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PAMS Choice

Introducing outstanding contemporary performing arts
from Korea to the global stage curated by PAMS.

  • Showcase
  • Dance
  • Contemporary Dance
Your Symptoms Melancholy Dance Company
  • 10-16(Thu) 15:30 ~ 16:00
  • Daloreum Theater, National Theater of Korea
"Joyful, Painful, Melancholic" Modern individuals, often struggling to openly express their emotions, seek an outlet to break free from the emptiness and melancholy weighing heavily on their lives.
  • #YourSymptoms #MelancholyDanceCompany #ContemporaryDance
Introduction to the work

<Your Symptoms> directly addresses the identity crisis and social issues faced by modern individuals, expanding the boundaries of perception and sensation. Today, people live with unnamed emotions—loneliness, sorrow, anxiety, psychological wounds, and a lack of love. Yet they conceal their inner pain behind expressionless faces, rarely revealing their emotional scars to the outside world. This work intricately expresses the loneliness and emotional unease of modern individuals and, through a deep exploration of universal human sentiments, proposes a fresh mode of contemporary stage expression that encourages expanded reflection and thought. Audiences expand personal experiences into universal emotions, sharing a complex experience through physical movement and the structural experimentation of dance. Through <Your Symptoms>, audience members are invited to observe their unresolved emotions, break free from a social structure that inhibits emotional expression, and enter their own symptoms with both sincerity and playfulness.

Melancholy Dance Company

Founded in 2016 by choreographer JEONG CHEOL-IN, Melancholy Dance Company views the world we live in as a source of artistic inspiration, creating performances that reflect contemporary human experiences and resonate with a wide range of audiences. Major works include <Flight>(2016), <0g>(2018), <Übermensch>(2019), <Your Symptoms>(2020), and <Mobility> (2021). The company has received numerous honors, including commendation from the minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2021; the Jury President’s Award at the 5th Seoul Dance Film Festival for the dance film Übermensch; the Best Performance Award at the 26th Dance Arts Awards hosted by Changmu Arts Center in 2020; and the Best Work Award from the Korean Dance Critics Association in 2019. In 2023, Melancholy Dance Company began expanding beyond the field of dance, starting with a performance featured in the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series: Little Ark, an exhibition by Choe U-Ram at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Seoul. Since then, the company has been seeking to expand its presence not only in Korea but also on international stages.

<Key artist introduction>
* JEONG CHEOL-IN (Choreographer)
Jeong Cheol-in, founder and artistic director of Melancholy Dance Company, began his creative journey with the work Free Fall in 2014. Since then, he has actively created and presented works such as <Flight>(2016), <0g>(2018), <Übermensch>(2019), <Your Symptoms>(2020), <Mobility>(2021), and <Unprotected>(2022), earning recognition from the dance community for his choreographic expertise and promising potential. With a focus on physicality, Jeong explores diverse movement styles and modes of expression to craft performances that deeply connect with audiences. Through consistent dedication and sincerity, he continues to develop his artistic vision as both a dancer and choreographer.

Here is a table explaining the program details. It consists of direction, cast, composition, music director, showcase time, composition, tour personnel, original work, contact information, and development support.
Choreographer Jeong cheolin Performers Jeon joongkeun, Jeong cheolin, Ju youngsang, Kim yunhyun, Lee hak, Lee hyunsup, Mun gyungjae, Ryu jisoo
Duration(Full-length) 50 minutes Tour Size 9 (7 performers, 2 staff members)
Contact Kim Minyoung / melancholydc@naver.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/melancholy_dc/
Review
  • "A self-portrait of the young soul of our time expressed through functional dance, Melancholy Dance Company’s <Your Symptoms>.
    Since it is a work that fully reflects the artist’s own emotions and thoughts, it has the advantage of being most authentically realized by its creator. However, beyond that, Jeong Cheol-in, who commands the stage with functional dance imbued with sensitive and emotional expression, becomes an icon of his own creation. This level of mastery, as both choreographer and performer, is a realm only a dancer of exceptional skill can achieve. (Summary)"
    - Shim Jungmin, Dance Critic, In-depth Review, ARKO Daehangno Arts Theater (2023)

    "Work: <Your Symptoms>. Like a cartoon where a small dark cloud hovers only above the head of a melancholic character, a water sprayer persistently chases him, sprinkling a light rain. Eventually, he becomes soaked, and the accumulated droplets bounce back in response to JEONG CHEOL-IN’s movements. The body’s expressive power visualizing emotions is outstanding. (Summary)"
    - Yoon Daeseong, Editor-in-Chief, Dance Forum (2023)

    "JEONG CHEOL-IN’s choreography, Your Symptoms, is an intriguing work filled with restrained composition and playful expressions. The various repetitive yet everyday expressions help form a sense of empathy with the audience, and the symbolic actions in the latter part add a sense of gravity."
    - Kim Hoyoun, Dance Critic, Dance Forum (2021)

group photo