"Naturally & And Inside There Is Nothing But A Heart" Dance performance about contemplation on interaction

“Moments we interact and grow”

Looking at the drooping branches of the tree, I think of the green leaves that once hung there and the roots that are preparing for a new beginning. The tree standing in that spot connects the sky and the earth, living as both an individual and a part of society. It forms relationships with many other beings, and as time passes, it faces changes and prepares to connect with new lives.

Based on these observations of trees, dance <naturally> talks about the life and temporality of trees, and also tells stories about our lives through the body that is enchanted with the tree. We, as members of nature, constantly interact and form relationships with other members and continue our lives. As time passes, don't you think that our ever-changing appearance is similar to the way trees face changes over time?

Through contemplation of life, dance <And inside There is Nothing But a Heart> shows us the numerous interactions we experience in our lives, and demonstrates that the driving force that makes us live ultimately lies in our beating heart. The piece expresses the process of encountering the external world and communicating with it in a lively and cute manner. What we realize in this process is that what moves us is our beating heart, our life force. With this life force, we continue to encounter external beings through interactions while our heart beats. In this process, we can see ourselves growing.

In dance <naturally>, through contemplation of the life of trees, it shows both the interactions of trees and humans. Here, humans, or us, are also a part of nature just like trees. By expressing the life and temporality of trees through the body, it can be said that it shows us contemplation of trees.

Not only dynamic movements but also stage lighting, combined with choreography, creates an atmosphere of nature, specifically that of a forest, and allows the audience to feel the vitality of trees. Various effects such as lighting that expresses a dense forest, bird chirping, wind sound, and the sound of falling leaves add richness to the stage. The two dancers on stage express contemplation on the life of trees through gestures and various visual and auditory effects. They depict trees standing in a dense forest, trees interacting with wind, trees interacting with insects and water that are also part of the forest, trees that continue to grow over time by extending their branches, trees whose branches dry up and leaves fall off, and trees that prepare to gain new vitality by becoming closer to the ground. The performance showcases the various forms of trees and the processes of their transformations over time.

Trees go through a process of growth and decline in their life, interacting with the surrounding nature. They stretch their branches towards the sun and grow leaves, create their own source of life with water, and establish the foundation of their vitality by spreading their roots in the ground. As time passes, weakened branches and leaves may break or fall to the ground due to strong winds, and the tree may go through a time of decline. However, even during this decline, the tree is preparing for a new life, to be born as a new tree in the next cycle. It spreads its roots in the ground and reaches towards the sky, repeating the previous cycle of growth. In this way, the life force of the tree continues without interruption.

How can we find ourselves in the life of a tree? Like the tree, we are also a part of nature, constantly colliding with other organisms and undergoing processes of interaction with new substances. We are born, we grow, and as time passes, we go through the process of decline and decay. Just as the decline of a tree does not necessarily mean the extinction of its vitality, our own decline does not necessarily mean the extinction of our life force. Where there is death, there is also life, and so our own decline signifies the emergence of new vitality.

The dance performance <And Inside There Is Nothing But A Heart> portrays the process of gaining enlightenment about interaction and the driving force of life as one emerges from their internal refuge and encounters the outside world. The performance is very entertaining and lively, and kept me engaged throughout the show without getting bored.

The performance starts with dancers throwing and passing a transparent soap bubble-like ball to each other, exploring what it is. The sound effects that feel like outer space contribute to the atmosphere, making it feel like being in a space. Dancers dressed in costumes that resemble black balls roll, stand up, fall down, and move in their own way. Their rolling movements looked like bouncing balls, giving a cute impression. Their movements, resembling a baby taking its first steps, and their round silhouette were amusing, and laughter could be heard from the audience from the beginning.

During the stage where they gradually accept the external world and expand their realm of life, the stage set showed the progress. The image of the sky with clouds was used as a background, which was pulled down like a blind curtain, and at times, many beads were dropped from the ceiling onto the stage, making it richly expressive of the process of encountering the outside world. This part was humorous and there was no room for boredom, allowing me to become even more immersed in the stage. In this stage, there were many scenes of collision and interaction, making it easier to see the moment they accept the external world and grow.

As they gradually embraced the outside world, they eventually unzipped the black, puffy outfit filled with cotton and released the cotton outside of their clothes. Finally, as they completely revealed themselves outside of their clothes, we could see them overwhelmingly accepting the outside world. They discovered each other, made sounds, and continuously attempted to communicate with each other, even shouting "a, b, c, d, e, f, g" to each other, among other things, as they continued to accept the outside world. With a dazzling mirror ball hanging on the stage, they wore equally ornate costumes as the mirror ball and danced together, enriching their communication. Seeing this, it seemed as though they had completely emerged from their inner world. Their dance continued, and in the end, even the pipes in the corner of the stage moved, showing the end of everyone's interaction and growth process.

Original Korean Article Link

https://post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=27590529&memberNo=18719577&navigationType=push