but serves to dismantle and reorganize the chamber of memory so that the dancers can weave in and out through the piece that serves to constrain them. Tango of Memory from the 1930s by the famous singer Hwang Guem-Shim and Professor Park's piano recital of Schubert crossover to add subtle nuances to the piece.
- Munwha Ilbo, November 13, 2008
"He enthralls the audience with his magical movements."
- Jennifer Dunning (Dance Critic of New York Times)
"Dance by Choe Sang-Cheul emphasizes lightness and wittiness."
- Kim Tae-won
"Choe Sang-Cheul offers consistently something new with his boundless curiosity and challenging spirit."
-Jang Gwang-Ryeul
"Choe Sang-Cheul's dance is fun and diverse."
-You In-Wha
Others
Premiere: November 15, 2008 at Sungnam Arts Center
*Special Appearance - Park Jeong-Wha (Piano)
At five, he attended a class for the gifted at the Music College of the University of Tokyo. He then studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, the International Piano Foundation in Como, Italy, the Sophia Royal Music Academy and the National Music Academy in Madrid and the master's class in the department of music of München University. At Como, he studied in master classes with international pianists such as Cark Ulrich Schnabel, Fou Ts-ong, Leon Fleischer, and Charles Rosen. He studied with Jung Jin-Woo, Lee Jeong-Sook (SNU) and Miura Katsuko, Iguchi Aiko, Russell Sherman, and Dimitri Bashkirov.
Park was invited to the premier of Symphonietta de Galicia conducted by Ross Marbar at the National Music Academy in Madrid in November 1998. He made appearances at the Spoletto Festival (US and Italy), Yamaha Hall Youth Concert Series (Tokyo), Harvard Music Association Concert Series (Boston), Monadock Festivals Recital Series (NH), Isabella Gardner Museum Concert Series, Newton A II Music School Series, and Arizona Piano and Friend Concert Series, among others.
*Stage Design-Kim Seung-Young
Installation artist, Kim Seung-Young, is known for placing her work within a work. She has used parts of nature to create space for meditation and private thinking at major outdoor installation art events, biennales and art museums. In this performance, the piece presented at the Gwangju Biennale, Chamber of Memory, unravels images that blend into the dance. She has created a space of reminiscence of memory from afar through her installation piece.
*Script-Kim Su-Kyeong
Kim has studied with poet Su Jeong-Ju. She made her debut as a poet in Modern Literature. She has released a book of poetry entitled, In the Length of a Soul, and an illustrated book of poetry, The Female Teacher who has undergone a Freudian Treatment.
While heading the publishing company, Yeuleumsa, she published her novel, YouJeong. Despite the fact that her novel was at the center of heightened interest and furor, she successfully published the quarterly magazine, Foreign Literature (48 editions until 1996) and monthly Literature Mind (98 editions until 1996). She set up Gaya Production (1994) in the US to introduce cultures from the East. She continues to be in the limelight as a successful CEO since her involvement in the world of business beginning in 1997.
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