“I’ll deliver a fresh image of Gyeongnam and let it soar into the world. I will show the world a culturally-rich, vibrant, and strong Gyeongnam. And I’ll present a performance that everybody can sympathize with.” These were the determined words of Prof. Kim Hyang Kum (Dept. of Dance) who was the choreography director at the opening and closing ceremonies of the ‘91st National Sports Festival’. The festival which was held at Jinju Stadium went on for 7 days, from Oct 6th to 12nd. The ceremonies featured a performance of 4,000 dancers, including CWNU students majoring in dance.

Prof. Kim is a member of the National Dance Company and has done choreography in various national sports events such as the Asian Games in 1986, Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, and the World Cup in 2002. This time, however, Prof. Kim was recognized for her ability and became the choreography director for this event.

She directed all the choreographies at the ceremonies prior to the opening, before the games, and after the games. She also helped spread environmental values with the performance ‘Gyeongnam: The Earth’s Best’. She said “Through interpretative dance performances, I’d like to raise awareness about the beautiful natural environment of Gyeongnam and the Upo Wetlands, and the endangered ibis. Also, I’ll do an interpretative dance on the ethnic unity under the Japanese invasion of Korea.” She emphasized that the grand finale performance at the closing ceremony was a modern rendition of ‘Gang-gang-swol-lae’ in which the whole cast hold hands symbolizing an invocation of peace and stepping forward into the world with Gyeongnam.

Kim Do-Yeon  titi9273@changwon.ac.kr

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