Religious, Traditional Events for Local Fans
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Explore the beauty of music and dance through two unique events: Chinese Harmonious Music's ``Shinjuhwaak'' and Kook Su-ho Didim Dance Company's ``Chun Moo.''
The Chinese Harmonious Music, the first Buddhist symphony to be created in China's Buddhist history, comprises of a chorus, soloists and an orchestra. The troupe will bring ``Shinjuhwaak,'' a musical masterpiece that combines Chinese Buddhist music with Western symphonic influences performed by 200 members of the Chinese Buddhism Culture Exchange Association.
Composed in 2006 for the World Buddhist Forum held in China, the symphony started under the slogan ``the world of harmony starts from the heart'' and decided to visit Korea as part of a cultural exchange project between the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism and its Chinese counterpart.
The orchestra will use Buddhist, Western and Chinese traditional instruments for a distinctive approach to music and the religion.
``Shinjuhwaak'' will be on stage at the Goyang Aram Nuri Arts Center Oct. 18-19. For more information, call (02) 739-3450.
Didim Dance Company's ``Chun Moo'' is a performance that carries Korean traditional dance and music, and was the only Korean troupe's work presented at the cultural events during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Literally meaning ``open the heaven with dance,'' the piece is centered on the dancers' prayers to the heavens, expressed in the form of swift and energetic movements.
Kook, a celebrated choreographer here, has managed to bring the three important Oriental elements of the universe ― Earth, heaven and humans ― into a single performance. The term ``Chun Moo'' is actually a traditional ritual ceremony of 2,000 years and the piece will bring the old ritual on stage, along with exquisite costumes, energetic drum beats and graceful movements.
The 100-minute performance is divided into two main stages. The first offers a drum dance, an instrumental dance performed by dancers dressed as fairies, and other traditional court and religious sequences. There will also be a piece inspired by Buddhist murals and the training routines of soldiers during the Three Kingdoms era.
The highlight of the second stage will be the ``Spirit of the Earth.'' Dressed in colorful hanbok (Korean traditional clothes), female dancers will perform a dance that includes playing five drums, expressing the spirit and energy the Earth has given humans.
Chum Moo will be on stage Oct. 16-19 at the National Theater of Korea. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 50,000 won. For more information, visit www.kookdance.com or call (02) 421-4797. The theater is located near exit 3 of Dongguk University Station on subway line 3.