 Danish Ambassador to Korea Peter Lysholt Hansen, right, wearing a Santa hat, and Jens Busk Gronbech, diplomatic intern at the Danish Embassy, center, dressed as Santa Claus, hand out Danish cookies in front of Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul on Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Philip Iglauer
The Singaporean Embassy in Seoul hosted a sneak peek of the city-state’s premiere dance company for a special audience of foreign envoys, Singaporeans in Korea and other dignitaries at Ewha Centennial Memorial Hall in Seoul, Nov. 22.
The Odyssey Dance Theatre’s 6th Xposition ‘O’ Contemporary Dance Fiesta put together a collaboration of 40 original creations by artists and companies from 10 countries, including Korea, and brought them to Korea for four 1-hour shows Nov. 22 and 28.
The dance company’s performances have become a crowd favorite among Koreans visiting Singapore for over 10 years, but Odyssey stepped up its game this season by supporting more Singaporean dance troops and bringing its show to Korea for the first time.
Odyssey’s Artistic Director and Choreographer Danny Tan wanted to inspire young talent to pursue their artistic dreams. He founded the dance company in 1999, one of Asia’s first professional contemporary dance companies.
“Just like how K-pop culture has become a phenomenon in Singapore and the region, I hope that Singapore’s arts and culture will become as well-received in Korea,” said Singaporean Ambassador to Korea Peter Tan in a welcome speech before the performance Tuesday.
Hallyu already has a huge following in Singapore. Dramas like of Winter Sonata, Coffee Prince and Secret Garden and period dramas like Dae Jang Geum, Queen Seong Deok and Sungkyunkwang Scandal have a faithful following in Singapore.
K-pop’s "Girl's Generation," "Wonder Girls," "Super Junior" and "SHINee" have Singaporeans flocking to concerts and shopping for latest releases.
This month, Singapore will be the host venue for the Mnet Asian Music Awards, organized by CJ Entertainment and Media. All 8000 tickets were sold in the first two days of the opening for sales.
At the Closing Ceremony of the Korea Festival in Singapore earlier in November, Grace Fu, minister of Information, Communications and the Arts, spoke of the close bilateral cultural ties between Singapore and Korea established since 1995.
Those ties ― including Odyssey’s dance tour here, got an added boost with an MOU inked in July 2008 between Singapore’s National Arts Council and Arts Council Korea to encourage artistic development, collaboration and exchange.
“I look forward to even greater collaboration and alliances in the arts between Singapore and Korea,” Tan said.
Odyssey’s dance extravaganza performs twice more today, before returning to Singapore.
Today, Yu Ho-sik Designare with international artists will perform “Intimate” at 7:00 p.m. and On & Off Dance Company with international artists will perform “Celebration of the Senses” at 8:30 p.m. at the Arko Black Box.
According to Odyssey’s promotional material, “Intimate” is a collaboration between artists from Japan, Korea and Singapore depicting deep interactions of dance traditions and in “Celebration of the Senses” beefy burdens are thrust away and, in its place, are deep bonds between dancers, musicians and even passers-by.
For ticketing information and to learn more about Odyssey Dance Theatre, go to www.xposition-p.com or www.ticketbooth.com.sg.
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