The National Theater of Korea’s season lineup revealed

The National Theater of Korea has revealed the lineup of the “2018-2019 National Repertory Season,” composed of pieces that are traditional but have a modernistic touch. A total of 40 repertories including six existing performances and 19 new ones will be staged from Sep. 5 to June 30 next year. The inclusion of experimental performances of rising artists clearly point to the theater’s direction of creating modern performances based on tradition.

The most notable repertory in the lineup is the National Dance Company of Korea’s “Multicolor” directed by Jung Gu-ho, fashion designer and dance director known for opening a new horizon for Korean dance with “The Banquet” and “Scent of Ink.”

“The new piece came out of the process to modernize the traditional Korean dance, but emphasizes modern aspects more than previous performances,” said Jung. “We are creating choreography for the piece together with masters of the Korean dance.”

The National Dance Company of Korea also presents “The Room” of Kim Seol-jin, modern dancer and choreographer who won the second season of South Korea’s dance competition TV show “Dancing Nine” and is known for his cross-genre works. In this piece, Kim will bring to the stage the stories of people who are living in different times with the background of a hotel or house. “I believe that paying attention to each person’s history, rather than deliberately trying to find something ‘Korean,’ will naturally make the piece Korean,” said Kim.

Meanwhile, the National Changgeuk Company of Korea plans to continue working on the modernization of changgeuk. Director Kim Tae-hyung presents feminism SF performance “Sounds of the space,” an experimental repertory that tries to broaden the horizon of changgeuk. “Farewell My Concubine” by Taiwanese director and actor Wu Hsing-kuo will also help expand the scope of Korean changgeuk.

The National Orchestra of Korea will start off the season with the opening work “2018 Masterpiece – Hwang Byungki” and continue to present “Into The Light” with Kunihiko Ryo, “New Generation, New Arirang” and other performances.


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