What does a group of South Korean dancers have to do with the City of Dallas? The commonality is the 39th season finale of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and its world premiere of BOUND by Dallas native Bridget L. Moore.
After spending two years as a visiting professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea, Moore is returning home to Dallas to present BOUND, the work she choreographed for the South Korean dancers. The dancers — Jieun Heo, Jiwoo Kim, Sang Joon Park, and Jungmin Yang — are associated with Sungkyunkwan University as graduate students or alumni. This is the first trip to America for all but one of the dancers, who will be traveling with their translator Na-rae Sim.
The Korean artists commented on working with Ms. Moore. "Her movement style is very different from traditional Korean dance. Fully understanding details that were given verbally was difficult because of the language barrier," said Jiwoo Kim. "But, as time progressed, we have become much closer and understanding Bridget is much clearer. At times she speaks to us in English and we answer back in Korean, and we are all able to communicate and understand each other. We laugh a lot and it has been fun."
Dallas Black Dance Theatre will be dancing the iconic RED by Bruce Wood® during the performance. In fact, the Dallas Black Dance Theatre will be the first dance company to ever present this highly acclaimed work outside of Bruce Wood Dance Project.
Ann Williams, Founder of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, said that ever since she first saw RED she had been teasing Bruce Wood about Dallas Black Dance Theatre performing it.
“It is an honor for DBDT to have this opportunity now,” Williams says. “His death has been a lost voice in our community.”
"RED requires the kind of talented, powerful dancers that Dallas Black Dance Theater maintains,” said Kimi Nikaidoh, Artistic Director for the Bruce Wood Dance Project. “I trust DBDT to perform RED with integrity and passion, and I feel certain that DBDT's fans will leave Spring Celebration anxious to see more of Bruce's work.”
RED sends DBDT dancers into high gear with kinetic energy fueled by a pulsating violin score by Philip Glass. The Bruce Wood Dance Company premiered RED in 2001 and it became a national audience favorite. In the first movement, nine dancers weave seamlessly through space, bonded by a shared grief. In the second movement, their solidarity intensifies, launching the dance into a dynamic showcase of steady, athletic power.
Founded in 1976 by Williams and located in the downtown Dallas Arts District, Dallas Black Dance Theatre is a nationally and internationally recognized professional modern dance company that engages the cross-cultural community through contemporary modern dance presented from the African-American experience.
There are 12 professional dancers in the first company. Since its inception, the DBDT has performed on five continents and in 15 countries for 3.5 million arts patrons and 2.5 million students, grades K-12. DBDT annually serves more than 100,000 people, including more than 20,000 youth.
The Spring Celebration Series is the annual spring performance of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and will take place from May 20-22 at the Wyly Theatre in the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Arts District. Ticket prices range from $27.50 to $52.50 and can be purchased at www.DBDT.com.