REVIEW: A festival of Korean Dance at The Place Theatre 16 May - 4 Jun 2024: BURNT OFFERING by 99Artcompany

‘The collective body of the dancers and musicians perform together as a group in unison and harmony.’ ★★★★

The 99Artcompany is a dance company that focuses on using motion to interpret music and express emotions, telling contemporary stories with movement. Their latest performance ‘Burnt Offering’, part of the Festival of Korean Dance, begins the narrative with a white blank canvas on the floor and two dancers Jang Hyerim and Jang Seoyi, entering the stage.

Mirroring each other they start the creation of their piece of dance and art, and through the repetitive graceful movements of their body, the extension of their arms, their hands drawing on the canvas with the medium of charcoal, the precise lines and curves of the charcoal start forming the beautiful image of a lotus-like flower.

Many dance forms originated from ‘religious rites’ and this performance, based on the traditional dance ‘Seungmu’, uses Korean music, voice and dance to express the contemporary needs of our society to consider what new rituals and routines that we may wish for in order to derive more meaning to our existence. As the dancers gather on stage, offering their sacrifice one by one at the altar, repetitively executing their daily routines, they generated clouds of incense floating in the air. They were followed by the other two dancers Lee Gowoon and Lee Sookyung altogether representing the workforce and labourers, at one time wearing safety helmets with head torches, the projection of the lights being satisfying visual art forms by themselves.

The musical accompaniment of the musicians Hwang Gina and Lee Hwayoung filling the air with beautiful sounds and a narration in Korean by the latter musician, reiterates the idea that there is beauty to be found in repetitions. Playing the Gayageum, an instrument made of hard silk threads, requires the use of the right hand making the sound and the left hand creating the resonance of that sound. Through the repetition of the notes, a song is produced and the fingers, arms, shoulders and back work together to fill the entire body with music. Not only the individual body of the musicians but also and mostly the collective body of the dancers and musicians on stage to perform together as a group in unison and harmony.

Burnt Offering written by Lee Joohee is an invitation for the viewers to delve into their own existence, to look beyond the monotonous nature and routines of their daily life, and as the artistic director, choreographer and dancer Jang Hyerim rightly puts it, to appreciate the beauty of life and the repetitiveness of our labour and work.

A FESTIVAL OF KOREAN DANCE

At The Place Theatre until 4 June

Box Office https://kccuk.org.uk/en/programmes/festival-korean-dance-2024/

BURNT OFFERING by 99Artcompany

Writer- Lee Joohee

Artistic Director Choreographer Dancer - Jang Hyerim

Reviewed by Melanie Lam