Anthology of Chaoxian and Korean Folk Dance: Myth of the Dancing Durumi

Hong Kong Dance Company 2022/23 Dance Season Opening

The Elegant Beauty of the Dancing Crane 

Korean folk dances have a refined elegance that evokes images of a durumi (Korean crane) in flight. Breathing out, the dancers effortlessly glide. Breathing in, they pause with a subtle grace. Their colourful traditional Korean costumes move in harmony with the distinctive rhythms of their folk tunes. Hong Kong Dance Company is bringing works of Seoul and Yanbian artists – The Moon by Dr Han Hyo-lim and Of Sun, Rain and Our Land by Prof Jin Yinghua, from 9-11 September 2022 at Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall and 16-18 September 2022 at Auditorium, Yuen Long Theatre, together in Hong Kong for the first time, dancers of Hong Kong Dance Company are going to showcase the traditional charm and contemporary elegance inherent in Chaoxian and Korean dance.

Of Sun, Rain and Our Land – 6 Traditional Chaoxian Dance Pieces by Yanbian Dance Artist
Prof Jin Yinghua, an ardent promoter and educator of the folk dance of the Chaoxian ethnic group, is the Deputy Dean of the College of Arts at Yanbian University, and Vice Chair of Yanbian Dancers Association and Jilin Province Literature and Art Critics Association. She was elected one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Jilin Province. She has selected six riveting dance pieces – Of Sun, Rain and Our Land for our audience to showcase the unique beauty of the Chaoxian ethnic group.

Second Collaboration with Korean Dance Artist – The Moon Commissioned Work’s World Premiere
Korean Choreographer Dr Han Hyo-lim once again collaborates with the Hong Kong Dance Company. Back in 2018, Dr Han presented Furious Sea – Memory on Ube in Tale of Three Cities, a dance which commemorates the victims of the 1942 Chosei Coal Mine disaster. In the dance performance The Moon, world premiere dance piece commissioned by HKDC, Dr Han looks into Korean Shamanism and folklore to recreate the mysterious shamanistic rituals in dance.

An Exciting Variety of Programme Plus Events to Introduce Chaoxian Folk Dance
Hong Kong Dance Company is organising a series of Programme Plus Events to facilitate a better understanding of Chaoxian folk dance among folk dance lovers and the public. Last month, HKDC called for entries for the Myth of the Dancing Durumi Online Open Korean Folk Dance Contest for three groups of participants: Toddler Division, Student Division and Open Division. 19 participating teams have since registered. Announcement of the winning teams will be made by end of August.  The winning teams would have the chance to showcase their works in another fringe activity The Harvest Moon - Journey into Traditional Chaoxian Culture which will be held in late September. HKDC was invited by eslite Hong Kong to perform Myth of the Dancing Durumi - The Elegant Beauty of the Dancing Crane at its 10th anniversary celebration at eslite Forum in Hysan Place on 13 August. The performance was led by Ms Lou Wen, Dance Tutor and Researcher from Yanbian University, who was specially invited by HKDC to lead a group of dancers for demonstrating Chaoxian folk dance. The interaction with the audience was one of the highlights of the event.

For online activities, Ms Lou Wen is featured in a series of ten episodes in the Cultural Exchange Artist's Vlog of Myth of the Dancing Durumi where she shared with us her stay in Hong Kong as an exchange artist.  

An exhibition on Chaoxian culture and folk dance for Myth of the Dancing Durumi will be held from 3 to 18 September at the Exhibition Corner of Yuen Long Theatre. The exhibition is free-of-charge. In addition, The Harvest Moon - Journey into Traditional Chaoxian Culture will be held on 25 September at the Exhibition Gallery of Sha Tin Town Hall. The event promotes and cultivates a further understanding of the techniques of Chaoxian folk dance through a Master Class and a demo dance performance.  
 

Programme Summary

Korean folk dances have a refined elegance that evokes images of a durumi (Korean crane) in flight. Breathing out, the dancers effortlessly glide. Breathing in, they pause with a subtle grace. Their colourful traditional Korean costumes move in harmony with the distinctive rhythms of their folk tunes. Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) is staging works of Seoul and Yanbian artists together in HKDC’s 2022/23 Dance Season Opening – Myth of the Dancing Durumi, to showcase the traditional charm and contemporary elegance inherent in Korean dance.

Anthology of Korean Folk Dance Myth of the Dancing Durumi 
9 –11 September 2022 (Fri–Sun) | Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall | $380-$140
16–18 September 2022 (Fri–Sun) | Auditorium, Yuen Long Theatre | $300-$80

Artistic Coordinators: Yang Yuntao, Xie Yin
Choreographers: Jin Yinghua, Han Hyo-lim
Performers: Dancers of Hong Kong Dance Company

Tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk) 
Programme Enquiries: 3103 1842 / www.hkdance.com