Festival of Korean Dance, The Place

No less that five Korean dance companies representing an array of different styles and dance fusions will take over The Place for three nights in May.

First comes the Korean National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC), making its UK debut with <Immixture>, which, as the name indicates, is a fusion piece that blends the music and dance of both East and West. It’s an opportunity for London to catch up with a work that has already toured extensively both in continental Europe and the USA (9 May).

The following two nights of the Festival consist of double bills. On 12 May Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is transmogrified by the Ahn Soo Young Company into a cautionary tale about environmental destruction. The company does this through a blend of styles that includes hip hop and contemporary dance.

The second part of the evening offers the welcome opportunity to see the truly talented British dancer Dickson Mbi as part of a cast of three in Kyoung Shin Kim’s Ordinary Stranger – a mediation on memory and identity.

Finally, on 16 May, choreographer Lyon Eun Kwon presents a slice of pure Korean culture with Glory: his take on the Dong-A Dance Competition where the prize on offer is exemption from military service, which is otherwise compulsory for South Korean men.

The evening ends with a contrasting piece: the psychedelic art dance work Riverrun, a collaboration between choreographer Jinyeob Cha and The Hague/Seoul-based visual artist Vakki.

The Festival of Korean Dance is curated by The Place in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Centre.