Two shows will be performed: 
DEFORMATION by Kil Seo-Young
GENTLEMAN by Kim JaeSeung
October 18, 19:00 h. | Plovdiv Drama Theater
Tickets – Eventim.

About the shows:

DEFORMATION explores the issue of identity. Using concrete objects, the show turns the bodies into mutually exclusive objects, at the same time emphasizing their autonomy and uniqueness. The body is presented in its different physical and notional dimensions – as matter, as possessed by the ego, as one whole excluded from the personality, as an image of our own will. The context of different situations, configurations and interactions, in which a person is involved, shatters the illusion of wholeness and coherence of identity. Each interaction alters and re-constructs his identity. The community threatens the personal integrity; various inner conflicts appear that prompt the need for isolation so that the sense of wholeness and integrity be restored. Using the language of movement, DEFORMATION is an expression of the constant inner dynamics of the disintegration and reconstruction of human identity. In 2013, the show won first prize for performance and choreography at the prestigious competition Young Choreographers’ Stage.

GENTLEMAN is based on a traditional Korean dance, representative of the male dance called Hanryang-mu. Having been inspired by this traditional Korean dance the show experiments with different breathing techniques in search of new movement aesthetics. This is made possible through an analysis of the gestures and breathing used in Hanryang-mu, in which the constant flow of movement is being segmented, thus creating a new series in the aesthetics of contemporary dance vocabulary. The music is based on traditional melodies of the classical instrument daegeum (a large bamboo flute) and the well-known rhythms of janguu (a traditional Korean drum shaped like an hourglass), and also embodies the style and aesthetics of jeong-jung-dong (stillness in movement) that lie at the heart of the traditional Korean culture. The show combines different, complementary dance, rhythmic, visual and ornamental elements, which evoke a peculiar air of belonging both to the past and the present. The original Korean title derives from the letter ja (子), which represents a child with spread arms. The symbol means “son”. The man has a double role in the show – he is both a woman’s lover and a woman’s son. 

About the choreographers:

Kil Seo-Young graduated in dance and performance from Korea National University of Arts. Currently, he is a PhD student in the doctoral program of Kyonggi University. In 2006, he won the award for outstanding choreographic performance at the Young Choreographers’ Stage competition.

Kim JaeSeung graduated from the School of Dance at Korea National University in Seoul. Later, he got a PhD from Dankook University. A remarkable dancer and choreographer, his dance vocabulary combines traditional, modern and contemporary techniques. The choreographer draws his inspiration primarily from the traditional Korean dance, which he approaches in his own unique contemporary style. Kim JaeSeung won the golden medal at the 37th Dong-A-Dance Competition in Seoul and was chosen to participate in the Performance Artists Incubating Program for emerging choreographers, supported by the Arts Council Korea. Kim JaeSeung is the executive director of Maholra Company (in Hebrew, “maholra” means “those who dance before God”). One of the company’s chief goals is to keep up the memory of the origins of dance and promote the idea of this art form as something sacred that is performed before the eyes of God. 

DEFORMATION
Choreographer: Kil Seo-Young
Performers: Kang Hye-ok, Im Jong-kyung
Lighting design: Jung Jung-hyun
Costume design: Choi In-sook
Duration: 18 minutes
Music: The Haxan cloak-An archaic Device, Raven's Lament, Sophie Hunger- Beauty Above All, Ryoji ikeda-space

GENTLEMAN
Choreography and performance: Kim JaeSeung 
Duration: 30 min
Music: Aram Lee , Hwang Min Wang
The visit of Kil Seo-young and Kim JaeSeung is happening with the partnership of Seoul International Choreography Festival.