Pauline Adamek
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Experience a magical evening of grace, beauty and skill in the form of traditional and modernized Korean Dance. The Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company will perform at the Ford Amphitheatre on Friday, August 26, 2011 for one night only!
Report by Pauline Adamek
The Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company, known for staging creative and contemporary performances that have their roots in Korean traditional culture, presents Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. This performance features a fusion of Korean dance styles that brings to life the beauty and tempestuousness of the four Seasons in Korea.
The performance, led by Chief Executive Artistic Director and Choreographer, Kwan-Gyu Lim, expresses the distinctiveness and significance of each of the four seasons in Korea: the lonesome coldness of Winter, the bright prosperity of Spring, the warm ambience of Summer and the liveliness of Autumn.
The 25-member Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company uses modern production techniques and contemporary musical influences to introduce centuries-old Korean dance to new audiences. The evening includes vignettes that interpret the four seasons utilizing colorfully designed traditional costumes and updated music and dance. Realizing that traditional Korean Dance was not popular among the younger generation of dancers, Lim purposely modernized the styles so that they would have a wider appeal. The recorded music, a combination of the traditional and contemporary, is composed by Tony Lim, the son of Kwan-Gyu Lim. The younger Lim”™s original compositions are reflected in the Arirang Dance (Winter) and the Moon Light Dance (Summer).
“We are here to introduce the excellence of art in traditional, creative and contemporary Korean dance,” says Lim, “We take great pride in the artistry of our performance. This performance presents a unique and exciting opportunity for us to share our art with a broader audience, comprised of different generations and cultural backgrounds.”
Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company focuses on keeping Korean traditional dance alive by modernizing its appeal, not only to garner a broader audience, but also to attract the next generation of dancers. By showcasing such traditional dance as the TaePyeongMu (Blessing peace dance), Hallyangmu (Dance of young Noblemen), Fan Dance and Salpuri (wash away evil spirits), which are seldom performed today, the traditional culture and heritage of Korea will be preserved.
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Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn
One Performance Only:
Friday, August 26, 2011.
8:30 pm
Ford Amphitheatre
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East
Hollywood, CAÂ 90068
(scroll down for parking info)
Tickets:
$30.00 and $20.00, and $12.00 for full-time students with ID and children 12 and under. 10% discount for groups of 8 -15, 20% for groups of 16 or more.
*** Pre-purchase tickets by August 19th and pay only $25.00 or $15.00 ***
Box Office and Information:
(323) 461-3673
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About the Company:
The artistic mission of the Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company, founded by Kwan-Gyu Lim in 1973, is to make Korean traditional dance, through the addition of modern elements, more appealing to a younger generation of Koreans and dance aficionados alike. More recently, the Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company has performed at Barnsdall Art Theatre, Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the Los Angeles Scottish Auditorium, and many Korean Churches. For more information on the Kwan-Gyu Lim Dance Company, please visit their official site.
About the Company Founder:
Kwan Gyu Lim, Chief Executive Artistic Director and Choreographer, has worked for over four decades creating and mixing traditional dance with modern and contemporary movements. Mr. Lim started in 1970 with classical ballet, winning many competitions, and majored in Korean Dance at Han-Yang University. He studied creative dance under Hyun Choi, Heung-Dong Cho, Mae-Ja Kim and Ok-jin Kim, and Korean traditional dance, including Seung-Mu, Salpuri and Tae-Pyong-Mu under Mae-Bang Lee, who is designated as Korea”™s Human Cultural asset.
After military service, he moved to Seoul and resumed his dance career and attended graduate school at Jung-Ang University. Mr. Kim was a member of the Men”™s Dance Company of Heung-Dong Cho and Creative Dance Company of Mae-Ja Ki for three years and Han-Yang University Creative Dancing Alumni Association for 10 years. He took a leading role in Sae-Bul, a founding performance of Seoul Art Company. After receiving his Master”™s Degree, Mr. Lee worked as a Korean Traditional Dance Professor in Han-Yang University for 15 years and taught at Young-Nam, Don-A and Chung-Nam Universities, choreographing five performances, four Korean Dance Festivals and two Seoul Dance Festivals, and performed in Asia, Europe and America. In 1999, Mr. Lim immigrated to the United States and, in 2000, had a solo performance with both the Mission Dance Company and the Korean Traditional Dance Company.
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This event is part of the Ford Amphitheatre 2011 Season, a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles County-based arts organizations.
For a complete season schedule, directions to the theater and parking information, log on to their official site.
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Visiting The Ford Amphitheatre:
The Ford Amphitheatre is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios. The grounds open two hours before show time for picnicking. The Ford offers a number of dining options: a variety of food and beverages is available on site and box dinners for evening events may be ordered in advance. Patrons are welcome to bring their own food and drink.
The Ford has access for disabled persons. Portable wireless listening devices are available upon request.
On-site, stacked parking costs $5 per vehicle.
FREE non-stacked parking serviced by a FREE shuttle to the Ford is available at the Universal City Metro Station lot at Lankershim Blvd. and Campo de Cahuenga. The shuttle, which cycles every 15-20 minutes, stops in the “kiss and ride” area.
PARKING:
On-site, stacked parking costs $5 per vehicle. FREE non-stacked parking serviced by a FREE shuttle to the Ford is available at the Universal City Metro Station lot at Lankershim Blvd. and Campo de Cahuenga. The shuttle, which cycles every 15-20 minutes, stops in the “˜kiss and ride”™ area.
Brian Sonia-Wallace
