What abilities does the artistic director of a festival need in order to receive the highest praise? The first thing that is needed is the artistic flair for bringing together outstanding pieces of art in one place and joining them together under a single concept. Second is the business acumen to secure adequate funding, which is absolutely essential for bringing the program to life. The third ability could well be the ability to communicate and lead the organization to move in unison, promote the selected works of art, and fill the seats in the audience. It is not easy to master these three aspects of management while keeping them in the proper balance. It is of course complicated to find outstanding dance groups, arrange for them to perform, and make the schedule work. But raising money may well be the most important-and challenging-task of them all. Of course, communication skills and leadership ability are two more crucial requirements. It is indeed rare to see someone who combines all three of these talents and receives acclaim as a truly fine director.

For this interview, I met with Hahn Sun-suk, artistic director for the International Modern Dance Festival (MODAFE), which is the biggest celebration of dance in Korea in the first half of the year. Hahn shared some of her secrets to how she has handled her job at the festival with such aplomb. Her job, of course, is not only bringing the hottest global stars in the dance world today to Korea but also bringing exposure to the Korean dance artists who share the stage with them.

Modern dance or contemporary dance? This highly-regarded dance festival has been leading the way in contemporary dance for the past thirty years

Q : 2013 was the 32nd year that MODAFE has been held. It boasts the longest history of any contemporary dance festival in Korea. I bet that you are quite proud of that history.

A : Yuk Wan-sun, who was the mother of contemporary dance in Korea, was instrumental in launching the Contemporary Dance Association of Korea (CODAKO) in 1980. MODAFE got started two years later when we held the 1st Korean Modern Dance Association Extravaganza. For the third year, the name was changed to the “Korean Modern Dance Festival,” and starting in the seventh year we expanded the program to include overseas dance groups and renamed it the “International Modern Dance Festival.” For its 21st session, the festival was reborn under the current English acronym “MODAFE.” In the beginning, it was a small event that centered on dance clubs and associations. But since that time the name has changed three times, and the festival has grown into what you see today. To say that a festival has a history means that it reflects the current period while also representing the history of art. While it is sometimes stressful to ensure that we do not bring shame to our tradition, it also gives me a sense of pride.

Q : MODAFE stands for “Modern Dance Festival,” doesn’t it? To be honest, considering that this is a festival that introduces audiences to the cutting edge of contemporary art, it seems like “CODAFE”-for “Contemporary Dance Festival”-would have been a more appropriate choice of names.

A : You’re right. Considering the nature of the festival, “CODAFE” would be more appropriate. Of course, in Korean, the phrase hyun-dae-mu-yong can refer both to modern dance and contemporary dance. Average people in the audience don’t think this is a big deal, but dance experts do bring it up from time to time. They suggest that, since we are actually engaged in contemporary dance, the name of the festival isn’t appropriate. However, back in 2002, when Yang Jeong-su, the artistic director at the time, came up with a new name that would be easy for everyone to say, she based the acronym on the English name that we had been using for the festival until that point. “MODAFE” is easy to say, it helped the festival become much larger in scale, and now everyone is familiar with it. For these reasons, we have continued to use it, though we do provide experts with additional explanation about this.

Q : Since MODAFE is organized by CODAKO, you have served not only as the association chair but also as the artistic director for the festival. I’m sure you have plenty of other work to do for the association. Is it not challenging to also handle the work of running the festival?

A : There are pros and cons to serving as the association chair and the artistic director of the festival at the same time. Because I have the organizational power of the association behind me, my burdens as artistic director are significantly reduced. Of course, I am not able to focus all of my attention on the festival, but that does not get in the way very much. In fact, it actually helps me stay abreast of popular opinion and bring this to bear in the festival.

Other people sometimes think it is a disadvantage that we replace the artistic director each time that we appoint a new association chair. To be sure, the artistic director’s individual artistic taste and the consistent application of this taste over the long term are important. However, when the association chair also serves as the artistic director, she can view the situation from an objective viewpoint and can draw upon the opinion of the art world as a whole. That is why I actually think this serves as an advantage. And just because my term is almost up doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my work in MODAFE altogether. I will also be joining the new artistic director to plan the program for next year. The only reason that is possible is because the festival is supervised by the association. In the end, I think there are considerable advantages.

Q : Your term of service is three years. Of the nine people who have been the association chair to date, you are the only person who has done a second term. How have you felt about the six years you have spent at the helm of MODAFE?

A : To be honest, I don’t really feel that it matters very much whether you leave after one term or stay on for a second one. That said, I do think I would have been sorry if I had left after only three years. During my first year, I was busy trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. Starting in my second year, I was busy running around Korea and other countries to line up the program. During my third year, I seem to remember being completely consumed with increasing the budget. In the end, three years of hard work and preparation started bearing fruit in the fourth year. Only now that six years have passed have I started to gain some expertise and gain a clear sense of how to run the festival.

