The SooRyu Festival started as an annual event in 2003 and is now biennial since 2006. The festival has proven to be a valuable event to the Canadian cultural community. Showcasing traditional, modern, contemporary creations of all dance forms, Soo Ryu has created a harmonious community in which artists from different countries and in different stages of their careers mingle and collaborate. Genres that they have presented include traditional African, Japanese, Butoh, Chinese, Mexican, Aboriginal, Korean, contemporary, modern ballet, classical Indian and many more.
“Soo” means water & “Ryu” means flowing in Korea.
For flourishing culture of the multicultural Society in Canada.
“Soo Ryu” is a Mi Young Kim’s artistic name.
AUG 10, 2024 / 4:00PM
Main Auditorium of the Korean Canadian Cultural Association
1133 Leslie St., North York
Tickets : $25 (General) / $15 (Senior Ticket)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/943010087557?aff=oddtdtcreator
Call or email to e-transfer: (416) 366-7723
kdsscinfo@gmail.com
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WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
All Workshops are held at the Second Floor Auditorium of the KCCA (1133 Leslie St., Toronto)
$15 per Workshop. Pay at the Door.
Register at kdsscinfo@gmail.com
Aug 8th – Artist Networking Event (Private Event)
Screening of UL 哭 EUM by JinMi Park Dance Company
Performed on March 23rd, this piece honors Jinmi Park’s late father through a reinterpretation of the Ssitgimgut ritual. The dance portrays the transition to the afterlife, featuring Daegu Salpuri Dance movements and symbolic use of towels to represent the journey to heaven and protection from bad luck.
Aug 9th 6:00PM – TALCHUM – Korean Mask Dance
Explore the dynamic art of Korean mask dance through the lens of creative mask dance techniques. Discover the rugged grace and expansive breath within Korean aesthetic beauty, characterized by segmented movements and technical breath control.
Led by Yohan Jang, Yeong Seo Jung, and Soo Jeong Yu.
7:30PM – K-POP
Join us for a fun and lively K-Pop dance workshop where participants of all ages and backgrounds can easily and enjoyably learn dances that create happy and joyful memories!
Led by Yohan Jang, Yeong Seo Jung, and Soo Jeong Yu.
Aug 11th 1:00PM – HAKCHUM – Korean Crane Dane
Experience the elegance and grace of Hakchum, a traditional Korean dance that mimics the movements of cranes, through dynamic storytelling and expressive choreography in an engaging, hands-on session.
Led by Seong Hune Lee
2:30PM – TALCHUM – Korean Mask Dance
Experience the vibrant Korean tradition of Talchum, combining dynamic dance, dramatic storytelling, and intricate mask work in an engaging, hands-on session.
Led by Yohan Jang, Yeong Seo Jung, and Soo Jeong Yu.
Aug 18th 1:00PM – BUCHAECHUM – Fan Dance Video Workshop (1pm)
Be part of this exciting workshop where participants will learn choreography in the first hour and perform for a video in the second hour. Led by Mi Young Kim and filmed by Manuel García, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to master the elegant Fan Dance and star in your own professional dance video.
Aug 25th 1:00PM – Light Sound Friends Workshop and Festival Closing
Join us for our festival closing with a special workshop by LSF and sreening of BYEOLJUBUJEON (Tales of Zara)
Korean folktale performance that combines modern music, dance, and acting to depict a transformative moment, integrating disabled and non-disabled performers to unfold a poignant scene of Korean creative dance.
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Mi Young Kim
Artistic Director and Choreographer
Born in Seoul, Mi Young Kim is an immigrant artist that already had a decorated career and history in Korea before moving to Canada.
Since the age of five, she was taught by her great master teacher Yun Hak Kim, an influential dancer and choreographer who established his own dance school in 1945.
He personally trained and produced countless professionals in Korea, and over his 30-year career, Yun Hak Kim became widely known across the country for his original repertoire, becoming a historically significant figure in shaping Korean cultural dance.
Other notable figures who taught her include Man Hyang Chu, Geum Ryun Sung, Ok Jin Kim, Sung Nam Yim and Wol Young Lee. These individuals are celebrated nationally for their works in their respective area; Ogomu, the five drum dance, Seoljanggo, the Gayageum, and ballet.
Mi Young Kim lunched a multi-cultural dance festival in 2003, The 1st Soo Ryu Dance Festival. Kim was presented with her pen name from poet Geum Shil Lee, which metaphor to spread Korean culture to all parts of the world like water, and after 2003, the Soo Ryu Dance Festival began and continued as currant.
Continue to promote traditional Korean dance and further develop her art, Mi Young Kim now concentrate on training new generations of dance artists and creating a dance style that is uniquely Korean Canadian. Kim also invited traditional Korean entertainment dance performers such as Jin-Mi Park, Mi-Sook Song, and Hyegyeong Lee, and collaborated with several artists from Canadian multicultural diversity: Menaka Thakkar, Lata Pada, Zab Maboungou, William Lau, Kozakura Sensui and Oikado Ichiro.
Yohan Jang
Yeongseo Jung
Soo Yeong Yu graduated from the Department of Practical Dance at Daegu Arts University and is the representative of both U Studio and U Dance Company. As the Audit Officer for the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Branch of the Korean Dance Association, Soo Yeong is actively involved in the dance community. Soo Yeong’s notable achievement includes winning the Dance Grand Prize at the 31st National Dance Festival Jeju Regional Qualifying Competition with the piece “Haert Blam.”
