JA - Gentleman national premiere

Maholra Company Korea

contemporary dance / music

Gentleman is based on Hanryang-mu, a traditional Korean dance piece that is representative of male dance. The work explores a range of experimental breathing and seeks new aesthetics of movement from traditional Korean dance. This is done first by analyzing the gestures and breathing of Hanryang-mu, then disassembling the continuous flow of its movements to individual parts, and finally reassembling them to create contemporary movements. The accompanying music is based on the traditional melodies of daegum (large bamboo transverse flute) and familiar rhythms of janggu (traditional Korean drum with an hourglass shape), and embodies and reveals the style, fun and the aesthetics of “jeong-jung-dong (stillness amid the movement)” embedded in traditional Korean culture.

All the while, it does not forget to add a touch of diversity that creates a unique ambience, which in turn integrates different yet complementary elements into the piece. This original Korean title of the piece came from the Chinese character ja (子), which represents a child spreading his arms and signifies “son.” In this piece, the artist hopes to portray a man who is both a man in love with a woman and the son of a woman.

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Credits

choreographer and performer: KIM Jae Seung

choreography assistant: JANG Yun Na

composition and music director: LEE Aram

music: LEE Aram (DaeGeum), HWANG Min Wang (JangGu)

costume design: SUNG MinKyeong

premiere: 2013

*in 2013 “Gentleman” received a Grand Prize at solo dance category in Seoul International Choreographing Festival

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Bio

“Maholra” is a Hebrew word meaning “those who dance before God.”

The term epitomizes the determination to never forget the essence and roots of dance and always view, create and perform a dance with the same reverence as if dancing before God. The company has been deeply involved in searching for the esthetic sense of Korean dance and in promoting creative Korean dance performances.

Kim JaeSeung graduated from the School of Dance at Korea National University of Arts in Seoul with both a bachelor’s and master’s in fine arts and completed a Ph.D at Dankook University. As an outstanding dancer and emerging choreographer, he boasts extraordinary dance techniques that traverse and encompass modern and traditional dance and his choreographic works that are grounded in traditional Korean dance are gaining recognition. He won the gold medal at the 37th Dong-A Dance Competition in Seoul and was selected to participate in the Performance Artists Incubating Program for emerging choreographers, which is supported by the Arts Council Korea (ArKo) in 2011. As executive director of Maholra Company, he has presented a host of intriguing choreographic endeavors including Corea Ura, To Survive, Prayer, Honpuri and Gentleman.

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