Spectacle « Trad Now » - Sun-A Lee x Kim Joohong / Yunbyul Ballet Company

Between heritage and contemporary creation, the Trad Now evening brings together two artistic universes that revisit Korean traditions through today's dance and music.

Part One: This part highlights the collaboration between choreographer Sun-A Lee and musician Kim Joo-Hong (Noreum Machi). Carried by the sounds of the janggu, a traditional Korean drum, this dialogue between dance and music paints a poetic landscape of rhythms, silences, and emotions, opening a new artistic exchange between Korea and France. A graduate in choreography from the Korea National University of Arts, Sun-A Lee received the French Embassy Prize at the Yokohama Dance Collection festival in 2007. Since 2010, she has regularly collaborated with several national choreographic centres in France, notably in Caen, Aix-en-Provence, and Biarritz, as part of Franco-Korean co-productions, while continuing her career as a performer with renowned choreographers, including Luc Petton. Percussionist, singer, and artistic director of Noreum Machi, Kim Joo-Hong is one of the figures committed to the renewal of traditional Korean music. Trained in pansori and Taepyeongmu music, he develops an artistic language where rhythms, voices, and improvisation meet contemporary creation. His numerous international projects and collaborations lead him to bring Korean tradition into dialogue with other disciplines and artistic sensibilities.

Part Two: This part invites the audience to discover Gat, a creation by the Yunbyul Ballet Company, directed by choreographer Park So-yun. Created in 2024, this ballet is inspired by the gat, a traditional hat from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), once a symbol of social status and now known to an international audience, notably thanks to the film KPop Demon Hunters. Through nine choreographic tableaux, the work revisits this emblematic symbol to explore Korean identity, traditions, and aesthetics. By blending symbolism, contemporary gestures, and classical vocabulary, the company offers a visually powerful ballet that reveals the richness of Korean heritage.