Korea’s leading national art organizations are visiting Los Angeles this autumn to showcase the essence of high-quality K-performing arts.
The Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles (Director Lee Hae-don) has designated the first week of November as ‘Korean National Performing Arts Week,’ presenting a lineup featuring the National Chorus of Korea, the National Dance Company of Korea, and the National Gugak Center.
The weekly event kicks off on the 1st of next month with a joint performance titled ‘Building Bridges’ by the National Chorus of Korea and the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This will be followed on the 4th at 7 PM by the contemporary dance performance ‘Talbagum’ by the National Dance Company of Korea at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall, and on the 7th by the National Gugak Center’s ‘Korean Soundscape: The Pulse of Gugak’ at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex.
The National Dance Company of Korea’s National Dance Company of Korea production ‘Talbagum’ (choreographed by Lee Jae-hwa), performing at Zipper Hall on the 4th, is generating high expectations in the Korean dance community. This marks the company’s first visit to LA in 42 years since their invitation performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic cultural events.
‘Talbagum’ reinterprets traditional Korean mask dance through a contemporary sensibility. Combining diverse modern physical languages such as breakdance-inspired movements, fluid waves, and precise group choreography, it explosively unleashes the unique humor and liberating energy of mask dance over 60 minutes. The music is led by Park Da-wool, a member of the band KARDI and a geomungo player, who presents an intense sound blending traditional rhythms with electronic music and modern band sounds.
Director Lee Hae-don stated, "Traditional arts do not remain trapped in the past but can continuously and newly expand by meeting today’s sensibilities. We hope this performance will give LA audiences the opportunity to experience the humor and freedom inherent in Korean mask dances through modern dance and music, while newly discovering the diverse charms of Korean traditional arts."
Performance tickets can be reserved on the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles website (kccla.org).
Address: 5505 Wilshire Blvd. LA
Inquiries: (323) 936-7141
