Free Dance Recital

It's time for a little Korean culture. Ann, one of the Korean teachers I work with, invited a few of us to her seven-year old daughter's dance recital at the Cultural Centre in Seoul on January 5th. At first I thought it was going to be similar to an elementary school performance, but then she showed us the advertising pamphlet and the tickets and I knew that it was going to be much more professional. The hall itself was quite nice and there were of course many parents there to see their children perform. I think that Erin, Kristina, Michael and I were the only white people there. The recital itself consisted of a wide range of styles (from traditional Korean to classical ballet) and age-groups as well as group and individual dances. I was most taken by the Korean dances for a number of reasons. First, each girl looked so much more graceful and sophisticated compared to the ballet style. The Korean costumes were also much more colourful and interesting as the cloth would flow beautifully with each movement. Many individual dancers also had a special prop to work with such as hand fans, small lanterns, and even a drum. To me this style of dance is much more appealing because it seems so much more natural and soothing. I later learned from Ann that her daughter practices at the dance company two hours and day, five days a week! Keep in mind that the majority of the girls in these pictures range from five to ten years old. After the recital Ann invited us all to eat with her husband and the rest of her family which was really nice. As you can see from the picture of her daughter that even the make-up for the performance was professionally done. It just goes to show you that Koreans are very serious about everything that they do.