Marcos Morau to unveil new work in Seoul

Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau will introduce his new work July 19-20 at the Seoul Arts Center.

The latest contemporary dance piece by the young artistic director of La Veronal is produced in collaboration with the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, led by Ahn Sang-soo.

In the piece, titled “Ssang Ssang,” Morau combines his dance company’s style with elements of traditional Korean culture.

For example, Morau uses gat, Korean traditional hats made of bamboo and horsehair, as well as traditional handheld fans.

“Hand-held fan is also part of Spanish tradition, and I found it interesting that the nation on the other side of the globe has that in common,” Morau said in a statement. “I was also attracted by how the Korean dancers use hand fans differently from how Spanish dancers use them,” he added.

About the Korean title -- “Ssang Ssang,” which means couples or pairs -- the Spanish choreographer said he’d decided to use it because he liked the simplicity of the phrase and its strong sound.

For “Ssang Ssang,” the state dance company selected 13 local dancers.

In addition to his new work, Morau and dancers from his team will also perform “Kova,” a work that includes a set of codes of movement creation developed by La Veronal.

Two La Veronal dancers, Lorena Nogal and Marina Rodriguez, will perform in “Kova.”

Morau, 37, established La Veronal in 2005 with the aim of creating multidisciplinary works. It is a company of artists with dance, film, photography and literature backgrounds.

In 2013, Morau received the National Dance Award in Spain.

By Shim Woo-hyun(ws@heraldcorp.com)