Life and Romance City Mokpo, South Korea Continues Dance Tradition: Opening of the '31st National Dance Festival'

September 28 to October 7 Nationwide Competition of Representative Dance Teams from 16 Cities and Provinces

[Mokpo=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Hyeong-seok] The 31st National Dance Festival will open with the opening ceremony on the 28th.

Under the slogan "Mokpo, the City of Life and Romance, Connecting the Dance of Korea!" the festival will be held from September 28 to October 7 at the Mokpo Citizen Culture and Sports Center. This national dance competition, held in Mokpo for the first time in 14 years, will feature representative dance teams from 16 cities and provinces across the country competing.

The representative teams from each city and province are those who won the grand prize in their regional preliminaries. This competition is divided into group and solo & duet categories.

The group competition consists of three genres: Korean dance, modern dance, and ballet.

The competition schedule is as follows: September 29 for Gyeongbuk and Gyeonggi, September 30 for Jeju and Sejong, October 1 for Chungbuk and Incheon, October 2 for Jeonnam and Jeonbuk, October 3 for Daegu and Gangwon, October 4 for Chungnam and Gwangju, October 5 for Ulsan and Gyeongnam, and October 6 for Daejeon and Busan. Over eight days, two teams perform each day, competing for the grand prize, the Presidential Award.

The solo & duet competition will be held over three days with 5 to 6 teams performing each day. On October 3, teams from Gangwon, Gwangju, Sejong, Daegu, Daejeon, and Incheon will compete; on October 4, teams from Gyeongbuk, Chungbuk, Jeju, Gyeonggi, and Jeonbuk; and on October 5, teams from Ulsan, Gyeongnam, Chungnam, Busan, and Jeonnam will perform. The top prize, the Best Work Award, will be awarded to the winner from Jeollanam-do.

Before the opening, the National Dance Festival held various side events such as visiting dance services and an international academic symposium. From the 24th to the 26th, a pre-festival featuring modern dance, ballet, and Korean dance helped build excitement for the opening.

An official from the city stated, "We hope that the 31st National Dance Festival will contribute to expanding the base of regional arts and revitalizing dance arts, as well as enhancing Mokpo's status as a city of artistic excellence."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.