Professor Lee Sun Ok's, founder of Son dance, hwadu(roughly meaning "one's life-long riddle") is 'dance and meditation.' Her dance world, revealed by seemingly intense yet restrained bodily movements, brings the observing person to feel a sense of subtle originality combined with a special feeling of inspiration. This dance world of hers will be revealed on stage once again for the year 2000.

The performance 'Son Dance and Song - Form is Emptiness 2000' will take place this month on the 16th and 17th at 7:30 pm at the Dongsung Art Center in Seoul.

In this performance, which will preview a form of dance, based on Son philosophy, combining modern ballet with Son dance techniques, the three music genres of Buddhist chanting, P'ansori, and Jazz will be used as background music, thus revealing the unique Son dance world of Professor Lee.

Of special interest in this performance will be Professor Lee's attempt to combine Son dance with the 'Sitting Gut(shamanistic ritual)' of Ch'ungch'ung province. The performance has not neglected visual effects either as, in a scene based on the Buddhist phrase Sulwi sulchon, a spell to drive out demons, Professor Lee comes down onto the stage from mid-air, using the bell in the back-setting to lower her down.

"In this performance, through Son dance, I have tried to express the Great Freedom of Chinkong myoyu(literally meaning, "true emptiness, subtle form") from the state of No-mind, by emptying my body and mind," Professor Lee said. In explaining her intentions for this performance, she went on to say, "in greeting the new millenium, I have attempted to guide the lost souls in both the seen and unseen worlds and pray for their easy passage into Sukhavati Heaven, erase all of the ill fortune and potential calamities surrounding both the people of the audience and the dancers, and thereby bring peace to their minds and a feeling of visual beauty."

Professor Lee, who trained under the late Kim Paek Ch'o, Lee Mae Bang, and Kim Ch'on Hung, made her debut in the ballet world of New York at Carnegie Hall in 1972, while she was in her 4th year of studying abroad in the United States. In 1974, she established the 'Son Dance Troupe.' Professor Lee has introduced the world of Son dance to the rest of the world, through mainly 20 performances, in such places as the U.S., Canada, France, Hong Kong, and so on. (02)737-4045

(Caption below photograph)

Professor Lee prays for the mind's peace and eradication of ill fortune through Son ballet in 'Form is Emptiness 2000'