Performance & Arts

[Anchor Lead]

Young Korean audiences are fascinated by a traditional dance performance enriched with modern touches. Then, we bring you some scenes from the exhibitions at the Pyeongchang Biennale, which depicts an unknown world in art. It’s all coming up in today’s close up.

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An elegant court dance signals the beginning of an extravagant banquet. A beautiful dance blooms like flowers on a simple, dark stage. The performance heats up with the beating of drums. Rounds of dancers' individual performances further add to the excitement. The show rises to a climax, as a drum dance called "Ogomu" is presented on a revolving stage. While retaining the original form of traditional Korean dance, it shows off simplicity but sophistication through modern touches to its stage, costume and props.

[Soundbite] Kim Mi-ae(Principal Dancer, National Dance Company) : "A performance must have artistic value. But at the same time it must be fun and exciting. The "Banquet" is well filled with the two properties."

Tickets sold out for the four-day performance. Young viewers in their 20s and 30s give an enthusiastic response, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total audience.

[Soundbite] Hwang Seok-young(Viewer) : "In fact, I didn't know much about traditional Korean dance. But it came as a fresh experience and I like it."

[Soundbite] Park So-young(Viewer) : "I was satisfied with its simple and concentrated descriptions."

The dance performance "Banquet" has traversed generations to fascinate young audiences. It is seen as an attention-capturing stage that confirms the potential of traditional Korean dance. A ten-meter tall unidentified creature floats over a city. A black plastic bag behind fancy decorations indicates a grim future that would be brought forth by blind consumption. The flip side of rapid development is hidden in a moving reproduction of a landscape painting from 800 years ago. A deformed shadow created by light and darkness travels between memory and oblivion.

[Soundbite] Kim Seong-yeon(Chief Art Director, Pyeongchang Biennale) : "It indicates not the sole moon but the moonlight that is unexpectedly encountered in multiple places."

Indicating that the unknown world is a near future, the exhibition offers viewers a chance to review their lives from different perspectives. Under the title of "The Five Moons: Return of the Nameless and Unknown," the main exhibition of the Pyeongchang Biennale will run until February 26th, featuring works of art and architecture presented by some 80 teams from 19 countries.