2 upcoming festivals bring global dance troupes to Seoul

Japanese dance company Sankai Juku during a performance / Captured from the troupe's website

Two upcoming festivals will transform Seoul into a stage for renowned choreographers and dance companies.

The 31st Changmu International Arts Festival, running from Aug. 22 to 30, will feature Sankai Juku, the internationally acclaimed Japanese dance company known for its butoh dance. Butoh is a form of Japanese dance theater that features slow, intense movements. Amagatsu Ushio, the group’s co-founder and choreographer, has described butoh as “a dialogue with gravity.”

Composed entirely of male dancers, Sankai Juku is recognized for its striking stages featuring performers with shaved heads and bodies covered in white powder and adorned with garments. For the festival, the troupe will present “KOSA – Between Two Mirrors” (2022), a work that reflects on rebuilding the world by looking to the future while enduring the uncertainty and anxiety brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The performance is scheduled for Aug. 26 at ARKO Arts Theater.

The festival will also stage “Something Else,” a blend of dance and circus by Dutch company Collectief MAMM.

Following Changmu, the Seoul International Dance Festival (SIDance) will present 38 performances from 13 countries between Sept. 10 and 28. Now in its 28th year, SIDance was launched in 1998 when Seoul hosted the UNESCO International Dance Council World Congress.

One of the highlights will be Harald Beharie, a Norwegian-Jamaican dancer, performing “Batty Bwoy,” a piece that explores forbidden desire and the social stigma surrounding homosexuality. The title comes from a Jamaican slang term for a gay man. Beharie received Norway’s prestigious Hedda Award for Best Dance Performance in 2023 for this work. His performance is set for Sept. 19 at ARKO Arts Theater.