School of Dance’s World Ethnic Dance Institute Hosts 25^th Anniversary Celebration Event

Celebrating its 25^th anniversary, the World Ethnic Dance Institute affiliated with the School of Dance hosts a celebration concert and forum from 4 to 6 September.

The first event is the restored Jinjakrye performance at the Yeon-gyeong-dang Hall in the Muja-Year from King Sunjo of the Joseon Dynasty. The origin of performance dates back to the Muja-Year (1828) under King Sunjo’s rulership. Crown Prince Hyomyeong (1809-1830), King Sunjo’s son, commemorated the 40^th birthday of his mother Queen Sunwon (1789-1857) with Jinjakrye at the Yeon-gyeong-dang Hall in the back of Changdeokgung Palace. Marking its 10^th anniversary this year, the restoration will bring the complete course of performance back, including 17 types of royal court Jeongjae dances, music, singing, costumes, banquets, and traditional dance equipment.

The second event on 5 September will be “World Ethnic Dance Institute’s 25^th Anniversary Celebration Forum” in Room 244 on the Seocho campus. With the presence of renowned scholars from Japan and China, the institute will look back on its past 25 years’ accomplishments and seek prospects for the future.

Lastly, “A World Intangible Cultural Heritage Retrospect Series” is planned at Lee Kang Sook Hall. It will be the sphere for introducing worldwide ethnic dances. The institute has particularly prepared for a special event where it will re-illuminate the main repertoires from the world’s intangible cultural heritage performances it invited in the past 25 years.