Bringing together heritage and contemporary creation, the Trad Now evening presents two artistic worlds that reinterpret Korean traditions through today’s dance and music.
Part One: This section spotlights the collaboration between choreographer Sun-A Lee and musician Kim Joo-Hong ( Noreum Machi ). Accompanied by the sounds of the janggu, a traditional Korean drum, this dialogue between dance and music creates a poetic landscape of rhythms, silences, and emotions, opening up a new artistic exchange between Korea and France. A graduate in choreography from the Université nationale des arts de Corée, Sun-A Lee received the Prix de l’Ambassade de France at the Yokohama Dance Collection festival in 2007. Since 2010, she has regularly collaborated with several national choreographic centers in France, notably in Caen, Aix-en-Provence, and Biarritz, as part of French-Korean co-productions, while continuing to perform with renowned choreographers, including Luc Petton. A percussionist, singer, and artistic director of Noreum Machi, Kim Joo-Hong is one of the leading figures working to renew traditional Korean music. Trained in pansori and the music of Taepyeongmu, he has developed an artistic language in which rhythm, voice, and improvisation meet contemporary creation. His many international projects and collaborations bring Korean tradition into dialogue with other disciplines and artistic sensibilities. Part Two: This section invites audiences to discover Gat, a production by the Yunbyul Ballet Company, directed by choreographer Park So-yun. Created in 2024, this ballet draws inspiration from the gat, a traditional hat from the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), once a symbol of social status and now familiar to international audiences, notably thanks to the film KPop Demon Hunters. Through nine choreographic scenes, the work reinterprets this iconic symbol to explore Korean identity, traditions, and aesthetics. Combining symbolism, contemporary movement, and classical vocabulary, the company presents a visually powerful ballet that reveals the richness of Korean heritage through a distinctly modern language. Founded by artistic director Yun Byul and driven by a new generation of Korean ballet artists, the Yunbyul Ballet Company is developing a repertoire that brings classical technique together with contemporary sensibilities. Through its productions, the company seeks to renew the image of ballet in Korea by creating a dialogue between Western choreographic forms and the aesthetics of Korean heritage. Its ballet Gat, created in 2024 and choreographed by Park So-yun, is its signature work.
Admission: Online booking will open two weeks before the date of the event on the Centre Culturel Coréen website.
Source: paris.fr — photo: Sun-A Lee x Kim Joohong / Yunbyul Ballet Company