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Alexander Ekman swings his ‘Hammer’ to break open the ego
Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman is bringing his signature visual audacity and theatrical flair to the Seoul stage for the first time this week with "Hammer," hoping to enrapture audiences and provoke reflection. “I’m a showman,” Ekman said at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. “I love a great show. I love entertainment. But for me, good entertainment means holding your attention. It’s not about a specific genre or style; it’s about the ability to keep your focus for a full performan
Nov. 12, 2025 -
Kumho Art Hall unveils programs for 2026, with baritone Kim Tae-han at forefront
Kumho Art Hall has announced the 2026 lineup for its flagship Beautiful Thursday concert series, a year-round program of Thursday evening recitals that mixes rising talents with internationally celebrated masters. This season, the spotlight falls on 24-year-old baritone Kim Tae-han. Kim is the first vocalist to be named the hall's artist-in-residence since the program began in 2013. The 2023 winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition is curating a four-part arc titled “Persona,” tracing the many
Nov. 12, 2025 -
Why do audiences linger at 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical'?
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” is set to return to Blue Square in Seoul for the first time in three years this winter, bringing back its extravagant flair and high-octane theatricality. “To me, ('Moulin Rouge! The Musical') is what a musical truly is,” new cast member Lee Seok-hoon said of the production during a press conference on Monday. Cha Yun-hae, also new to the production, said, “Some shows are visually spectacular, others have beautiful storytelling, and some are driven by exceptional musi
Nov. 11, 2025 -
Dance as prayer, 99 Art Company brings 'Burnt Offering' on European tour
Under a dim light, two dancers sit quietly on a large white canvas. They clasp one another's hand, still and meditative, while in their free hands they hold sticks of charcoal. Moving in unison, the two begin to draw with gestures deliberate, rhythmic, almost sacred. As the movement repeats, their hair loosens, their breath grows heavier, and the charcoal begins to blur and smudge, leaving behind black traces that resemble sparks, flowers, then ashes. The performance feels like a ritual, or a ce
Nov. 9, 2025 -
Cellist Lee You-bien wins top prize at 2025 Isangyun Competition
Cellist Lee You-bien has won first prize at this year’s Isangyun Competition, the Tongyeong International Music Foundation announced on Sunday. Lee was named the top prize winner after performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra, conducted by Leos Svarovsky, in the final round held Saturday at the Tongyeong Concert Hall. “I’m truly honored and grateful to receive such a prestigious award,” Lee said during the award ceremony. “I learned so much from all th
Nov. 9, 2025 -
Exploring depths of feeling beneath emotional barriers
Characters defined by an emotional barrier — whether technological, psychological, or grounded in exacting precision — often stir the deepest emotions in audiences. Robots, people with alexithymia (emotional blindness), and performers executing near-machine-like technique reveal the profound power of small, hard-won steps toward connection. The Broadway production of "Maybe Happy Ending" picked up multiple awards this year, and now, marking its 10th anniversary, the Korean original has returned.
Nov. 8, 2025 -
Berlin Phil’s Albrecht Mayer brings healing music to hospital before Korea tour
On Thursday afternoon, an unusual musical event unfolded at Myongji Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Large hospitals occasionally host charity concerts featuring amateur or professional musicians, but this one took the audience by surprise: Albrecht Mayer, principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmoniker, and Amihai Grosz, the orchestra’s First Principal Violist, took the stage. The intimate performance offered patients, caregivers and medical staff a rare chance to experience the warmth and
Nov. 7, 2025 -
A 7.5-hour game where you fight alongside donkeys to reclaim their jobs — and why it means much more
When the audience files into SFAC Theater Quad in Seoul's Daehangno district this weekend, they won’t just be watching a show — they’ll be playing a video game together. "asses.masses" is a seven-hour-plus video game told over 10 episodes. Designed to be played from beginning to end in a live theater setting, it invites the audience to take turns (or not) holding a single game controller. The story follows a herd of donkeys who have lost their jobs to machines and are trying to rise up and win t
Nov. 7, 2025 -
Join the rave of 'The Belt' with Ambiguous Dance Company
The name Ambiguous Dance Company may sound uncertain, but it perfectly captures the troupe’s identity. With movements that transcend genres, an unmistakably charged physical language and an approach that broadens the reach of contemporary dance, Ambiguous Dance Company has carved one of the most distinctive paths in Korea’s performing arts scene. After celebrating the 15th anniversary of its hit signature piece "Body Concert" in February, the company returns with a new work, "The Belt," choreogr
Nov. 7, 2025 -
Forsythe’s 'One Flat Thing, Reproduced' makes Korean premiere in KNCDC double bill
The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company will stage a double bill this week, pairing artistic director Kim Sung-yong’s new work "Crawl" with one of the most celebrated pieces by contemporary choreographer William Forsythe, "One Flat Thing, Reproduced." The performance marks the Korean premiere of "One Flat Thing, Reproduced," which is regarded as one of the choreographer’s signature works. Having premiered in February 2000 at Ballet Frankfurt in Germany, where Forsythe served as artistic di
Nov. 6, 2025 -
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch hopes to see 'Carnations' bloom again
When a choreographer dies, their art lingers in the memories of those who moved with them, in the steps and movements passed down through generations of dancers, and becomes part of the company’s repertoire. Right now, few embody that process as vividly as Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, a company that continues to carry the legacy of its founder, the late German choreographer Pina Bausch, more than a decade after her death -- this time with a new generation of dancers who have never worked w
Nov. 5, 2025 -
Year-end brings Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Bizet and Gluck operas to Korea
As Korea’s opera scene heads into the year’s final stretch, major companies across the country are unveiling high-profile productions that underline the growing ambition and scale of the nation’s opera companies. From the Seoul Metropolitan Opera’s grand 40th-anniversary staging of Verdi’s "Aida" and Chung Myung-whun’s long-awaited return to "Carmen" in Busan, to Wagner’s monumental "Tristan und Isolde," Puccini's "Tosca" and Gluck’s "Orfeo ed Euridice," audiences are being offered an exceptiona
Nov. 4, 2025 -
5-year-old Music Festival Pohang continues to experiment, evolve
Known more for its steel and shoreline than symphonies, Pohang is redefining its cultural identity. This week, its growing classical music festival returns in its fifth edition. "Five years may sound like a short time for a festival, but this fifth anniversary means a great deal to us. So this year, we’ve put together an especially varied and generous program to celebrate it," Park Yu-shin, cellist and music director of Music Festival Pohang, told reporters during a press conference Monday in Se
Nov. 3, 2025 -
After global summits, musical giants take the stage in Korea
As the high-profile Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit concludes Saturday, Korea is set to transform into a global hub of symphonic music in November, led by performances from three of the world’s greatest orchestras — the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic. The “symphonic war” begins when 29-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Makela returns to Korea with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which he is to begin leading from 2027. Makela was last
Oct. 31, 2025 -
Servant's obsession reimagines Korea's most famous love story in dance drama
The story of Chun-hyang, Korea’s best-known romance folk tale, follows the love between Yi Mong-ryong, the son of an aristocrat, and Seong Chun-hyang, the daughter of a retired courtesan. The star-crossed lovers’ tale has long been celebrated as a parable of fidelity and defiance against rigid class boundaries. The National Gugak Center will stage “Chunhyang and Hyangdan’s Tale,” a new dance drama that reinterprets this beloved story from a fresh perspective, from Nov. 14 to 16. This adaptation
Oct. 31, 2025