North Korea is one of the most closed countries in the world. Little is known about North Korean culture, let alone North Korean dance. The South Korean Eun-Me Ahn gives a nice insight with her production North Korea Dance.

Eun-Me Ahn is an extraordinarily idiosyncratic choreographer and a wonderful appearance. Her work is often called rebellious and provocative in the same breath. She has had her own company since 2005. Her creations earn her the nickname ‘the Pina Bausch of Seoul’.

With North Korea Dance, the eccentric choreographer shows how differently art can evolve when it is allowed to develop freely or subject to a dictatorial regime. For this she studied countless videos and images of her own and the other Korea: military parades, fan dances, virtuoso acrobatics and traditional folk dances. She internalized the movements and contrasted them with those of her own culture. With the twist that is characteristic of Eun-Me Ahn.

In North Korea Dance, the ten dancers, including Eun-Me Ahn herself, alternate minimalist tableaux, spectacular parades and colorful frescoes to the sounds of a traditional Korean recital. To end in a jubilant electro trance.

Source: PLT Website