Explore emotional duality of high-profile choreographer at Asia premiere of double bill
Acclaimed Swedish dancer-turned-choreographer Johan Inger says he is impressed with Korea’s growing commitment to contemporary dance and sees a bright future for the newly established Seoul Metropolitan Ballet.
The 57-year-old artist is in Seoul for the Asia premiere of his double bill, “Walking Mad” and “Bliss,” set to run Friday through May 18 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.
Following Ohad Naharin’s “Decadance” in March, Inger is the latest high-profile figure in the company’s bold lineup for this year.
“In Korea, you're opening new dance companies, and in the West, people are closing (them). I think it’s a great initiative and should be really highlighted,” said Inger during a press conference Wednesday in Seoul.
Inger, who began his career with the Royal Swedish Ballet before joining the Netherlands Dance Theater under Jiri Kylian, made his choreographic debut with NDT 2 in 1995. He went on to win the prestigious Benois de la Danse award for choreography in 2016.
Inger said the two works, created 25 and 10 years ago respectively, are very different.
“I think it's an exciting evening because they show two sides of me as a choreographer,” he said.
The evening begins with "Walking Mad," a more theatrical and emotionally charged piece set to Ravel’s Bolero.
Inger described it as “a journey into the unknown,” full of humor, drama and human emotion.
“To me, it is a journey of a man going through a world, or a dream, or a state of mind and encountering different personalities but (still) searching. It's a little bit like Orpheus and Eurydice, being pulled back into another place and keep on searching.”
The second piece, “Bliss,” set to Keith Jarrett’s Koln Concert, reflects a more stripped-down, introspective side of Inger’s choreography.
“I wanted to create something very pure and simple -- just present in the moment,” he said. “It also represents a time for me, something carefree. I wanted to capture that spirit of the time, in the costumes, in the playfulness and in the improvisation.”
For Inger, music is at the heart of every work: He sees it as a partner with which he engages in conversation. He encouraged audiences, especially those unfamiliar with contemporary dance, to approach it as they would music.
“I think dance is very much like music. You hear a piece and have one interpretation of what it means to you, but the person next to you may have a completely different one,” he said.
“So if I have done my work right as a choreographer, it will tap not into the logical parts of your brain, but into the emotional parts.”
What continues to drive his work, Inger said, are human beings and human relationships.
“Our strengths, our weaknesses, our ugliness, our beauty -- all the contradictions that make us who we are. That inspires me. I think that’s the fuel that keeps me going, that keeps me exploring stories,” he said.
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