When there is a group of people, competition is bound to arise. Someone will get ahead while others fall behind. Humans, who cannot survive alone by nature, must inevitably “compete” and “coexist” with others at the same time. In this performance, Kim Jaeduk maintains the significance of Agon, but also, focuses on realizing the harmony between the music and choreography, remaining true to his choreographic philosophy of emphasizing movement over narrative structure. In this performance, Kim, who writes most of the music for his choreography, embarks on a new challenge by creating a new language of movement to accompany the music of ‘Agon’ written by Stravinsky. * ‘Agon’ signifies a ‘contest,’ ‘competition’ or ‘a conflict or combat between people.’ in ancient Greek.

Choreographer Jung Youngdoo, who chose Stravinsky’s ‘Symphony in C’ for this performance, is inspired by the people, landscapes and various scenes he encountered on a trip in preparation for this performance, which he then translates into his own unique movements. Jung focuses on creating a performance where music and dance can be appreciated together in unison. The dancers on stage create a unique landscape of movements shaped by the music, while the audiences are to imagine and create a landscape of their own from the performance.

Stravinskyʾs ʿThe Rite of Springʾ, the music written “as he hears”, as Stravinsky once said met Ahn Sungsoo, the choreographer known as dancing “as he hears”. Whereas Ahn’s Rose from 2009 centered on the narrative and image, his The Rite of Spring in 2018 emphasizes musical sensibility and interpretation while highlighting the contrast between the delicate expression of femininity and the dynamic energy of masculinity.