A rare collaboration

We’ve seen her dance “Swan Lake” and “Giselle,” pulling off her strict, purest ballet techniques. But this Friday, Kim Ji-young, the long-time famed principal dancer of Korean National Ballet, will groove to techno music onstage, clad in white pants and sporting oversized sunglasses.

“I hear my choreographer wants me to look like a robot of some sort onstage,” the 34-year-old dancer tells The Korea Herald at Arko Arts Theater in Seoul, Monday. She just got back from Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, from the latest “Giselle” tour. “And by the way, he is like the ‘computer of music.’”

Her “computer of music” partner for the upcoming show is Kim Bo-ram, the backup dancer-turned-choreographer who danced for pop singers Uhm Jung-hwa, Koyote, and Lee Jung-hyun from 2000 to 2007. The 30-year-old is known for his award-winning choreography, as well as his somewhat eccentric, entertaining works that require the dancers to wear sunglasses.

“I want my audience to focus on the body and its movement,” choreographer Kim explains. “And a dancer’s gaze can be very often misleading. A cheerful piece can be seen as something that’s totally different if the dancer has this sad gaze and look on his face. That’s why I make my dancers wear sunglasses ― so they can strictly communicate with their bodies, not through their facial expressions.”

The 15-minute piece is titled “Chaos Begins,” and features three different music scores. It begins with Schumann’s mellow “Traumerei” then turns to techno club music, and ends with pansori, Korea’s traditional vocal and percussion music. The pansori in the upcoming show describes a poignant scene from the Korean folk tale of Sim Cheong, in which the young filial daughter ― who sacrificed herself to the sea god in a desperate attempt to restore her blind father’s sight ― has a tearful reunion with him. Ballerina Kim is asked to be classical at first, mechanical next, and then the state of “deukeum” ― where a pansori artist achieves the most challenging note, or sound, of the highest caliber.

“I was in Europe when I was first asked to do this project,” says choreographer Kim.

“And I happened to speak to dance critic Jang Gwang-ryeol, who was there with me at the time. He told me, ‘Ji-young is a great dancer. And I think, though she does ballet, she has a lot of qualities that you would call very Korean.’ I thought about what he said, and listened to the soundtrack of the traditional Korean musical drama film ‘Seopyeonje,’ which includes the score of Sim Cheong. The movie OST has always been my favorite, and when I listened to it, I felt like this is it.”

Choreographer Kim says he wants as many people to be “chaotic” as possible, when asked about the title of the piece. “Well, everything is chaotic in this world,” he says. “Society is chaotic, the nature is chaotic, and individuals are chaotic. My point is that you have to find your own chaos and be your own person, rather than being a part of the big, controlling and systemic chaos. I want as many people to start finding their chaos, hence the title ‘Chaos Begins.’”

For ballerina Kim, working with the choreographer was exactly that.

“Oh, it was a series of snafus,” she says. “Kim is never compromising. He would voluntarily get ‘chaotic.’ And then I would get ‘chaotic.’ And he is extremely sensitive and analytical when he works with music. For him, a 0.5 second difference would be a huge, huge, huge deal. I would often tell him ‘I can’t hear what you are hearing from this music.’ You know, I’ve been telling people that my musicality is all right with confidence. But I am so humbled after working with this guy.”

Choreographer Kim says he’s hardly met a dancer who found it easy to work with him. It’s easy to see why: He only sees dancers as a bridge, a medium.

“I always tell them not to enjoy themselves on stage,” he says. “I tell them not to have fun. It’s only the audience who should have fun and have a good time. You have to forget about yourself to express with your body.”

As the interview ends, ballerina Kim, who has been dancing for some 20 years, walks with a pronounced limp for a photo shoot ― saying her Achilles tendon hurts from dancing and training.

“Ballet is the only thing that I am good at,” she says.

And her life as a dancer is reflected in choreographer Kim’s seemingly bizarre selection of music.

“I think dancers love dance as much as Sim Cheong loves her blind father,” says choreographer Kim. “They sacrifice so much for it.”

“2013 HanPAC Soloist” series, which features the duo’s “Chaos Begins” as one of its seven works, runs from May 31 to June 1 at Arko Arts Theater in Daehangno, Seoul. Tickets range from 20,000 won to 40,000 won. For more information, call (02) 3668-0007.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)