Korean Folktales in Contemporary Dance
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is in full swing. This month is here to celebrate and recognize the contributions and influence that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans have on the culture in our society. We got the chance to have blog contributor MiYoung Margolis share a story about a Korean folktale that influenced her choreography for her dance company. Read on to learn more about MiYoung’s piece and to learn more about Korean culture!
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor & MiYoung Margolis
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is in full swing. This month is here to celebrate and recognize the contributions and influence that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans have on the culture in our society. We got the chance to have blog contributor MiYoung Margolis share a story about a Korean folktale that influenced her choreography for her dance company. Read on to learn more about MiYoung’s piece and to learn more about Korean culture!
MiYoung Margolis: “I have presented the original Contemporary Korean Fusion pieces inspired by Korean folktales.
Once again, I would love to talk about “One World” through the Korean Contemporary fusion dance piece since I deeply feel that is what we all need especially after the pandemic.
To me, living in this one world together means ‘Love’. And as we all know, love is all you need.
Embracing our unique heritage, while celebrating our common life journey. Though we all come from different backgrounds, We can come together to create a beautiful performance.
In my choreography, I enjoy blending Eastern to Western and Western to Eastern. To create a fusion of cultures and a performance we can all connect to.I am proud to present an original Contemporary Korean Fusion piece that once again draws from my Korean Heritage
and borrows from another Korean folktale:
Photo courtesy of www.miyoungmargolis.com
The tragic love story of So-Hwa, A Court Lady, who’s unreturned love for the king, left her waiting forever and dying alone. Her remains transformed into the imaginary flower, the “Trumpet Creeper” which to this day, still waits for the king’s return. This story is told by a diverse cast of extremely talented dancers for the screen dance film version. Kang-He and Christie are professional Korean dancers. Parmida is a professional dancer from Iran, with incredible upper-body movement and control. And the amazing Tatiana with her legendary High Kick and professional ballet and contemporary dance background.
I am so glad to be able to bring these dancers together to tell So-Hwa’s story.”
MiYoung performed this piece on May 21st at ACES: Artists of Color Expo & Symposium. We are so happy to have MiYoung share the wonderful story behind her amazing performance! Keep an eye out for more information on future performances on her instagram here! MMDC performs again May 28th at PRIDEASIA.
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Fostering Creative Collaboration Across Genres
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed more challenges than benefits for most peoples’ lives. However, in unique and unexpected ways, this time of isolation and solace has allowed people to re-connect with creative parts of themselves and explore ventures they’ve always wanted to. For MiYoung Margolis, MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective or MMDC was born out of the rubbles of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to foster creativity and collaboration across genres.
MiYoung Margolis on the Origins of MMDC
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Photo courtesy of www.miyoungmargolis.com
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed more challenges than benefits for most peoples’ lives. However, in unique and unexpected ways, this time of isolation and solace has allowed people to re-connect with creative parts of themselves and explore ventures they’ve always wanted to. For MiYoung Margolis, MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective or MMDC was born out of the rubbles of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to foster creativity and collaboration across genres.
MiYoung shares that for her entire life, dance has been a core part of who she is. She has experience mostly training in ballet and Martha Graham’s modern technique. She also trained in traditional Korean dance styles when studying for her undergraduate degree from Korea National Sport University in Seoul, South Korea. As a student, MiYoung got the opportunity to travel abroad and perform internationally. Dance also had a big influence on her outside of the classroom, as she sought out other styles like salsa. Education is another one of MiYoung’s passions, as she has a master’s degree in the subject.
In 2005, MiYoung relocated to Seattle where she worked with local cultural organizations, organizing festivals and events. She threw herself into her work and greatly enjoyed it, confessing that she became a bit of a “workoholic.” “It was an awesome experience,” she says. MiYoung also taught ballet and salsa in the community. Her husband, Jeffrey Margolis, introduced her to tango, which the two danced at their wedding.
