“Abyss,” an ensemble work that explores han, a Korean concept relating to “a deep, unspoken sense of sorrow and resilience” has a ghostly energy to it as well. A non-dancing role performed by the singer Jin-sirl Suh stalks about the stage in a ghost-white hanbok. She repeats a sentence to herself while dancers in mournful black place prayer bowls by her side. Each dancer holds a paper boat, and undulating motifs abound, as if they are weathering a storm within.
Suh begins to strike the bowls, she harmonises, the dancers vocalise too with gasps and sighs. The music crescendos as do their voices. Suh wails and groans, the dancers sob and howl like wolves. The build-up is intense and gripping. Suh, as if a medium or conduit to a world of emotion, begins to sing in a folksy, bold Pansori style, the women scream in unison to her gutsy singing. The movement is full and articulate, they carve the space around them, there is a bold, Grahamesque power to their fleshy motions. There is an unmistakable unity too, reminiscent of Korean folk dances, particularly the notorious ganggangsullae performed by groups of women for bountiful harvests. Traditional dance meets primal scream therapy. It’s brilliant stuff.
comments