The Castlemaine Festival, Australia’s largest regional festival, has an exclusive performance from Korea’s Ambiguous Dance Company titled ‘Body Concert’.
Body Concert has been metamorphosing since its inception in 2010, when it made a splash in the bold contemporary dance scene of Seoul. It’s the work of Ambiguous Dance Company, founded by choreographer Kim Bo-ram and dancer Jang Kung-min in 2008.
The South Korean company is known for feats of athleticism, pushing the boundaries of dance and flirting with different genres.
Structured like a concert, the performance is in 10 acts. There’s no plot to follow, or sense to be made – the emphasis is on letting the dancers’ bodies convey pure emotion and energy.
American Theatre commented on the ‘exhilarating sense that the concert’s century-hopping soundtrack, from Mozart to Daft Punk, was ensconced within the dancers’ bodies, struggling, via flashdance footwork and syncopated shoulder convulsions, to burst free’.
It’s an exciting addition to hallyu – the wave of Korean entertainment and culture that has permeated the world.
[Interview with the choreographer Kim Bo-Ram to SBS Korean program is available on podcast]
