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Bolero
12 October 2009
Sogang University Mary Hall
12th International Seoul International Dance Festival
Stretching Time
Review by Dr Philipa Rothfield
Photography by Park Sang Yun
Chang-Mu Company is renowned for giving aspects of traditional Korean dance a modern twist. This is due to Kim MaeJa’s ground breaking efforts to draw upon traditional dance, while exercising an aesthetic freedom that belongs more to modernism than the traditional canon. The choice to utilise Maurice Ravel’s Bolero clearly placed Kim Sunmee’s dancing within aspects of a western aesthetic. What was marvellous about this piece was the elastic sense of timing which she imposed upon the western rhythms of the music.
Working with exquisite delicacy, Kim Sunmee slowly danced to Ravel’s familiar composition. She found breath and space within the music’s inevitable movement towards its climax. Her body was grounded but also spacious, so that the weight of the music infused her dancing but did not hold it back. She maintained a single line of movement the entire time, keeping her own energy on track with that of the music. The climax of the work was manifested in some beautiful jumping, her body lifting like a puff of wind, landing without punctuating the flow of her movement.
This was a masterful interpretation of a familiar musical classic. By bringing a Korean sensibility to its interpretation, Kim Sunmee brought an originality and freshness to its articulation.
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Copyright 2010 Asia Dance Channel