archive FY2022 ARCHIVE

[Application project]
“Encore” Project

[Applicant]
Yuni Hong Charpe

[Subsidy] 400,000 yen

[Overview]
The “ENCORE” project involves workshops with people of overseas backgrounds living in and around Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture; the development of a lecture performance in collaboration with a Korean dance artist living in Japan and a Japanese–French interpreter; and video production. The project examines the complex identity of Choi Seung-hee, once known as the “Dancing Princess of the Peninsula,” who was active across Japan, Korea, Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world. By “reenacting” history through different methods, the project seeks ways to reconnect it with contemporary society, while reconsidering questions of identity and various issues that became visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the residency production, presentations are planned both in Japan and internationally, including Kyoto and France.

[Outcome]

From March 1 to April 6, 2022, research activities based at ICA Kyoto included collecting materials related to Choi Seung-hee, conducting workshops, and carrying out interviews concerning foreign resident communities in Kyoto. In particular, interviews were conducted at the Kyoto City International Foundation regarding newcomer foreign resident communities, and at the Minamiyamashiro Compatriot Life Counseling Center regarding the history of the Utoro district (Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture) and long-established Korean resident communities in Japan.

From April 7, production of the lecture performance was carried out at the Kinosaki International Arts Center (Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture) in collaboration with translator and interpreter Akihito Hirano. In addition, video filming was conducted at the seaside together with Yun Miyu, a Korean dancer in Japan who carries on the dance tradition of Choi Seung-hee, video artist Yukiko Iioka, and film director Natsuka Kusano. Alongside these filming activities, the workshops listed below were also held.

Workshop “Oriental Dance Club” at the Kinosaki International Arts Center. Courtesy: Kinosaki International Arts Center (Toyooka City).

First, the artist collective Ad Mornings was invited as a guest to conduct the workshop “Ad Mornings Migration,” which facilitated an exchange with people of overseas backgrounds living in the Toyooka area. Together with participants who had roots in other countries and experiences of migration to Japan, interviews were conducted regarding experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted mobility, and articles were collaboratively produced.

Next, the workshop “Oriental Dance Club” was held, combining a lecture on Korean dance by Yun Miyu with exercises by Yuni Hong Charpe that reconsidered the concept of the “Orient.”

Workshop “Oriental Dance Club” at the Kinosaki International Arts Center. Courtesy: Kinosaki International Arts Center (Toyooka City).

Through this process of production and research, a open rehearsal of the “ENCORE” project and a session for sharing audience responses were held on May 8. The lecture performance reconsidered the trajectory of Choi Seung-hee—known as the “Dancing Princess of the Peninsula” and active across Japan, Korea, Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world—through the use of different languages and images.

The performance incorporated recreated images based on texts and photographs quoted from archival materials related to Choi Seung-hee. Alongside these, it also used documentation from Yuni Hong Charpe’s research journeys to places associated with Choi or places where her presence could be evoked.

From May 10 onward, the project returned to Kyoto, where editing work on the filmed material was carried out, alongside the production of publicity materials for the presentation at ICA Kyoto and further research on topics addressed in the lecture performance. Subsequently, on September 18, video works from the project were exhibited at Le Cneai = (Centre national édition art image) in France. Future presentations are also planned in live performance and installation formats.

Open rehearsal of the lecture performance “ENCORE” at the Kinosaki International Arts Center. Courtesy: Kinosaki International Arts Center (Toyooka City) © igaki photo studio

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[Related Sites]

Yuma Ochi, “Seeking a Language Yet to Come: Notes on Viewing the Open Rehearsal of Yuni Hong Charpe’s “ENCORE”
(Website: Kinosaki International Arts Center)

https://kiac.jp/article/1407/