Enjoy Jazz, Dance at Beachs Festivals
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Many people visit beaches during their summer vacation to wash away the heat, but there is more than just splashing in the water this year ― festivals. People can now enjoy the Busan International Dance Festival (BIDF) and the Chilpo International Jazz Festival, which will be held at Korea's well-known beaches.
Busan, the nation's largest port city, has hosted the annual dance event since 2005 and has brought various troupes from around the world to the beautiful Gwangan-ri beach. This year 17 groups from nine countries will perform.
``The BIDF Committee will continue to promote this event as a world-renowned festival by offering other special and interesting events and allowing visitors to actively participate,'' said Hur Nam-sik, the mayor of Busan and general chairman of BIDF.
The dance programs will be colorful with local and overseas teams displaying their best-known works.
Canada's Suddenly Dance Theater will offer their ``Sky Event'' and ``Courtyard for a Bird,'' while Japan's M-laboratory Company will perform ``Short Piece.'' Prominent ballet troupes such as the Royal Swedish Ballet and Germany's Stuttgart Ballet will show their delicate movements while other dance groups including the ljodee Dance Company from Nigeria, Anil Panchal Dance Company from India, and the Sun-Shier Dance Theater from Taiwan will grace fans with their distinctive work. Local troupes the Universal Ballet Theater, LDP Dance Company and Contemporary Ballet Theater Yan will appear at the event as well.
Along with dance performances, visitors will also have the chance to participate in the BIDF International Academic Symposium ``The Fusion of Art and Science,'' along with a ballet class where fans can meet and share talks with world-renowned Korean ballerina Kang Sue-jin from the Stuttgart Ballet.
The BIDF will be held Aug. 2-4 at Gwangan-ri beach located in Busan. For more information, visit www.bidf.or.kr or call (051) 555-2949.
For a memorable beachside experience complete with trendy jazz music, join the Chilpo International Jazz Festival to be held at Chilpo beach in Pohang. Hosted by Korean singer Yoo Yeol, KBS announcer Lee Jung-min and Hwang Duk-ho, the DJ of KBS radio show ``Jazz Notebook,'' various groups from here and abroad will offer jazz at the refreshing beachside stage.
Korean singer Lee Eun-mee, also known as the ``barefoot diva,'' will appear with Jazz Park Big Band led by singer Lee In-kwan, while Horan from pop group Clazziquai will perform with the Lee Jung-sik Quartet. Lee is one of the best-known saxophonists in Korea. Visitors will also have the chance to listen to the Korea Jazz Big Band, comprised of Korean and Japanese members, Doremi-Ta, a band of Japanese and Cuban musicians and Korean, Canadian and American group C2K Trio.
Local groups like the Pohang Saxophone Orchestra will wow fans with famous Korean folk and pop songs including ``Arirang,'' while the Pohang Wind Orchestra will perform works from well-known musicals such as ``The Phantom of the Opera.''
The festival will be held July 25-26 at Chilpo beach, located in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. For more information visit www.chilpojazz.com.