Chongdong Theater Features Masters of Traditional Art
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
Chongdong Theater presents the ``Masters' Special Performance'' to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Wongaksa.
Wongaksa, built in 1908, is the first theater exclusively dedicated to stage plays and pansori or traditional opera, which is a genre of Korean music featuring vocals and percussion, in Korea. Lee Dong-baek (1866-1950), one of the five Pansori masters of the 20th century, performed at Wongaksa as well. Chongdong Theater was built in 1995 as a reproduction of Wongaksa.
To celebrate the anniversary the theater will hold a series of performances including the ``Korean Traditional Dance'' performances, 7:30 p.m., Jan 18-19. Some dances are slow-tempo and sorrowful, though holding back on lamentation; others are more loosely structured and comic.
Chae Sang-muk, the vice president of the Dance Association of Korea, will perform a Buddhist dance while the ``Deotbaegi'' dance, in which a man dances around a yard without a fixed pattern, will be performed by Lee Yun-seok ― who is designated as an Intangible Cultural Treasure. The ``Dosalpuri'' dance, which is a solo performance where the dancer uses a piece of white cloth, will be showcased by Kim Un-seon ― also designated as an intangible cultural treasure.
Performances showcasing ``Sori and Korean Traditional Instruments'' will follow Jan. 25 -26 at 7:30 p.m. The program will feature various acts by various designated intangible cultural treasures performing the Sanjo, which is a style of traditional Korean music involving an instrumental solo. Korea has about 100 persons designated as intangible cultural assets.
Chongdong Theater will continue its celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Korean contemporary theater through projects such as ``Art Frontier'' in June and ``Silver World (Eunsegye)'' by Lee In-jik in October.
Along with these special performances, Chongdong Theater also runs daily performances called the ``Korean Traditional Stage,'' a performance consisting of Korean traditional dances and pansori. The performance is at 4:00 p.m. There are no performances on Mondays.
Tickets cost 20,000-30,000 won. Chongdong Theater is located near City Hall Station on subway lines 1 and 2. Visit www.chongdong.com or call (02) 751-1500 for more information.