Focus on Contemporary Dance from Korea and other Asian Countries

Soohye Jang (Associate Director, PAMS Dance Season)

2022 Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS) is introducing PAMS Season for the first time this year. PAMS Season is a project promoting international exchange strategically in cooperation with private organizations, public institutions and individuals from around the world. It is co-developed by PAMS and its international partners who select a theme, region and topics. With Dance as this year's focus, PAMS Season aims to connect the contemporaneity, diversity and dynamism of contemporary dance from Korea and elsewhere in Asia. 


Reconnection to the International Performing Arts - From Online to Hybrid
Every autumn, one could see exotic scenes around Marronnier Park. The excitement and energy coming from foreign delegates and artists who were eager to talk about performances would fill the air of Daehak-ro. And the sleepless nights in Seoul allowed guests from around the world to learn about Korean culture in a relaxed manner while working as a catalyst that let international exchange take place naturally. However, since the beginning of the pandemic Korean artists and experts have been chatting online with their international colleagues instead. And naturally in the process, they were able to ponder upon what the Performing Arts Market in Seoul had been missing, and what role could a platform play for the sake of the sustainability of international exchange in the performing arts sector. 

PAMS Season introduces programs strategically through collaborations with institutions and individuals. PAMS is packed with various programs to such a degree that you cannot see all with one look. So we are trying to make the schedule easier and the networking events more relaxed. 


Asian Dance and Emerging Artists Presented on the International Stage
Performing arts platforms for distribution and exchange started in Europe and have been setting the standard for the current international market. PAMS has also been influenced by them. In order to become more attractive, markets not only in Korea but elsewhere have been introducing various programs of their own from their region which they produced themselves or selected. PAMS Season - Dance has prepared showcases and networking events under the sub-theme  of 'Shared Asia.'

Firstly, Seoul International Dance Festival (SIDance), a major Korean partner of PAMS Season, is introducing an Eastern Asian dance platform, HOTPOT. SIDance has been co-hosting HOTPOT with the City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) from Hong Kong and Yokohama Dance Collection from Japan. They are introducing HOTPOT in order to provide continuous and systematic opportunities for international exchange among eastern Asian dancers, and focusing on exchanges of dance works between regions in East Asia. Each country's identity is clearly visible as it introduces the most promising choreographers from each country closed during the pandemic. HOTPOT China introduces Lian Guodong and Lei Yan's work, I Didn’t Say Anything. It narrates the memories of an indescribable event experienced by the choreographer. A strong metaphor of violence used in the performance makes the audience feel curious about the memory. The choreographer's inner narrative seen in the HOTPOT Korea's program, Snail also draws the audience's attention. Art Project GRIMM, JEONG Pil-gyun explores the state between instability and stability. Shut Up, Womb, a piece the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company invited SHIMOJIMA Reisa to create, is programmed as a special invitation to show the identity of Asian dance even more strongly. In addition, more than 20 works created by artists from Korea and other Asian countries will be showcased. Considering that there were very few opportunities for emerging artists to make an international debut during the pandemic, PAMS Season - Dance is expected to be a very special opportunity.

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, a major partner of PAMS Season - Dance, will set up a roundtable at the Seoul Dance Center, a space for dance creation. In an Asian country, the government and public institutions are the major powerhouses. So, it was very difficult to see the arts sector remaining active during the pandemic. Among them, there were independent artists and art organizations who closely engaged with the stagnant arts sector on site and brought it back to life, and their activities on the frontline drew our attention. Daniel Kok is an independent artist and Artistic Director of Dance Nuclears in Singapore, and has been invited as a resident choreographer at the Seoul Dance Center this year. He has been leading various research and workshops for Asian artists in cooperation with arts organizations from East Asian countries including Taiwan and the Philippines. In particular, he will talk about his experiences of facilitating trans-regional collaborations across Asia, Australia and Europe, based on the belief that various fields of art can be merged by putting social engagement at the center. Joseph Lee is an independent artist and Artistic Director of Unlock Dancing Plaza in Hong Kong. He is taking over from the group's founder and former Artistic Director, Ong Yong Lock, and reorganizing the group under his new leadership. Although the group is a private organization, it has been carrying out international collaborations and joint residency programs while introducing various international perspectives to the local dance sector. From Korea, Borami Lee participates and shares examples in Korea. She is a producer of Momuro Salon, which has served young dance artists as a stomping ground for the past two years, 

Lastly, the outcome of the Korea-Japan-Greece international collaboration project will be shared. This collaboration was carried out this year as part of the KAMS Connection project of the Korea Arts Management Service. The KAMS Connection is a step-by-step support program to strengthen mid- to long-term international collaboration in the performing arts field based on creating a network with overseas partner organizations.The Mover's Platform is a mobile international residency project started by Japanese choreographer Hiroaki Umeda. The platform aims to introduce the movements of the next generation of dance artists. Last April, two Korean artists (SoMi Bae and Hyoung eun Oh)  participated in a joint residency and presented a showcase along with artists from Greece and Japan face to face and contact free during the Spring Forward Festival, a European Contemporary Dance Platform held in Greece. At the Champions League, participants from three countries will share the final outcome. The dialogue for this project began at PAMS Salon in 2021. Aerowaves Europe, a European contemporary dance platform and KAMS have a common interest in 'nurturing emerging artists', and they supported co-production in order to promote close exchanges between artists. 


