National Dance Company of Korea presents surrealistic dance work 'The RoOm'

A scene from "The RoOm" (NDCK)

The National Dance Company of Korea returns with its surrealistic dance work first performed five years ago.

“The RoOm,” which will run from March 2 to 4 at Daloreum Theater in Seoul, first premiered in 2018 in collaboration with choreographer and producer Kim Seol-jin.

“The RoOm” centers on a space that is shared by many people and filled with memories left there, according to the NDCK.

Kim, a contemporary dancer, pieced together the stories of eight NDCK dancers who he handpicked out of 50 in a casting workshop in 2018.

Kim said he focused on examining their daily movements during breaks and their habits rather than their dance. After individual interviews with the eight, he combined their stories like a collage with a unique sense of mise-en-scene.

The eight dancers also worked together to build the composition of various scenes, participating as creators as well. Each dancer tells his or her story through gestures and dance movements.

The same cast from the premiere will be performing this March. From veteran dancer Kim Hyun-sook to the youngest member Choi Ho-jong, Yun Sung-cheol, Kim Mi-ea, Kim Eun-young, Moon Ji-ae, Hwang Yong-chun and Park So-young will show their character and individuality through dance.

A scene from "The RoOm" (NDCK)

For this year's performance, the troupe will edit and incorporate the on-site sounds recorded at the premiere stage, further emphasizing the concept of multifaceted memories of a room where the past and the present coexist in one space.

Kim, who has been a part of the Belgian dance theater company Peeping Tom since 2008, was featured in the second season of Mnet’s dance survival show “Dancing 9” in 2014, and starred in the tvN drama series "Vincenzo" as Larry Kang, a dance teacher.

By Hwang Dong-hee(hwangdh@heraldcorp.com)