After five weeks of its innovative, inspiring and thought-provoking sixth annual Dance at the Odyssey Festival, this weekend brings the closing events for 2023. Choreographer/performer DaEun Jung and three fellow movers come to the West LA stage to present “BYOULNORRI (별놀이)” this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m.
This new evening-length work combines Pansori (Korean folk opera), electronic beats, irregular folk rhythms, Hangul (Korean alphabet system) and chance operations to deconstruct, reinterpret and transform classical Korean dance vocabulary. Translated into English, “Star Play” is described on Jung’s website as a “playful night of chance, system, discovery, spontaneity and connectedness.” It is performed by Arletta Anderson, Chantal Cherry, Hyoin Jun, Jung and Tulsi Shah with Pansori singer Melody Shim and composer/electronic sound player Daniel Corral.
The choreographer’s work has been supported by local and national grants, awards and residencies. She served as a master artist of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program and was selected as a Cultural Trailblazer from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs for 2019-2020. Previously, she performed in Asia and Europe as a dancer of Gyeonggi Provincial Dance Company, a dance organization renowned for its traditional and contemporary Korean dance repertoire, and also performed as a main actress in Tokebi Storm, a rhythmic physical theater group, presenting Korean-style drumming and dance in more than 1,000 shows to worldwide audiences.
—Benn Widdey, Culture Spot LA
LOCATION:
The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., LA 90064
TICKETS:
$18-$28
https://ci.ovationtix.com/34367/production/1143443?performanceId=11188855
INFO:
Photo credit: DaEun Jung / Photo by Michael Palma