PAMS Choice: Most Notable Works and Artists in the Contemporary Performing Arts Trends
PAMS Choice is a program that puts artists who are invited through a public contest under the spotlight during PAMS. There is a follow-up support system for the work to be presented on the international stage, which makes it a particularly attractive opportunity for artists. However, over the past few years, PAMS Choice has prioritized helping Korean artists and organizations to make their way to the international stage rather than having a contemporary perspective.'Contemporaneity' is considered more this year. In addition to the existing PAMS Choice selections from the competition, the most noteworthy artists and works from the contemporary trend of Korean performing arts over the past few years have been programmed and selected for presentation in this year's PAMS. As a part of that effort, PAMS Season - Dance is presenting two dance works and a musical work that includes dance. Becoming-dancer by Kim Wonyoung x Project Yiyin (directed by Sinae Rha/choreographed by Sinae Rha and Kisub Choi) is a reinterpretation of Yvonne Rainer's Democracy's Body. The work talks about the democracy of the body through daily movements, and was selected as the Best 6 by the Dance Critics Association after its performance in 2021.In considering that the group has been presenting its works abroad more actively starting from this year, this work was included in the program to lay a foundation for future opportunities. As a selection from the competition, A complementary set_Disappearing with an Impact by Choi x Kang Project (Choi Min-sun and Jin-an Kang) is introduced. This work was selected by the sustainable repertoire discovery project of the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company in 2019.The fact that this work is recreated by utilizing the various possibilities of the theater, its new attempts at Quad, a theater in Daehak-ro, raises expectations. Kkokdugaksi, a collaboration between a traditional music group Gomool and Goblin Party, asks questions about future society through music and movement. It shows various aspects of contemporary Korean performing arts that transcend the boundaries of genres by making interesting attempts such as musicians trying to make movements or musicians and dancers swapping their positions. 


Questions about the Sustainability of the Performing Arts Market, Preparation for Establishing a Strategic Network

Images of 2019 PAMS © Courtesy of PAMS

The Performing Arts Market in Seoul asks questions about the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of the performing arts. However, wasn't it perhaps that, so far, the most distant concept from sustainability has been international exchange? What value should an international collaboration and invitation program have that consumes artistic experience or intrinsic value as its purpose, and only manages to get short-term achievements delivered to the next generation? What kind of efforts can be made on the site of production and creation? For the past two years, PAMS has been continuing various explorations to find answers to these questions. Next Mobility, a project that explores the possibility of new international mobility in the post-pandemic era, continues to discover perspectives from Korea through research and workshops carried out by artists and experts. PAMS Season Dance provides a foothold to build a strategic network in accordance with the value of art's sustainability, which is pursued by PAMS. 

As the main purpose of PAMS is to serve as a platform to promote Korean performing arts, there is a limit to the participation of various international stakeholders. Also, there have been various changes in Korea and in the arts sector around the world as visits have been cut off due to the pandemic over the past two years. International delegates are as interested in Korean works as they are in promoting their culture.Therefore, various programs are prepared to bring everyone together and allow them to understand each other. In particular, the networking event organized by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture will provide an opportunity for experts from Korean dance festivals and institutions that need to actively engage in international exchanges to network more closely with international delegates.

The PAMS Season - Dance also promotes making connections with the region. PAMS has been continuously held in Busan. There, PAMS is working together with the Busan International Dance Market, BIDAM so that the international delegates will visit Busan after finishing their schedule in Seoul, and that showcases, networking events and site-specific performances can be prepared for them.The environmental issues caused by international travel worsens the global climate crisis. Therefore, we need to connect with more diverse regions, and prepare our programs in a way that internal delegates who traveled far to visit Asia can explore Korea for a longer period of time. 

Korea is clearly an artistically attractive market, and is currently establishing itself as a cultural powerhouse amid the international political crisis. However, an adequate diplomatic strategy and an open minded approach are important when doing international exchange. Therefore, I hope PAMS can take advantage of the face to face rendition that now takes place after two years, to become a venue that continues exploring and building relationships for the sustainability of the performing arts market in Korea and other Asian countries, rather than one that pursues short-term achievements.
 

Soohye Jang
Associate Director of 2022 PAMS Season – Dance. A performing arts producer and independent researcher. She founded ‘Connected A’ in 2021 for strategic partnerships with institutions and artists, and continues her activities needed for the industry including project development, research and international exchange. She also engages in the social practice of art through art education. She is a partner of Seoul Dance Center, and Asia Partner of Aerowaves, a European contemporary dance network. 
Instagram @connecteda_official