Greek music meets dance from Korea

Greece has produced a number of famous musicians in the past century, such as opera diva Maria Callas, and singers Nana Mouskouri and Georges Moustaki, among others, but not many people are familiar with modern Greek composers.
To better understand Greek music and musicians, the Korea Culture and Arts Foundation and the Counseil International De la Danse (International Dance Council) under Unesco are sponsoring a Korean dance performance choreographed to Greek music called “An Encounter with Greek Music” this weekend.
Eight nationally renowned figures in modern dance, ballet and traditional dance choreographed performances to the works of famous Greek musicians such as Eleni Karaindrou, Mikis Theodorakis, T. Moraitis, Vangelis Papathanassiou, Haris Alexiou, Melina Aslanidou and Kostas Pavlidis, among others.
Choreographers include Kim Eun-hee (Korean dance), modern ballet choreographer Lee Hyun-soo, and ballerina Han Seung-hee. South Korea’s premier “ballerino,” or male ballet dancer, Lee Won-guk, will create a new work called “Dancing Zorba,” based on the music from the movie “Zorba the Greek.” Mr. Lee’s work will base its motif on Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel of that name, with music by Elly Paspala.
This is the eighth part in the series of performances entitled “World Music Meets Korean Dance,” which the Korea Culture and Arts Foundation has been hosting since 1998. So far, there have been “encounter” performances with Spanish, Brazilian, Eastern European, Australian, Indian, Japanese and Arabic music. The series is aimed at introducing classical, traditional and modern music from these countries and regions to the Korean audience. The choreographers and audience have an opportunity to better understand world cultures and also gain a fresh perspective on Korean dance.
Although Greece is widely considered the cradle of Western civilization, not many are aware of its modern music and great composers such as Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote the score for the movie “Zorba the Greek.” His music deals with the pain of war and invasions that Greece endured for many centuries under Ottoman rule, and with the beauty of the Greek landscape and the Mediterranean Sea.
There will be four teams of dancers performing on each day of the two-day event.
In the lobby of the Main Theater of the Korea Culture and Arts Foundation, Greek music CDs and other items will be available for purchase.

by Choi Jie-ho

Performances will be held tomorrow at 6 p.m. and Monday at 7: 30 p.m. Ticket prices are 20,000 won and 15,000 won. For more information, call (02) 3216-1185.