within the International showcase of young choreographers

Bouncing ball unceasingly, soaring energy to the top.
Now they are rushing to the rest!

In Rest, Korean choreographer Lee Jae-young wanted to represent eagerness and emptiness of relaxation, adding flexible and organic movements of the basketball. By using the constantly movable ball’s image and the burning out and fatigue from continuous exercise, he represented one image with the desperation of relax and the following emptiness. While he is running at the very moment when the body movement is totally stopped, it is the relaxation, that is, the emptiness at that time. To express fatigue given by continuous exercise, and eagerness for relaxation by that fatigue, and subsequent emptiness by relaxation, images are combined with the basketball constantly bounding a ball, so that audience could breathe and empathize together, not feeling awkward.

Rest is the work where choreographer Lee Jae Young represents most wit and sense. He uses human body, especially head, like a ball, and the scene that dancers’ relaxation which can be seen at the backstage is, as it is, represented in front of the stage shows his witty. It is an interesting short work with diverse use of trifling movement and reversal doing away with the stereotype.
Park Sung-hye, Dance Magazine Momm

Lee Jae-young studied dance and choreography at Seoul Institute of the Arts and Hansung University and received the best choreography award from Seoul Dance Collection, Seoul Performing Arts Festival and selected as Best Rookie choreographer from Contemporary Dance Association of Korea in 2009. As one of the best dancer who has ability of vigorous expression and dance techniques, he has steadily developed his career and expanded his activities in both local and international field. Lee Jae-young is interested in making movements which is accentuating unique body texture and working in a collaboration with other artists from theater, music and mime, etc. Company SIGA, founded in 2013 is pursuing to expand the area of contemporary dance, trying the experimental and challenging combination with different arts and dance.

choreographer: Lee Jae-young
dancers: Lee Jae-young, Shin Jeaho
lighting: Ahn Jihyun
music: Gotan project
production: Company SIGA
supported by: SIDance Festival, Center Stage Korea 2015 – Korea Arts Management Service
and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

[photo: Lee Jaehun]