This dance….
is called: Salpuri
Salp'uri means literally to wash away evil spirits.The word "Salpuri" derives from the Korean-shamanistic context and literally means: SAL = evil plague and PURI = to wash, clean, dissolve, release.
Societal relevance
Salpuri is a shamanic Korean dance. Shamanism is the indigenous belief system of Korea. The Dance has been a crucial part of Korean culture, beginning in shamanistic rituals and molding into court, folk, ritual, and modern dance. Salp’uri is a Korean folk dance that was originally used in Korean shamanism after performing an exorcism. A shaman performs a gut or exorcism to receive power and energy from the spiritual world. During the exorcism, the shaman removes the sal, meaning a curse, evil spell, or negative energy from the person by absorbing it into herself. Salpuri is a dance to be performed to banish the Sal from your own psyche.
Dance & Music
Salpuri is always performed as a solo. Salpuri indicates a dance that shows the essence of (not only) Korean art: to achieve maximum impact from easiest material. This dance, one says, has the power to move the mind, helps to solve psychic knots: catharsis.
"A tiny movement of the head, or the faint trembling of the costume is able to say everything."
Kim, Suk-Cha
Salpuri dance shows the Korean East Asian aesthetic harmony of serenity and dynamism.
Three basic principles are practiced in this dance:
1. Focus and voltage (kor. Maenneun-Hyeong)
2. Controlled relaxation (kor. Eoreuneun-Hyeong)
3. Intense expression of feeling leads to detachment (kor. Puneun-Hyeong).
The order of traditional Korean music consists of a slow start, followed by a rapid increase in tempo, and then a deceleration at the end. Likewise, Salpuri Dance has three stages. The dancer starts with slow movements. The action accelerates as the dancer looks up to Heaven, expresses his or her wishes by "spreading a long handkerchief," and purifies his or her mind through graceful dancing movements. At last, the performance ends quietly, as it begins. Such a "slow-fast-slow" structure is not arranged in linear fashion, but instead in a circular manner. At the end of the dance, the performer returns to the same spot on the stage where the dance began. In an emotional context, however, the dancer does not return to the same location as the dance ends. On the contrary, the dancer is in a very different place now, with his or her mind refreshed. Thus, the end of this circle is a new beginning, a representation of the annual cycle of seasons.
Costume
The Performer wears a white hanbok dress, beo-seon socks, and carries a long white handkerchief. The hanbok (in South Korea) is the traditional Korean cloth. The term hanbok literally means "Korean clothing". The hanbok can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (1st century BC–7th century AD). Traditionally, women's hanbok consist of the Jeogori (a blouse shirt or a jacket) and the Chima (a full, wrap-around skirt). The ensemble is often known as Chima Jeogori. Men's hanbok consist of jeogori and loose fitting baji (trousers).
[1] Theater-salpuri.de, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, http://www.theater-salpuri.de/ko/theater/salpuliran-mueosinga
[2] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbok
is called: Salpuri
Salp'uri means literally to wash away evil spirits.The word "Salpuri" derives from the Korean-shamanistic context and literally means: SAL = evil plague and PURI = to wash, clean, dissolve, release.
Societal relevance
Salpuri is a shamanic Korean dance. Shamanism is the indigenous belief system of Korea. The Dance has been a crucial part of Korean culture, beginning in shamanistic rituals and molding into court, folk, ritual, and modern dance. Salp’uri is a Korean folk dance that was originally used in Korean shamanism after performing an exorcism. A shaman performs a gut or exorcism to receive power and energy from the spiritual world. During the exorcism, the shaman removes the sal, meaning a curse, evil spell, or negative energy from the person by absorbing it into herself. Salpuri is a dance to be performed to banish the Sal from your own psyche.
Dance & Music
Salpuri is always performed as a solo. Salpuri indicates a dance that shows the essence of (not only) Korean art: to achieve maximum impact from easiest material. This dance, one says, has the power to move the mind, helps to solve psychic knots: catharsis.
"A tiny movement of the head, or the faint trembling of the costume is able to say everything."
Kim, Suk-Cha
Salpuri dance shows the Korean East Asian aesthetic harmony of serenity and dynamism.
Three basic principles are practiced in this dance:
1. Focus and voltage (kor. Maenneun-Hyeong)
2. Controlled relaxation (kor. Eoreuneun-Hyeong)
3. Intense expression of feeling leads to detachment (kor. Puneun-Hyeong).
The order of traditional Korean music consists of a slow start, followed by a rapid increase in tempo, and then a deceleration at the end. Likewise, Salpuri Dance has three stages. The dancer starts with slow movements. The action accelerates as the dancer looks up to Heaven, expresses his or her wishes by "spreading a long handkerchief," and purifies his or her mind through graceful dancing movements. At last, the performance ends quietly, as it begins. Such a "slow-fast-slow" structure is not arranged in linear fashion, but instead in a circular manner. At the end of the dance, the performer returns to the same spot on the stage where the dance began. In an emotional context, however, the dancer does not return to the same location as the dance ends. On the contrary, the dancer is in a very different place now, with his or her mind refreshed. Thus, the end of this circle is a new beginning, a representation of the annual cycle of seasons.
Costume
The Performer wears a white hanbok dress, beo-seon socks, and carries a long white handkerchief. The hanbok (in South Korea) is the traditional Korean cloth. The term hanbok literally means "Korean clothing". The hanbok can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (1st century BC–7th century AD). Traditionally, women's hanbok consist of the Jeogori (a blouse shirt or a jacket) and the Chima (a full, wrap-around skirt). The ensemble is often known as Chima Jeogori. Men's hanbok consist of jeogori and loose fitting baji (trousers).
[1] Theater-salpuri.de, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, http://www.theater-salpuri.de/ko/theater/salpuliran-mueosinga
[2] Wikipedia, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbok