Talchum dance

Talchum Dance

tradition of theatre in Korea

A1: The tradition

Korean talchum (탈춤) 'tal' (탈), mask, and 'chum' (춤), dance.

SPACE Traditionally, Open space to attract people.

CHARACTERS​ All the characters have distinct styles,animals/devins/monks. Masks are exaggerated with powerful colours.

ORIGIN:The art of mask dance appeared in the Three Kingdoms period. Nowadays, it is greatly important within the folk culture. Actively performed in the 20th century. It was used to spread thought and Korean ideas in ancient times.

PERFORMANCE​ Miming, speaking, dancing and sometimes singing.

https://weyesweb.wordpress.com/category/korean-dance/

A1: The tradition

Talchum dance-drama was originally performed in the Haeseo region.​ Main themes of Haeseo Talchum:​

• A ritual to drive away evil spirits​
• ridicule of apostate Buddhist monks​
• Satire of noblemen, or yangban​
• Relationship husband, wife​

Bongsan talchum reflects frustrations felt by the lower classes towards the Confucianism Confucianism criticized because of the ideas spread about the relationships between men and women.​ Talchum used emblematic characters to face realistic social problems

https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=121717

A2: The Convention: The Chwibari

Chwibari (Kor. 취발이, Chin. 醉僧, lit. drunken monk)

Different chwibari’s masks

Chwibari wears a red, demon-faced

https://www.maskmuseum.org/mask/bongsan-chwibari-1/

Gestures

• oe-sawi (using one arm at a time)
• yang-sawi (using two arms)
• kyup-sawi (two circles with one arm at a time)

https://www.antiquealive.com

Music played by samhyon-yukkak Dialogue: Few dialogues, recit a poem: Nakyang Dongcheon Yihwa Pavilion (Pavilion of the Eastern Sky Sunset and Pear Blossoms)

• Costume colourful hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) + white sleeve extensions called hansam.

https://www.pinterest.co.kr/pin/345229127676762444/?mt=login

B1: Practical Exploration of the Convention

Beginner (April)

Master (September)

https://youtu.be/Ubfu6FMm6m4

https://youtu.be/9LobaRbrKeQ

B2: Practical Application of the Convention to a moment of theatre

• Repetition
• Accentuation of the size of my movement

• Replication
• Rhythms
• Displined movements

• Long sleeves (boosting the dance's sens, vibrancy)
• Kimono (Korean traditional clothing)
• Mask (to be neutral)

C2. The moment of Theatre

https://nusantara-cultures.blogspot.com/2011/10/tari-topeng-mask-dance.html

D2: Comparison with Topeng

Topeng is a dramatic form of Indonesian dance

• Like talchum dance, Topeng (mask) is a dance drama where dancers wear a topeng.

• Talchum mix of people's statute / religion

• Topeng is stories of mythical kings/ heroes

• Both similar arm-moving techniques / circling one, two, or both arms simultaneously

• Dancer lifts his legs while keeping knees bent

• Both existed 300 years ago

https://www.koreanculture.org/performing-arts/2019/10/31/bongsan-talchum-korean-mask-dance

D1. Impact as a performer

Mask/ Repeated movements = Difficulty to make powerful performance -> Importance on energy/rhythms

Understanding on importance of performance's movements and costumes on the audience

Appear simple to imitate but practice helped me realize how crucial coordination in gestures is

References

Bongsan Talchum: Korean mask dance — Korean cultural center New York. (2019, October 2). Retrieved from https://www.koreanculture.org/performing-arts/2019/10/31/bongsan-talchum-korean-mask-dance 국립민속박물관. (n.d.). Haeseo Talchum. Retrieved from https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/6459 https://cducomb.colgate.domains/globaltheater/asia/for-and-by-commoners-bongsan-talchum-korean-traditional-mask-dance/ Confucianism. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/confucianism South Korea: Reasons for higher marriage age 2018. (2018, May 31). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/911163/south-korea-reasons-for-higher-marriage-age/ https://cducomb.colgate.domains/globaltheater/asia/for-and-by-commoners-bongsan-talchum-korean-traditional-mask-dance/ 국립민속박물관. (n.d.). Chwibari. Retrieved from https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/1419 국립민속박물관. (n.d.). Nojang. Retrieved from https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/1270 https://youtu.be/Ubfu6FMm6m4 https://youtu.be/9LobaRbrKeQ https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40587446.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3Aae46c85727f634dea0aa7811d69369c6&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&origin=search-results&acceptTC=1