Q : Can you tell me more about your expertise?

A : It’s not so much my own unique expertise as something that all artistic directors probably learn eventually. I mean that, if you work long enough, you learn that ability means getting ready before others and moving faster than they do. If you want to bring a world-renowned dance troupe to Korea, you have to start at least two years in advance. Since you have to sign the deal with the group not only before the competition in Korea but also before festivals in other parts of the world, quick decision-making and follow-through are key. And I guess that the most important thing is raising money. It is no doubt that increasing government funds by running the festival well and getting good reviews is even more important, but it is not easy works. If I say that expertise in this area means bringing to bear all of the available means and methods, you will probably say that’s too obvious, but there isn’t really another answer.

With Dance, the Trends May Change, but the Meaning Stays the Same

Q : When you were asked to identify what you personally thought was distinctive about MODAFE over the past six years, you said that it was the fact that you had brought to the stage some outstanding pieces that are not often seen given the trends in the dance world today. Wouldn’t you agree that And Then, One Thousand Years of Peace performed by Ballet Preljocaj at last year’s closing ceremony and Babel staged by SidiLarbiCherkaoui Damien Jalet at this year’s opening ceremony were some major dances that have received positive reviews around the world?

A : Avant-garde dance in the 20^th century can be called modern dance, while avant-garde dance in the 21^st century is referred to as contemporary dance.There is a strong tendency today to move toward total theater and convergence. The boundaries between genres blur, and there is a shift toward multiculturalism. The emergence of the concept of “new dance” has shaken our understanding of the very definition of dance. As a result, there are dance performances with no dancing, and the dance world is dominated by the paradoxical and hard-headed refusal to regard anything that is not interdisciplinary as avant-garde. But the growth of these trends has just made me want to dance all the more. That is why I have put the priority on selecting masterpieces of dance that are centered on dance itself while achieving perfect harmony with other kinds of art.

Q : With the emergence of new dance trends such as Tanztheater in Germany and Danse-Théâtre and Non-Danse in France, many scholars, especially in Europe, have been busily engaged in theoretical research into contemporary dance. I believe that there is also a critical need for Koreans to analyze and define Korean dance for this age. The MODAFE program also involves a forum. What topics are being dealt with there?

A : CODAKO has joined with the Korean Association of Dance and the Korean Association for Theater Education to host a forum on the theme of “an artistic paradigm of convergence resulting from changing trends in the world of performance art.” There will be serious debate on community dance and other trends that have appeared because the age we are living in demands them.

Q : Is there anything different in the dance environment today from when you began your work as artistic director?

A : Compared with six years ago, it is clear that the Korean world of dance has made great strides. The most important development is that today, when some choreographer or dance receives international acclaim, before long it is brought to Korea and made available for Koreans to view as well. This is an important development that has been made possible by the appearance of more festivals and more specialized performance halls. Just remember how things were 20 years ago. I mean, we used to leave the country and go to Japan just to see a good performance. And how surprised we were by the shocking and unfamiliar shows we saw in Europe. We had only been familiar with modern American dance, after all. But today Korea has its fingers on the world’s pulse, too. There’s nothing backward about the Korean dance scene. Ironically, that has made my job as art director even more challenging. The quality of audiences has improved so much that they have already seen the best dances out there. I of course am not complaining about the fact that their taste has gotten better, but it means that my options as an artistic director are reduced accordingly. It is difficult to attract attention with a run-of-the-mill dance. You don’t get complimented until you do something really attention-grabbing.

Q : You still have some time left in your term as chair of CODAKO, but you will be wrapping up your duties as artistic director once MODAFE-which is having its opening ceremony today-is over. Is there anything that you would like to say to the audience members who will be going to see the last session of the festival that you are in charge of?

A : The fact is, while I do believe it’s important to introduce Koreans to leading dance groups from overseas, I have also poured effort into discovering world-class choreographers and dances here in Korea. Most of the festival program is composed of members of our association, and along the way I have learned just how large this pool of choreographers is. My most important task was putting a variety of Korean dances on the stage and seeing to it that they were reviewed objectively. I will try to help the next artistic director plan an even better program. I have always had the hope that the day will come when the Korean dance market, which until now has mostly relied on bringing foreign dance troupes to Korea, will find the appropriate balance between bringing in foreign dance troupes and sending Korean dance troupes overseas. I want to pass along the hopeful message that this day is not that far away.

After all, the slogan of MODAFE this year is “dance is life, life is dance.” I hope that a lot of people will take this opportunity to look at their lives through the lens of dance.

2013 MODAFE http://www.modafe.org/modafe2013/main.asp