Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater's 'Ilmu' returns and other events to check out

Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater is presenting “Ilmu,” also known as “One Dance” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul.

ILMU Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Theater

Dancers from the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater perform a scene from ″Ilmu″ at the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in New York City on July 20, 2023. The performance will be staged from Friday to Sunday at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul. [AFP/YONHAP]

Through May 19: Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater is presenting “Ilmu,” also known as “One Dance” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul. The piece is a traditional dance, which used to be performed during the Jongmyo Jeryeak ancestral rites. The literal meaning of ilmu is “line dance," and true to its name, it sees groups of dancers perform in lines.

This traditional dance performance premiered in 2022 and received great praise from critics and audiences both at home and abroad. The performance was staged at the David Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in New York on July 20.

The piece is a collaborative work by big names in the performing arts world — Jeong Hye-jin, former artistic director of the Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theater, designer and director Jung Ku-ho, and music director and choreographer Kim Jae-duk.

Tickets range from 40,000 won ($29.40) to 100,000 won.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8

MATTHEW BOURNE'S "ROMEO + JULIET” LG Arts Center SeoulThrough May 19: Matthew Bourne's reinterpretation of "Romeo + Juliet” is coming to Korea this May. One of the most popular choreographers at the moment, Bourne has transformed this tragic Shakespearean story into a tale of the “raw passion and vitality of the youth fiercely resisting established norms,” according to LG Arts Center.

The backbone of the Shakespearean story is still there, along with the music of Prokofiev's ballet, but the choreographer transposed the story into an asylum for young people. It's set in the Verona Institute, which looks like a mental institute.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on weekends.

Tickets range from 30,000 won to 140,000 won.

Magoknaru Station, line No. 9, exit 3 or 4

MARIE ANTOINETTED-Cube Arts Center

The Korean production of the hit musical ″Marie Antoinette″ is being staged at the D-Cube Arts Center in western Seoul for its 10th anniversary. [EMK MUSICAL]

Through May 26:The Korean production of the hit musical "Marie Antoinette" is being staged at the D-Cube Arts Center in western Seoul for its 10th anniversary. The musical tells the story of Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, but some fictional characters have been added, like Margrid Arnaud, to add more drama to the life of the queen who was sentenced to death by guillotine.

The nearly three-hour-long performance incorporates several settings, from the Palace of Versailles to Tuileries Garden and the Marais district, and the show jumps from place to place by using a revolving stage.

Musical actor Kim So-hyang and Lee Ji-hye alternate the role of Marie Antoinette. Ock Joo-hyun, Lee Areumsol and Yoon Gong-joo have been cast to play the role of Margrid, who begs for money on the street but later becomes a revolutionary leader.

The male protagonist Fersen will be alternated by three actors — Lee Hae-jun, Yoon So-ho and Baekho.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and national holidays; and 3 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 80,000 won to 170,000 won.

Sindorim Station, lines No. 1 and 2, exit 1 or 5

SEOUL JAZZ FESTIVALOlympic ParkMay 31 – June 2:It's that time of the year again when you can enjoy an array of music from some of the hottest artists in your playlist. Lie down on your picnic mat with a glass of wine and enjoy. This year's Seoul Jazz Festival kicks off on May 31 and goes for three days. The final line up was announced on April 17 and it includes artists like Lauv, Melody Gardot, John Scofield Trio, Lianne La Havas, Yunseokcheol Trio, So Soo Bin, Paul Kim, Car The Garden, Jessie Reyez, Wave To Earth, Stella Jang, Caravan Palace, BIBI among many others.

A one-day ticket costs 187,000 won, while a ticket to all three days costs 420,000 won.

Tickets are available at ticket.melon.com.

Olympic Park Station, line No. 5 and 9, exit 3 or 4

INITNational Theater of Korea, Haeoreum Grand TheaterJune 7 – 9: The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC) is presenting a new work called “Init.” This piece is the first work for the company’s artistic director Kim Sung-yong in his project Dance Makes Asia become the Universe (DMAU), which he initiated recently in the hopes of expanding the exchanges of dances between Asian countries.

According to the company, “Init” has been choreographed with paradoxical keywords like “complexity in simplicity,” “depth in repetition” and “coexistence of the unconscious and the conscious.” The choreography is based on “Process Init,” a choreographic method devised by Kim.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets range from 20,000 won to 60,000 won.

