2026 Yeowoorak Festival and the Convergence of Contemporary Dance and Art

[Anchor]

For our Friday performance news, we bring you the 17th Yeowoorak Festival at the National Theater of Korea, along with an innovative stage collaboration between world-renowned choreographer Damien Jalet and artist Kohei Nawa. Culture and Arts Correspondent Kim Soo-hyun reports.

[Reporter]

[2026 Yeowoorak Festival / July 3 – 25 / National Theater of Korea]

Kim Su-in, a vocalist from the National Changgeuk Company of Korea, shares the stage with the blues band Richman & The Groove Nais.

The Yeowoorak Festival, which translates to "Here, Our Music," highlights the convergence of traditional and popular arts this year.

[Kim Su-in / Member of the National Changgeuk Company of Korea: The biggest commonality between the blues genre and traditional Korean music is that both use a pentatonic scale, so the music blends and harmonizes very well.]

For the first time, popular singer Lee Han-chul has taken on the role of artistic director for the Yeowoorak Festival, with vocalist Yoo Tae-pyeong-yang serving as the music director.

[Lee Han-chul / Artistic Director of the 2026 Yeowoorak Festival: I think I can effectively convey the charm of traditional Korean music to the audience from their perspective, just as I felt the joy of discovering it while learning about it little by little.]

Popular artists such as Kang San-eh, Sunwoo Jung-a, Hareem, and Lip J will join traditional-based artists to present performances that fuse genres and transcend boundaries.

The festival, featuring 12 performances, will open with a stage by Lee Han-chul and Gyeonggi folk song vocalists Lee Hee-moon and Chae Soo-hyun, and conclude with a performance by vocalist Yoo Tae-pyeong-yang.

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[Damien Jalet X Kohei Nawa 'Planet (Wanderer)' / June 24 – 26 / LG Arts Center]

In a space reminiscent of the vast universe, the dancers' bodies move like living sculptures.

Utilizing materials such as sand, potato starch, slime, and fog, the performance expresses the vitality of humans who wander and sway, yet manage to take root again.

This is 'Planet,' a collaboration between Belgian contemporary dance choreographer Damien Jalet and Japanese contemporary artist Kohei Nawa.

Damien Jalet is renowned for choreography that embodies primal physical energy into stage language, while Kohei Nawa explores digital technology and human perception, translating them into sculptures and videos.

'Planet' is the first of a three-part collaboration between the two artists to be introduced in Korea, and it will be presented alongside the dance film 'Mist' and the new performance 'Prism'.

Reported by Kim Soo-hyun | Video Editing: Kim Yoon-sung | VJ: Oh Se-gwan | Video courtesy of LG Arts Center
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.