JOIN USK-Style’, an evening of Korean contemporary dance featuring works by the Choe Contemporary Dance Company, Bereishit Dance Company and EDx2 Dance Company, brought the ‘Attakkalari India Biennial’ to a close in the City.
The programme started with ‘Balance and Imbalance’ by Bereishit Dance Company, which was choreographed by Park Soon-ho.
It explored body movements and sounds as the oldest and most basic tools of human beings to express themselves. ‘Modern Feeling’, the second piece that was choreographed by Lee In-soo, and performed by EDx2 Dance Company, was a duet that explored the relationship between two men through diverse movements of hip hop, acrobatics and martial arts. A piece with wit and humour, it portrayed encounter, conflict, indifference, competition and more.
The third piece, ‘Help’ by EDx2 Dance Company, also choreographed by Lee In-soo, examined the notion of integrating hip hop with different groups and creating original contemporary movement.
The last piece for the evening, ‘Argument’, by Choe Contemporary Dance Company, and choreographed by Choe Sang Cheul, featured a fundamental examination of methods for communication in overcoming the anxieties of modern society.
“Each one of the pieces had a message to convey. While all of them dealt with human emotions, they also gave an insight into what we often don’t like to face,” says Maureen Charise, a visitor.
As part of the festival, a performance called ‘Obtus’ was also held prior to that at ADA Rangamandira. It was a piece that began with a hand in focus. This performance was inter-related to the ray of light that was seen.
The dancer, through gestures, began a persistent exploration of a ray of light. This was followed by meditative gestures and other movements which seemed measured, continuous, reflecting a body in peril, and pushing the boundaries.