South Korean Traditional Dance
Have you ever seen a dance or music performance or taken a dance or music class when you were away from home in another state or country? It's one of my favorite things to do, and though I get a little nervous about the language barrier, it truly has never been a problem. Movement is a pretty universal language, so I encourage you next time you travel to give a performance or class a try! It's a great way to understand the culture you're visiting.
In January I traveled to South Korea for the first time in my life. I went to Korea because I work as a Pilates instructor trainer, meaning that I train students who are hoping to become Pilates instructors. I was lucky enough to get some traditional Korean dance lessons from my students while I was there, as two of them were college majors in Traditional Korean dance. I learned to use the Traditional Korean fans, which is much harder than it looks, as well as knives and drums. My teacher Yuna didn't speak much English and I don't speak Korean, but she was very creative in her communication and was always able to get her point across. Here's a sample, and you can watch the full video on our Youtube channel.
I'm always interested in personal stories about when or why people started dancing and what made them choose to pursue it in their lives or careers. Yuna told me that her mother said that ever since she was very young she would start dancing anytime she heard music (even in the street), so her mother thought it would be a good hobby for her. As she grew, she found Korean Traditional music to be very calming, which is why she decide to major in Korean Traditional dance. She loves the feeling she gets with each performance. She pours everything into her practice--her time, her passion, and her best effort--and it pays her back always with the excitement and thrill of dressing up and performing for an audience.
I was lucky enough to be in the country during the Lunar New Year, which was celebrated February 7-9. In South Korea, most citizens celebrate the holiday by traveling to be with their families and spending time at home. The city itself kind of shuts down. You won't see parades and fireworks like you might in China or even the United States. But that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities to celebrate. During the holiday, I visited the Korean Folk Village where they had performances all day long. You can watch a sample of those performances below, or follow this link to our youtube page to see the full version of each type of dance. I loved watching the traditional fan dance that I learned from Yuna--it was amazing to watch the dancers' precision and grace. It's fascinating to watch their hand, wrist, and arm placement to achieve the perfect position of the fans. Also notice how they glide along the ground--this is due to their technique of footwork and keeping the knees soft and fluid--it's so much harder than it looks!
I also attended a professional theatre performance at the Korean National Theatre. It was all in Korean, but the skilled actors made it easy to understand what was happening in the story even without having read a synopsis. The costumes, set, and music were all so beautiful that I found myself overcome with emotion by the beauty and talent. Audience members were even able to participate in the performance by walking onto the stage and offering a traditional prayer, so I jumped right up with my friend literally holding my hand to help me do everything correctly.
I also saw dance and singing performances at the Gyeoungbokgung Temple celebrating the year of the Monkey. It was a gorgeous sunny day and there were lots of activities for children like kite making, mask making, fortune telling, and more. One of my favorite things to do at a live performance is to periodically notice the faces of the audience. It's always amazing to me how a live performance is so captivating for people of all ages. Seeing the smiles on the audience members faces always puts a smile on my face and validates the importance of the performing arts in our lives as a way to entertain, relieve us of our stresses for a time, and teach us valuable lessons. If you ever saw a memorable performance or tried a lesson somewhere, please share it with us in the comments, and if you liked this post, please share!
