History of Korean Dance
Korean dance focuses on the internal expression and metaphysical joy and ecstasy, or mot and heung. The body is usually concealed in voluminous dresses and full sleeves to depict the veneration of flowers and birds with reference to influences from surrounding cultures but modified by sophistication and trend. The turned–up–toed slippers are the embodiment of Korean culture displaying unity, flow and spirit, or hon.
The Korean dancer is never still. Something is always in motion and appears to the audience as graceful and gentle, yet powerful and spirited. The embodiment of Korean dance is the interrelatedness of the whole, where no part is separate and no whole is without the sum of its parts. It is an art that mirrors the Korean yin and yang approach to life.
