2017 Afro-Cuban project by Sol

Seoul: Summer 2017

On each of my stays in Seoul I take "Afro-Cuban/Contemporary" dance classes with Sol. Every year, from the start of June, a special class is set up to build a routine, with a view to producing a performance for the Jeju Island congress (a very, very good congress). I'd had the chance to see the previous year's show, which I'd liked a lot, and the accounts from the dancers who'd taken part were very positive on top of that. Add to that a touch of nostalgia for my earlier similar experience, and I was genuinely motivated to throw myself into this adventure, even if I knew there would inevitably be a few small differences from what I'd lived through elsewhere.

The language

Sadly I don't speak Korean, and I was the only person attending the class for whom it wasn't the native language. The teacher and a few students were fairly comfortable in English, but that wasn't the case for most of the group, so 80% of the explanations were given in a language of which I didn't understand a single word :-D . Well, in the end it didn't bother me much… most of the time I managed to understand from the movements I was watching, and when it wasn't clear, if I asked questions I always got the full explanation. Beyond that, Sol really watched everyone, so if I wasn't doing what was needed he saw it, corrected me and explained in English if necessary. So in the end the language wasn't a problem, and I owe that to my classmates' help as well.

Team spirit

There was good team spirit in the performance team in NY, but in Seoul things were on another level again. Maybe it's because they were afraid I'd feel excluded, I don't know, but everyone had a genuinely warm attitude towards me and I felt well received. What's more, after every single rehearsal we'd go and eat (and drink :-D ) together. I'd never known that in my various dance groups — at any rate it was rarer. With Sol's group we often spent 2 to 3 hours together after each class. Not everyone came every time, but there were always at least a majority of the students from that class at this extended aperitif :-) .

Honestly, I loved those moments... admittedly, 95% of the conversations were in Korean (I think they were all too tired to make the effort lol), but that wasn't a problem — I think it was among my favourite moments in Seoul. Beyond that, I also think we genuinely needed those moments of relaxation, because just before, during the rehearsals, we gave everything and it was hard.

It was hard

In New York we had one rehearsal a week, about 1.5 to 2 hours, where we mainly worked on learning the choreography. In Korea the sessions with Sol lasted 3 hours on average, and I personally did two a week. We spent a good part of the time working on flexibility and strength before moving on to the choreography. All these exercises were very physical and useful; I think there was a mix of different techniques (a bit of técnica cubana, some yoga....), the aim being of course to help us avoid injury.

The rehearsal schedule turned hardcore in the week before the show. At that point we rehearsed on the Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and on those last 3 days the rehearsals ran from 10.30pm to 1.30am, with the drinks afterwards of course (I passed on the Tuesday, but on the Wednesday we finished at 4am :-D ). On the Saturday and Sunday at the Jeju congress we also rehearsed: 9pm to 11pm on the Saturday, and 7am to 11am on the Sunday. Incredible, no :-D ? I know the non-Korean readers are impressed by that schedule — I was, in any case, and I couldn't believe how well everyone was handling it.

"Korea isn't the same standard"

A quick aside on working life in Korea, based here on what some of my friends have told me. In Korea it's normal to put the company ahead of your personal life… it's normal to finish very late in the evening, every evening; it's normal to be called on a Saturday or Sunday by your boss to work immediately, all without a thank you at the end, because it's normal, so there's no need to say thank you. It's also normal not to take all the leave you're entitled to, and so on.... In France, things generally don't work like that in a company. I imagine — and this is of course only a hypothesis — that this is where my classmates' endurance came from; that rhythm of life and way of operating must spill beyond the workplace sometimes.

In conclusion

Sol told me after the show that he'd very much appreciated my attitude, and how he'd been afraid at the start that I'd struggle with not understanding the language in his class... I admit I was surprised he said that, because although there was indeed a challenge, everything went pretty smoothly. Just like Sekou in NY, Sol knew where he wanted to take us; we just had to follow and keep faith. I found the choreography genuinely magnificent, and his way of directing us and the intentions behind each movement in the show inspired me a great deal as a dancer.

So I learned a lot, and I also had something of the feeling of joining a family :) . After the show we all went straight into the sea, behind the stage… We all wanted to seize the moment.

It's very hard to put words to this experience; I'd just say that we knew how to make the most of each other's presence and of the wonderful setting offered by Jeju Island. Thank you for this experience, thank you: Jin Kyenog Jo, 이은진, HyeJin Kim, 정지연, Beko Kyoungsoo Oh, Basara Lee, Goru Lee, JeHwa Seika Park, Ji-youn Yang, Kylee Koh, Han Son Lee, Hayley Soryu, 이한나, Suim Kwon, Jihyun Lee — and of course, thank you Sol Da Corea.

thanks to salsafocus for the videos.

thanks to Seokoon Jang for the featured image and the last photo.