[Interview] 'Anmujeok Sido' Attempting to Connect with the Unconscious by Tracing the Origin of the Body

New Work 'Momdeul-ui, Sai' Choreographer Yoon Pureum
Starting from the Question: Is It Possible to Define Body Movements as Records?
Confirming Differences and Enabling Horizontal Collaboration for Coexistence of Differences

Unlike the traditional approach to dance that focuses on the body and movement, Yun Pureum's dance is composed of a new perspective on viewing dance, sensing it, and a working method that pursues this process. He paid attention to score work that records movement because choreography does not create a material; rather, the movement mediated by the body disappears once made and cannot be grasped.

'Rehearsal of Bodies, Between'.
[Photo by Yoon Pureum Project Group]

Performers are not robots, and the body is a living organism, so depending on today's condition and personal interpretation, the score can be interpreted differently rather than reproduced. He said that his new work, "Between Bodies," started from the awareness that dance cannot ultimately be defined by records. He explained, “I discovered that movements or sensations that I had not previously noticed or recognized in the body appeared, or that what I had recorded did not appear. Therefore, I wanted to show through dance the possibility that dance cannot be defined by records, and that the sensations, forms, and textures revealed by the body can appear differently depending on one’s perception.”

Choreographer Yun Pureum, who made a strong impression on the domestic and international dance scenes with her 2008 debut work "Woman on the Road," is a prolific artist. Works such as "Transference of Existence" (2012), "To See" (2017), and "Forms of Between" (2019) reflect her relentless inquiry into the source of dance generation and the essence of what choreography deals with. From setting the theme of the work, undergoing a lengthy research period, to collaborating through horizontal communication with dancers, her works require a long time and what some might see as inefficient processes.

'Rehearsal of Bodies, Between' Photo by Yoon Pureum Project Group

Nevertheless, she constantly creates spaces for dialogue so that dancers can express equal rights and opinions, actively accepting participants’ critiques and suggestions. Yun Pureum said, “When any system or institution becomes fixed, we feel a sense of problem, and I wanted to continuously bring out marginalized voices within the hierarchical system where the choreographer is at the top. The perspective of productivity and efficiency is not always good. When we put down hierarchies for what is lost due to productivity and efficiency, attempts to break down the boundaries between choreographer and dancer, and between dancer and audience, though old and nothing new, still seem to be discussed because hierarchies remain solid.”

This collaborative work confirms the differences and distinctions between choreographer and dancers, allowing those differences to coexist on stage and within the work. Reflecting on her own dancer days before becoming a choreographer, she recalled, “I was not a good dancer. In a culture where asking questions was scolded, I was always someone who asked many questions and spoke with a sense of problem awareness. Such speech itself became a standout behavior, and within the work, it seemed to become a story about the minority’s difference. From a choreographer’s perspective, I might have been a somewhat troublesome dancer. (laughs)”

Choreographer Yoon Pureum.
[Photo by Yoon Pureum Project Group]

Observing society’s sensitivity to contact amid COVID-19, Yun Pureum reveals contact in various forms through the dancers’ bodies in her new work "Between Bodies." She explained, “Using tactile sensation as a means, performers convey texture, energy, invisible language, and images. At this time, their bodies distance themselves from conventional bodies and reveal a state as ‘thinking matter.’ Through choreography, the work’s core is to seek the origin of the body, attempt connection with the world of the unconscious, and continuously explore attempts to find things at that boundary.”

At the moment of trying to grasp ‘that’ which is close to being still yet moving, and moving yet close to a movement already passed, the audience senses the time of possibility through the performer’s body. In this stage, will Yun Pureum present a resonance and existence through images and acts that deviate from the common perceptions and notions of dance? Will the audience welcome that movement?

Choreographer Yun Pureum’s new work "Between Bodies" will be performed from the 22nd to the 23rd at the Daehangno Arts Theater Small Theater in Dongsung-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

'Bodies, Between' poster. [Photo by Yoon Pureum Project Group]

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