PAMS Choice 2010

Theatre

 

<A dwarf who loved Snow white> Theater company TUUL
<Peer Gynt>  Yohangza Theatre Company

<Peer Gynt> and <A Dwarf Who Loved Snow White> were selected for the theatre category of PAMS Choice 2010. Even though the original texts for both works were written in languages other than Korean, the results of the performances were very Korean. They both have unique styles of direction and forms and were produced in a high enough level of completion for both Korean and international markets. The criterion for selection was the agreement between the content of the text coming from the outside of a performance and the form of performance developed under direction. The selection committee decided that <Peer Gynt> clearly showed the director's intention of drawing conclusion from the text to form and would work in international markets. <A Dwarf Who Loved Snow White> have proven its level of completion with its long run and its universal language will bring an opportunity to introduce the dynamic force of Korean theatre. Both works do not present naked lives dysphemistically but comfort them with warmth. The selection committee want both works to bring opportunities for international audience to be introspective and wiser as they did for Koreans.

 

Written by Chi-Woon AHN, Chair of the Selection Committee for PAMS Choice 2010, Theatre Category

Chi-Woon AHN, Professor, Hoseo Univ., Department of Theatre

 

Dance

 

<Darkness PoomBa> KIM JAE-DUK PROJECT
<A Seventh Man> LG Arts Center(Jung Young-Doo)
<Pattern&Variability> PARK SOON HO DANCE PROJECT
<Modern Feeling> Lee In-Soo Dance Project

The selection committee examined that the PAMS Choice selections in the past years (2005~2009) had scored well on the criterion of aesthetics, but not on the criterion of strategies targeting the international market. So in 2010, the selection committee focused on the substantiality of strategies and plans based on clear intention to entering the international market.

The committee considered in choosing the four selections more on the international response than the awareness or experience of choreographers. Especially in consideration of the Nordic week, the committee made selections that are highly original in their physical expression and dance language; and thus competitive.

<Patterns and Variability> by PARK SOON HO DANCE PROJECT revealed various outstanding compositions in a space. The group dances were tightly structured and most dancers were technically balanced, but the performance lacked the explanation for the relationship between the source and methods of expression.

<Modern Feeling> by Lee In-Soo Dance Project showed the most powerful physical language two male dancers could express. The dancers were highly regarded for their techniques in showing wit, energy, and passion in their movement.

<A Seventh Man> by the LG Arts Center choreographed by Jung Young Doo was exceptional in utilizing spatial composition, the biggest strength in dance arts, and noticeable in its serious study in pure movement. This was only dance work where its producer worked for marketing the performance, so the anticipation for the producer's drive is high.

<Darkness PoomBa> by KIM JAE-DUK PROJECT was highly original in realizing a traditional Korean subject in a contemporary language. A dance language accompanied by live music is a combination the international markets would pay attention to.
 

written by Sun Suk HAHN, Chair of the Selection Committee for PAMS Choice 2010, Dance Category
Sun Suk HAHN, Artistic Director, International Modern Dance Festival(MODAFE)

Music

 

<'Metamorphosis!'> Geomungo-Factory
<movement for sound one> Cheong-Bae Play Group
<Dream from the Ancestor> Miyeon&Park
<Tori, Sori(Sound), Nori(Play)> HUB MUSIC(Tori Ensemble)

Twenty six teams entered for the music category of the PAMS Choice 2010. Most of the teams were traditional arts groups and some of them had already been selected for PAMS Choice and entered the international market or had results from performances abroad. The application by new music groups that began working in 2009 showed that the awareness for the PAMS Choice had increased; and the increase was the results of public relations through various forums, education activities, newsletter.

The selection committee referred to proposals, video, and music in judging the entries and made the selections with the following standards.

Instead of selecting arts groups that had been selected for a previous PAMS Choice and making significant results abroad, the committee aimed to give opportunities to new music groups that would use the PAMS Choice 2010 as a steppingstone for entering the international market. The committee considered if the groups were at least 3 years in their operation, had been working consistently to bring their own unique musical characteristics, consisted of individuals with aesthetic capacity, and had the potential and preparation for entering international markets. The committee also considered the interests of international market in Korean music and the groups' capacity to express the identities of Korean music.

The committee in the end selected Miyeon and Jaecheon Park Duo for their ability to attract interests in Korean music from the international Jazz world, 'Tori, Sori, Nori' of Hub Music(Tori Ensemble) and non-verbal performance 'one[w∧n]' of Cheong-Bae Play Group for their significant potential for entering international music market based on the musical capacities of the musicians and the ease and quality of performances, and 'Geomungo Factory' for their unique qualities and interests from abroad.

There are previous PAMS Choice selections that had significant success in the international stages like Gongmyoung, Noreummachi, and Be-Being but there are also those without much success. Some music groups have successfully entered the international markets through various channels without being selected for the PAMS choice and thus reveal that the current state of entry into international markets for traditional arts groups is improving. The possibility for successful entry into the international markets will increase if arts groups prepare the entry by evaluating their artistic capacity and the level of completion from the perspective of the international markets. We wish those groups that are well prepared to continue to make successful entry into the international markets through the PAMS Choice in the future.
 

written by Hye Jin SONG, Chair of the Selection Committee, Music Category
Hye Jin SONG, Professor, Sookmyung Women's Univ.

Multidisciplinary

 

<Oil Pressure Vibrator> Geumhyung Jeong
<Riverside Salon> DOOSAN ART CENTER
<tacit.perform[0]> Tacit Group

There were thirty one entries in the multidisciplinary category, which is an increase from the last year. The general trend in the entries were finding new ways of transforming a genre using traditional subjects; and this may resulted in the increase in entries. The changes in application strategies caused by ambiguity in conceptual definition of the multidisciplinary category may be another reason for the increase. Works in traditional categories that had distinctive characteristics could have weighed their competition against more traditional entries and made transition into the multidisciplinary category.

Considering the trends in fusion of traditional theatre, dance, and music genres, the simple mix of forms and contents did not come close to the 'new artistic experiments' or 'trends of the future' expected in this category; therefore, most entries that used traditional subjects had story structures that were either banal or weak, artistically neglected conventional genres or caused the decline in qualities by attempting to fuse different genres, damaged the identities of the conventional genres and caused the decrease in the level of completion through the conflicts between the different genres fusing together, and presented much to be improved in the category.

The selection committee judged <tacit.perform[0]> by Tacit Group, <Oil Pressure Vibrator> by Geumhyung Jeong, and <Riverside Salon> by Doosan Art Center to have overcome the problems and presented new possibilities for this category with distinctive works. Tacit Group shows the use of a new medium and possibilities in communicating with audience from a stage and Geumhyung Jeong caught attention with her choice of subjects and consistent experimental tendency revealing artistic development. Tacit Group could make successful entry into the international market by preparing various versions targeting audiences in different regions and Geumhyung Jeong could improve her work by planning a collaborating project or workshop with artists in regions where she would perform. Riverside Salon is a performance that is unusual in Korea. It is a performance in the style of cabaret which attracts attention for its unique subject matter. Riverside Salon was selected for its use of a performance style familiar in foreign countries in realizing materials that are familiar to Koreans.

 

written by Dong Eon Kim, Chair of the Selection Committee, Multidisciplinary Category

Dong Eon Kim, Professor, Kyunghee Univ.