Keiko has an MA in Dance from the Japan Women’s College Education where she taught modern dance and improvisation until she moved to Toronto in 2003. As a part-time faculty member of the Department of Dance at York University, she created and performed around Toronto. Her unique style is influenced by her study of Butoh and Japanese dance. She has worked with many artists in Tokyo and abroad, and has collaborated with local artists such as Parmela Attariwara, Aki Takahashi, Nagata-Shachu and Rick Thomson, as well as international artists such as Tamuran Music and costume designer Shingo Tokihiro. Her choreography has been presented at various venues and festivals. As a dancer, she has worked with many local choreographers including Holly Small, Sashar Zarif, Susan Cash, Maxine Heppner, Viv Moore, and Emily Cheung. In 2011 she co-founded Green Tea Collective.
Jeffrey Chan is the founder of the Wu Ming Dance Project whose goal is to express Asian philosophies and contemporary social identities through modern dance. Chan started dance training in Hong Kong with Chinese classical and folk dance. He first encountered Graham techniques in England at the London Contemporary Dance School.
After immigrating to Canada, he expanded his modern training in Cunningham, Limon, and Horton techniques. He studied Chen and Yang styles of Tai Chi Chuen. Chan expanded his dance experiences, in Butoh and Korean folk dance with visiting teachers in Toronto. He has created twenty original modern dance works, which have been presented at various dance festivals in Toronto: the Fringe Festival of Independent Artists; Asian Heritage Toronto; the Dim Sum Festival at the Harbourfront Centre; the Sooryu Dance Festival; Series 8:08, Asian Heritage Month Ottawa; Dance 2 Danse Festival and Chance to Dance. His full-evening works Eight Tones (2000), Nanking Monologue (2005) and The Lord of Death (2012) were well received in Toronto. His multimedia dance work The Storyteller: From Traditional to Modern was presented in China at Fringe Shanghai 2006.
Chan is actively involved in Toronto’s Chinese dance communities. With the supports from national and provincial arts councils Chan advanced his study in Chinese folk dances with mentors in China. He is working on a body-training technique based on Chinese folk dance elements. He has been the faculty member of the summer program at the National Ballet School teaching Chinese folk dances from 2008 to 2013.
Alexander Herrera graduated from the Autonomous University of Chiapas with a bachelor’s degree in dance, obtained through the Titling Seminar at the Classical and Contemporary Dance School in Mexico City. His academic journey has fostered a deep connection between contemporary dance and his creative approach, leading to opportunities with renowned companies such as “Dramadanza” by Rossana Filomarino, “LaguDanza” by Erika Méndez, and “La Ópera Moctecuzoma” by the Government of Mexico City. Throughout his career, Alexander has performed on prestigious stages across Mexico, collaborating with companies like “Errante” by Sheila Rojas, “Alternative Dance” by CONECULTA, and “Escénica Obra Negra” by Zaira Lobato. His passion for teaching has also inspired many students in his hometown and in Mexico City.
Currently, Alexander is working with notable companies in Toronto, Canada, such as Little Pear Garden Dance Company, Newton Moraes Dance Theatre, and The Parahumans, and is involved in projects with Casa Maiz Cultural Centre. In his hometown, he has distinguished himself as a choreographer, creating works addressing social issues and receiving recognition at dance festivals and competitions. His academic background includes international workshops, and his expressiveness and technical abilities highlight his commitment to innovation and creative collaboration in contemporary dance. A couple of years ago, he founded the Talante project, which offers contemporary dance activities such as annual training workshops and creative residencies, contributing to the enrichment and dissemination of contemporary dance in Mexico.
Falciony Patino was born in Funza, Colombia. He began his training in Colombian folk dance at the age of seven with the group Zaquesazipa, in Funza. After finishing high school, Patino got into the Superior Academy of Arts of Bogota (ASAB) to study contemporary dance. During his time at ASAB, he was part of the folk group Orkeseos. In 2009 he moved to Toronto, to join Ballet Creole, as a student and a company member. In 2015 Alejandro Ronceria invite him to be part of a show Amalgama in the pan american games, in 2016 he danced for Kaha:Wi Dance Theatre as a part of a the honoring and from 2017 he has been doing Mistatim an unforgettable story of reconciliation for children; the creation of Red Sky Performance . In the spring of 2012 Patino created Cabildo, a group that explores a contemporary approach to Colombian folk dance. Since he was very young, he has been experimenting with different dance styles from folk dance, ballet and contemporary to afro, urban dance, capoeira and parkour. Dance is what drives Patino out of the ordinary.
Jinmi Park is a prominent figure in Korean dance based in Daegu, who in this edition presents Chapter 4 of ‘Dongsu who became a flower’ through her Jinmi Park Dance Company, a heartfelt homage to her late father performed on March 23rd. Inspired by the Ssitgimgut ritual’s stages—Cheongsin, Osin, and Songsin—the choreography, titled ‘-Ul 哭 Eum-,’ creatively interprets the journey of spiritual transmission. Integrating Daegu’s cultural heritage, including the symbolic Gopuri technique, Park’s dancers use long towels to symbolize life’s circular nature and guide the departed safely to the afterlife, offering a poignant reflection on themes of mortality and spiritual transition.
LIGHT SOUND FRIENDS has provided education for people with disability to develop their artistic talents. The LSF has started the first performance in 2009 and has held the 11th performance in 2019. The LSF has been directing and producing various genres of dance performance by the disabled with numerous famous dancers in Korea. In 2016, the LSF has found KIADA (Korea International Accessible Dance Festival), which is the first international dance festival of people with disability. Also, LSF is making the world where people with disability can be respected their dignity and their right cultural right so that they enjoy their life happier.