Yeonshik Guest Teaches Class

July 15^th, 2011

Class went really well today. First we had reading presentations, the readings were really tough but the students who were presenting did a great job and I feel like everyone ended up understanding the important points.

Then 박연식 Bak Yeonshik, my friend from 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum evening class came to present. First he gave a short lecture on the difference between singing styles from Namdo, Gyeonggi and Seodo and then he taught them to mouth the rhythmic pattern Jungmori Jangdan. After that he had them learn to sing Ganggang Sulrae. Then they sat down to the four janggu he'd brought and learned to drum and sing the song. They had a lot of fun. Yeonshik presented his own drumming skills to them (impressive) and last of all he drummed so they could practice Bongsan Talchum with a drum for once. It was really good, I think they all enjoyed it.

In the evening I wanted to go see the performance at 풍류극장 Pungryu Geukjang but I had been convinced by 최해리 Choi Haeri to see a show with her instead. It was basically horrible! All dance, including two modernish dance and one new traditional dance plus classics, the best performance was definitely the 태평무 Taepyeongmu which I've seen so darn many times it was also kind of boring. Not the best dancer, just the best in the show.

July 16^th, 2011

I stayed home and worked on the computer, went to Chans Bros and did the same, then came home and did more work. That's all. Laundry. Cooking. Cleaning. Okay NOW that's all. 

Sangmo and a Performance at KOUS

April 19^th, 2011

We took care of some odds and ends including getting mom's business cards printed. In the evening mom went with me to 상모 sangmo practice. It was an unusual class because 이종휘 Yi Jonghui was out of town for a performance, so it was just 현석 Hyeonseok and me. Except when I arrived 은정 (도령) Eunjeong and 승민 Seungmin were there, along with a guy I don't know and a woman whose named I've never learned, though I've seen her a lot. A little later 유미 Yumi showed up, too. It was really good to see them. The reason they were there was to practice for the 계전연 Gaejeonyeon spring performance that will be held on the 30^th. Seungmin praised my improved sangmo, pointing out just how many people quit long before they get to the point I'm at.

Hyeonseok and I practiced more or less as we'd normally do with Jonghui there—moving through a logical series of motions, I didn’t do anything new, but I got a chance to practice until I was sweating.  

April 20^th, 2011

Karjam and mom went to the National Museum, I stayed home and worked on my computer. After making a nice dinner we all went to KOUS to see a performance.

The performance, another in the current dance series, was particularly attractive because 이윤석 Yi Yunseok, National Human Treasure for Goseong Ogwangdae, was performing 덧배기춤. It was a day when I knew half the audience, the entire regular crew from 봉천놀이마당 Bongcheon Noli Madang (about 10 people), plus 10 of the K-Arts students, plus 김성범 Kim Seongbeom and 허창열 Heo Changyeol as well as (performing a special 꽹과리 ggwaenggwari part during Yi's performance), 고석진 Go Seokjin. I had permission to take photos during Yi's piece (as long as I didn't take too many).

The entire performance was really amazingly good, one of the best I've seen and our front row (literally front row) seats were great for seeing every detail. Unfortunately mom (who always has a hard time sitting still during concerts and such) was falling asleep almost the entire show. That sort of distracted me because I need to feel the energy of the performance but I kept being worried that mom was missing out (and I took her so she could appreciate it, not take a nap). It was a great show, although I got a little pissed when we had to hear the announcing schtick stupid un-funny jokes. The 태평무 taepyeongmu by 강삼숙 was awesome, one of the best I've seen. And 이철진's 승무 seungmu was the best I've ever seen except for 정재만 Jeong Jaeman (who we're seeing next week!). 황지인's 입춤 ipchum  was really good. The 소고춤 sogochum by 임은주 from 봉산탈춤 Bongsan Talchum (she's an이수자 isuja) was exuberant, very fast-paced and fun but somehow I'd been expecting something more. 김선정's 살풀이 salpuri was disappointing, I've seen the dance too many times and it has to be done really well to wow me. There was no special flavor to it. Next was Yi Yunseok's performance, but he was exhausted from the performing trip to Malaysia and it showed. We all screamed really loudly but for someone who didn't know him and have a connection I wonder how it would have seen. I was really pissed when 진옥섭 Jin Okseop came out after his performance and said "I think he forgot the last half of the dance and just repeated the first half." You don't say that, even if it might be true! Next was 양길순's 도살풀이 do salpuri. Karjam and I saw her last year and thought she was great, this time I wasn't quite as impressed. Last was 문근성 who performed 설장구 seoljanggu (dancing with the janggu drum) very very very well. It was a great end to the show.

After the show I talked with Go Seokjin, Changyeol, Yi Yunseok, some of the Bongcheon Noli Madang people and the kids. Finally the performers left and we bowed their van away before dispersing. 

Performance at KOUS

December 12th, 2010
Karjam and I went to a performance at KOUS with eight big name Korean Traditional genre dancers performing. I wasn’t sure we’d go until the last minute, then everything worked against us getting there on time (like there was a huge fire on a construction site next to the road so there was a huge traffic jam) and we missed part of the first piece. But I think it was worth the 20,000 won tickets. If Karjam knew they were 20,000 each I don’t think he’d agree, his feeling is that the dancers are too old, that it would be better to watch young beautiful men or women dancing. I was amazed throughout the entire performance at how young each dancer moved (most were in their 70s, the youngest were in their 60s or perhaps late 50s). I sometimes feel that some of the older performers need to retire from active performance and let their protégé take the spotlight, but I would only say that was true for two out of the eight soloists and my feeling may be tinged by my (lesser) interest in the specific dances those two were doing.

There was an MC, the same excellent MC as did Saturday at the mask dance festival in late October, 진옥섭 Jin Okseop. He’s really great, but part of his introductions to the pieces were joking and playful, not necessarily usefully contextualizing. In fact I felt he needed to include more basic information, although for an audience willing to spend between 10 and 30 dollars to see that performance, well, the audience was already pretty familiar with Korean performing arts, they had a certain level of knowledge, I’m assuming, so perhaps he was just trying to avoid talking down to anyone.

The best performance was of 도살풀이 Do-salpuri. The dance is one that I am pretty tired of seeing, as I’ve mentioned before, and there were three salpuri performances (호남살풀이, 살풀이, 도살풀이) during the evening, but the one danced by 양길순 Yang Gilsun, the Do-salpuri was really amazingly beautiful. Do-salpuri uses a very long scarf, instead of a shorter one or even two scarves. Yang's dance was full of feeling, much more and I think the audience would have been crying. I was also really surprised by the lively, fast, flirtatious performance of 태평무 Taepyeongmu by 이명자 Yi Myeongja, despite her stage make-up Yi looked positively ancient, but her dancing was that of a twenty-year-old. She was just spell-binding. I had gone expecting to be most impressed by a couple of the other performances, it was nice to have my expectations exceeded in the case of the two performers mentioned above.

After the show Karjam and I bought a pair of shoes for him to exercise in, and I bought a couple presents.

Photo: Yang Gilsun's Do-salpurichum:

Photo: Karjam with the wasteful but pretty lights on the trees outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel