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Comic jugglers, giving trees and mythical tales

Published: 10 Apr. 2009, 02:21

The VIAFestival, an international street performance fair, is taking place along Yeouiseo Avenue, which winds around the National Assembly building in the northwest end of Yeouido. There will be over 100 performances by 30 artists and groups from Australia, France, Korea, Japan and the United States. There will be offerings of theater, dance, music, mime, puppet theater and interdisciplinary arts.

The festival was organized by the Centre d’Arts Sans Frontieres, or ASF, a local group specializing in street shows. The slogan of the event for the cherry blossom festival is “Flowers Bloom in the Sky.”

“The slogan was made to express the harmony between flowers, nature and humans,” said Hwang Seong-tak, ASF’s secretary general. “We wanted to create an atmosphere in which people can appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms and culture at the same time.”

Hwang said the scale of this year’s festival is much bigger than last year’s. The street performance will continue until Sunday. For information about the schedule of the performances, please visit www.ydp.go.kr or www.viaf.or.kr.

^“L’Odela” by Vice Versa (France)

Three dancers create a sensuous show which tries to bring understanding to the essence of life and nature.
“The Giving Tree” by KoPAS (Korea)

This is a play based on the children’s book “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. This beautiful, imaginative and soulful rendition of the story depicts the relationship between a young boy, a tree and a butterfly.

“Tarantella” by ASF (Korea) and 9.81 and In-Senso (France)

A Korea-France collaborative work, “Tarantella,” is an aerial performance based on a story about the relationship between a spider, fairy and human who are all transformed into flowers in the sky.

“The Flowers Bloom in the Sky” by NAM Dance Theater (Korea)

This work is based on a story with a mythical setting about flowers and humans becoming one with nature. It portrays the fragile relation between nature and humans, and between cities and the environment.

“Comedy Juggling” by Amaru (Japan)

Amaru wants people to make friends with each other. This acrobatic show creates peaceful communication for all who come, watch and witness.

^“Mihwa’s Flower Shop” by Cho Sung-hee AHA Dance Theater

There are balsams, roses, lilacs and Rose of Sharon shrubs in Mihwa’s Flower shop. There is also love, joy and tears, as well as people who love flowers very much.

“Ephemera” by Penelope Thompson (Australia)

This is an interdisciplinary performance created with paper in which Thompson makes extraordinary things out of ordinary objects.

Spring Play” by Melissa Wyman (U.S.) and The Seoul Art Collective

The artist Melissa Wyman, who has performed in Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S., explores the relationship between people and nature in collaboration with the Seoul Art Collective, an international group of artists.