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Korean choreographer, dancer to serve UB residency
By DAVID WEDEKINDT
Reporter Contributor
Korean choreographer and dancer In-Young Sohn will be in residence at UB beginning Monday through Nov. 13, a stay that will culminate in a public performance of traditional and contemporary Korean dance by Sohn and UB dance students.
The residency and performance are sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance, the Asian Studies Program, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Korea Foundation, the Dae-Han Foundation and the Center for the Arts.
A Seoul-based choreographer affiliated with the Korean National University of Arts, Sohn previously was artistic director of the Seoul Performing Arts Company. She taught Korean dance at Columbia University and Queens College of CUNY from 1994-98.
While well-versed in traditional Korean dance, Sohn also is trained and experienced in modern dance forms of the west.
During her residency at UB, she will present dance and theater master classes, and set an original choreographic work with the Zodiaque Studio Dance Ensemble. She also will lecture on Korean dance in "Dance History" and "Performance Appreciation" classes, as well as conduct a workshop at the Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts.
In addtion, she will speak to "Asia at Noon," an informal gathering of students, faculty and community members, from noon to 1 p.m. on Nov. 8 in 830 Clemens Hall, North Campus. Her subject will be "Learning New Steps: Dance After the Reunification of Korea."
Sohn's residency will conclude with a free public performance at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Katharine Cornell Theatre in the Ellicott Complex, North Campus. The presentation will incorporate a variety of dance forms inspired by Korean motifs, with commentary by Sohn.
The "Residency in Korean Dance" is one of a series of Asian arts residencies initiated by the Asian Studies Program. The first took place in February 1999 with classes and a performance by two noh actors from Japan. Other residency projects have brought Asian-American video makers to the Department of Media Study, Asian-American artists to the Department of Art and Chinese artists to the UB Art Gallery. Korean komungo musician Jin Hi Kim taught and performed in the Department of Music in October 2001. Noh actors will return to UB in 2004.
For more information, about Sohn's residency or any of the other Asian arts residencies, contact Thomas Burkman, director of the Asian Studies Program, at 645-3474, ext. 1.