After 12 years of living, working, and teaching in Seattle, MiYoung realized that she missed dancing on stage in group pieces. “I missed that type of group dance [where you] breathe together, practice together, and torture each other,” MiYoung laughs.
Recently, MiYoung and her husband have opened up a Seattle art gallery known as B612 that also holds a dance studio space, as well as a Korean language and culture learning center. The gallery also contains a photo studio and an event space that is available to rent. MiYoung says she feels “extremely fortunate” to be able to open up this space with her husband and have it as a space for her company to rehearse. The rehearsal space itself was a jumping off point for MiYoung to begin MMDC.
MMDC was born out of a desire to create during the pandemic. MiYoung says that in addition to the challenges 2020 presented, the difficult year also allowed her the chance to re-awaken a creative side of herself that had been dormant. In addition, MiYoung’s gallery granted her the space to “gather and organize a team of strong, willing dancers who were open-minded enough to take a chance on her choreography and unique style.” She feels grateful to have a “large collection of extremely talented dancers, each with their own unique capabilities” within MMDC. In her choreography, MiYoung seeks to express her creative vision, but also collaborate with performers based on their strengths.
Within the company, there are about 12 dancers and counting. The dancers within the collective come from different backgrounds and regions of the country and globe, making it a dynamic group that is constantly learning from one another.
Rather than channeling all of her energy into one dance piece, MiYoung desires to create various dance projects containing different stories. So far, the dance collective has created nine dance works. “My dance style is not usual, because I try to [include] a fusion [of styles],” MiYoung shares. She also expresses her infatuation with choreographing specific storylines, similar to operas. MiYoung greatly connects to song lyrics throughout her choreography and particularly enjoys choreographing love stories.
During the pandemic, MMDC has filmed its dance works outside in light of social distancing protocol. MiYoung commends her dancers for persevering during the filming sessions, sharing that many had to endure cold winter conditions and “pouring down rain.” MiYoung laughs that the less favorable Seattle weather simply added to the drama of the dances.
MiYoung shares that MMDC has turned its attention back towards choreographing for the stage. Last summer, the company had a chance to perform on an outdoor stage at the Asia Pacific Cultural Center in Tacoma, WA. “It was a celebration of the Korean harvest festival, so it was well-connected to my background,” MiYoung shares.
In 2022, MMDC has a full schedule of live performances scheduled, in secure venues that will check for COVID vaccinations and/or negative COVID tests. On January 9, 2022, MMDC kicked off its first performance of the year at the Federal Way Performing Arts and Events Center that is a celebration of Korean American culture. The performance documented a timeline of Korean music trends through the decades in collaboration with other dance artists, from showcasing disco styles in the 70s to honoring the popular Korean girl group Wonder Girls in the 2000s.
On February 19th, MMDC celebrated the Lunar New Year through dance with a community celebration. In May, MMDC is planning to dance in the Seattle Center Armory alongside various Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations. In June, MiYoung plans to showcase a piece at the Seattle International Dance Festival. She was planning to show her work at the SIDF in 2020; however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, MiYoung is eager to share her dance creations with the public after a long wait. Througout the summer, MMDC will likely participate in other festivals, so keep an eye out for those announcements.
In November 2022, MMDC will put on its own company show at Broadway Performance Hall in Capitol Hill, Seattle. In addition to showcasing MMDC’s work, MiYoung is also interested in involving child dancers in the showcase. “I love to give some of our young dancers in Seattle some opportunities,” she says. She is currently looking for studios that are interested in participating.
Moving forward, MiYoung looks forward to bringing in different instructors to teach different dance genres to MMDC. In the local dance community, she hopes to see more collaboration across dance genres and among dance artists. She believes that there are more similarities than people often recognize throughout different dance genres. “I just don’t want [us] to be against each other,” MiYoung says. Dancers learning to step out of their comfort zones and learn more about each other have the potential to create waves of creative impact.
Check out MMDC in action at the 2021 Duo Dance Festival in Seoul here.
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