Contemporary dance company NDT to perform in Seoul

SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), a highly acclaimed contemporary dance company, is bringing its time-honored as well as brand-new choreography pieces to South Korea for their first performance here in 16 years.

The performance scheduled from Friday to Sunday at Seoul Arts Center was organized to celebrate the local arts complex's 30 anniversary of its establishment. They last performed in Korea in 2002.

"Safe as Houses," a 2001 creation by Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, NDT's artistic director and artistic adviser respectively, will be staged along with the duo's more recent work "Stop Motion."

The program also includes "Walk the Demon," a 2018 piece by NDT's associate choreographer Marco Goecke, which will have its Asia premier during the performance.

"Space, time and transformation" will the be key themes running through all three dance pieces, Leon said in a press conference on Thursday.

The Lightfoot-Leon duo took over NDT's directorship in 2011 from its legendary former director Jiri Kylian, who brought the dance theater to the ranks of the top contemporary dance companies during his 35-year stint.

Despite NDT's tradition and history, "In fact we try to be anti-institution," Lightfoot said of his vision for the dance company.

"It's difficult because over the years we created quality, ethics and integrity and we have (a) reputation. That all turned into responsibilities," he said. "(But) because it's such a creative house, it's very different from traditional dance companies."

"So the tradition on the history (and) the non-tradition of the company, it's actually something we have to use on present. So it never really is in the past. The company is always moving forward," he added.

Stressing the virtues of contemporary dance as opposed to more traditional ballet dance, Leon said contemporary dance has a wider spectrum of expression that goes beyond ballet's storytelling qualities.

"You need to super-master the techniques of classics (ballet) and you need to move and express another type of movement. Choreography is language; ballet may have two or three (while) contemporary has much more because they are speaking many different cultures," she noted.

Asked to give tips on how to digest contemporary dance pieces, she advised that one doesn't need to interpret them into a story, but just needs to feel them.

"Dance is feeling, not brain. Feel what you need to feel and ... receive what (you) need to receive in that moment," she said.

pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)