WEBZINE ACC

ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival is one of the largest performing arts festivals for children and teenagers in Korea, where you can meet the distinguished works of performing arts for children and teenagers across the world. The ACC presents two children's performances as part of the "2022 ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival".

From July 23 to 24, the ACC will host the <Ne Ne Ne>, a work by the Swedish group, ZebraDans, and from July 30 to 31, the ACC will host the <Happy Happening>, a work by the Space Circus Salon of Korea. Both works are intended for kindergarteners and elementary schoolers, with an age rating of above 36 months of age. We introduce to you two performances that are filled with the pure gaze and imagination of children.

# ZebraDans of Sweden <Ne Ne Ne>

<Ne Ne Ne> Performing Company - ZEBRA DANS

On a purple stage, where stage props that stimulate the children's interests lie, two dancers and a musician appear. Two dancers express the beings in the beautiful forest through dance and miming, with unique expressions and gestures.

This performance is a "non-verbal dance theater", a genre where the performance is delivered through sounds and gestures, rather than words. Indeed, there is not a single line uttered in the performance. But the performance communicates perfectly with the children without words.

Perhaps words are not always required for us to communicate with others. On the contrary, atypical forms of non-verbal expressions can help the children imagine different things. With each item, gesture, and expression, the children erupted in laughter.

The stage became a forest, then the sea, the snake came out, followed by fishes, all based on the creativity of the children. By communicating with music, dance, and gestures, the children overcome the language barrier and create their own forest.

<Ne Ne Ne> is a joint creation between the Cultural Company, SangSang Maru, of Korea and ZebraDans of Sweden, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Sweden. After the screening of the <Ne Ne Ne> in Korean last year, the second version of <Ne Ne Ne> in Swedish was created this year.

Interestingly, "Ne Ne Ne" is an expression of affirmation in Korea, while in Swedish "Ne Ne Ne" is used as negation. In fact, the title of this performance came from its dual meaning, which symbolizes two different cultures.

An experience workshop was held with the dancers and musicians after the end of the performance. This performance invites the children to re-create the animals that the dancers had performed onstage through dance. Children follow the dancers in this "animal dance", a series of gestures that symbolize the caterpillar, lion, alligator, etc. accompanied by live music provided by the musicians. Through that, the children learn to express themselves and have fun together. The performance used free form and artistic expressions to stimulate the creativity and the senses of the children.

# Space Circus Salon <Happy Happening>

<Happy Happening> Performing Company – Space Circus Salon

Familiar and mundane objects and sceneries are transformed through creativity into a circus. <Happy Happening> is a children's performance that was created as a way to re-trace our daily lives from the eyes of children, who focus on events occurring in the moment.

Just like its title, the "happy happening" created by four circus fairies brings a world of fantasy, full of creativity, into life onstage. This performance eschews clear-cut narratives and uses bodily senses and elements of fleeting, momentary communication. As such, the performance is completed by the children, specifically their creativity and the stories.

<Happy Happening> Performing Company – Space Circus Salon

From cup moving to fashion show on a tightrope, moving with the tides, making a large second hand for a clock, and going to the land of dreams with a lullaby, the children see their daily lives unfold onstage as a circus.

This process helps them approach their daily lives with greater interest and meaning. Through the circus, the performance shares the joy of fantasy with children, and offer the children the experience of coming to realize the preciousness of their daily lives.

Both <Ne Ne Ne> and <Happy Happening> do not present specific stories, but rather let the children's imagination fill in the blanks. They offered meaningful opportunities to help the children grow their artistic sensibilities from their point of view.