Dongguk University Station, line No. 3, exit 6

ORCHESTRE DE CHAMBRE DE PARIS WITH SUNWOO YEKWON Lotte Concert HallJune 12:Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon will be accompanying Orchestre de Chambre de Paris for a concert at Lotte Concert Hall in June. Yekwon rose to international stardom after winning the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017. The French chamber orchestra will be visiting Korea with Russian maetro Maxim Emelyanchev. He is currently the chief conductor of Il Pomo d'Oro.

The program includes Mozart's "'Don Giovanni’ Overture,” Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58,” and "Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 'Eroica.'”

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets range from 40,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

DEAR EVAN HANSENChungmu Art CenterThrough June 23: The Korean production of the Broadway hit musical "Dear Evan Hansen” is currently underway at the Chungmu Art Center in central Seoul. The musical follows the titular Evan, an anxious high school student who gets caught up in a snowballing lie while trying to console the grieving family of a classmate who committed suicide.

Three actors alternate the role of Evan: Park Kang-hyun, Lim Kyu-hyung and Kim Sung-kyu.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 70,000 won to 160,000 won.

Sindang Station, line No. 6, exit 9

HEDWIGCharlotte Theater Through June 23: A dynamic mix of rock music and monologue, this eight-time Tony-nominated musical follows the life of a band called The Angry Inch. The Korean production of the musical premiered in 2005.

The story revolves around a boy named Hansel living in East Germany in 1988.

One day, a U.S. lieutenant proposes to marry Hansel if he changes his gender to female. Hansel eventually decides to adopt the name Hedwig and undergoes a sex change operation, but it fails. He flies to Kansas only to find that he has been dumped.

Undeterred, Hedwig starts wearing wigs and makeup, forms a band called The Angry Inch and becomes a rock star.

The Korean production of this musical features musical performers Jo Jung-suk, Yu Yeon-seok and Jeon Dong-seok, who alternate the main role.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekends; and at 3 p.m. on public holidays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 80,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 3

HANS ZIMMER FILM MUSIC ENCORE CONCERT Lotte Concert HallJune 30:German film composer and music producer Hans Zimmer’s renowned film scores will be performed by maestro Kim Jae-won and the WE Philharmonic Orchestra. This upcoming concert is an encore, following the success of the same concert that was performed in January.

Some of Zimmer’s most famous pieces will be performed, including “First Step” from “Interstellar”; “Time” from “Inception”; the main theme from “The Dark Knight”; “Circle of Life” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King”; “Maestro” from “The Holiday”; and “Tennessee” and “There You’ll Be” from “Pearl Harbor,” and others.

The performance begins at 5 p.m.

Tickets range from 50,000 won to 130,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

JANOS STARKER 100th ANNIVERSARY CELLO FESTIVALLotte Concert Hall

Korean cellist Yang Sung-won [JOONGANG ILBO]

July 3 – 5:The Lotte Cultural Foundation will host a festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of Janos Starker's birth, together with the Japan Cello Association and Suntory Hall. Starker, born in Budapest, was one of the 20th century’s most renowned cellists. The New York Times’ obituary of him in 2013 described him as a cellist “whose restrained onstage elegance was amply matched by the cyclone of scotch, cigarettes and opinion that animated his offstage life.”

This festival, which will take place both in Korea and Japan, is a collaborative work between Starker’s students Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, a world renowned Japanese cellist and the president of the Suntory Hall, and Korean cellist Yang Sung-won.

On July 3, Bach’s “Complete Cello Suites” will be played by Tsuyoshi and Yang, as well as cellists Martina Schucan, Mark Kosower, Marc Coppey and Ole Akahoshi.

July 4 will be the day of the “Sonatas and Cello Ensemble,” which will fill the program with pieces including Popper’s “Suite for Two Cellos, Op. 16,” Beethoven’s “Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102-1” and Brahms’ “Hungarian dances” No. 1, 3 and 5. On July 5, a gala concert will be organized, with pieces including Haydn’s “Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major” and Schumann’s “Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129.”

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on all three days.

Tickets range from 30,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

*Most tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com/global or by calling 1544-1555

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]