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| Dancer and choreographer Ahn Eun-me, top left, holds an online workshop for '1 Minute 59 Seconds Around the World.' Courtesy of Eun Me Ahn Company |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Dancer and choreographer Ahn Eun-me moved her work online after the "interruption" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In her latest project "1 Minute 59 Seconds Around the World," Ahn attempts to connect the world with an online dance workshop.
Ahn was in France preparing for a three-month touring production in Europe when COVID-19 hit earlier this year. She cancelled the tour for the safety of her troupe and returned to Korea as the future of her projects became uncertain due to the pandemic.
Eager to continue with her work, Ahn collaborated on a new online project with 40 creative people around the world.
"In the post COVID-19 era, the traditional education system has expanded to include online platforms, opening up new possibilities," she said.
"COVID-19 has separated people as they are asked to observe two meters of social distancing. However, '1 Minute 59 Seconds Around the World' has proven that people can communicate with each other even if they are thousands of kilometers away."
The original "1 Minute 59 Seconds" was premiered in 2014, drawing inspirations from Andy Warhol's "15 Minutes of Fame." Each participant comes up with their own piece of choreography lasting 1 minute and 59 seconds and presents it on stage. The participants communicate and influence each other, producing new performances each time.
While the original production accepted participants from the country in which it was performed and they gathered in person for the workshop, the online edition has recruited participants from across the globe and all communicated through video conferencing platform Zoom.
Ahn recruited a mix of amateur performers and total beginners over the age of 16, who were ready to invest "both seriously and crazily."
Forty participants from over 10 countries including the United States, France, Brazil and the Czech Republic were selected and went through 15 online lectures and workshop sessions with Ahn and in small groups.
Each participant's 1 minute and 59 seconds resulted in an 80 minute video, which premiered at the Yeongdeungpo Art Hall in Seoul, July 31, accompanied by a live performance of the Eun Me Ahn Company, and was made available online on Ahn's YouTube channel, Friday.
The project is offered with the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture's COVID-19 Emergency Art Support program.
Ahn made her debut with "Paper Steps" and founded the Eun Me Ahn Company in 1988. She is noted for working with dancers from all ages and backgrounds as well as trained dancers ― she created "Dancing Grandmothers" with elderly women, "Daeshim Dance" with those who suffer from dwarfism and "Ahnsim Dance" with the visually impaired.
Ahn was an associated artist of Theatre de la Ville in Paris, France for its 2018-2019 season. In 2018, Ahn explored the iconic dances of North Korea such as military parades and fan dances in "North Korea Dance."
Last year, Ahn celebrated her 30-year career through the exhibition "Known Future" at the Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art.
