South Korean band presents unique show in Baku
Baku hosted a unique concert featuring Azerbaijani and South Korean bands last week dedicated to the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
South Korea was represented at the event held at the Heydar Aliyev Palace, titled ``The harmony between Korean and Azerbaijani people``, by the united Kwanggaeto Samulnori band led by Kwon Junsung, while Azerbaijan - by the State Dance Ensemble headed by People`s Artist Afag Malikova and the instrumental ensemble Dan Ulduzu named after Gulara Aliyeva.
Kwanggaeto Samulnori delivered a fascinating performance synthesizing national tunes and dancing with contemporary rhythms. These included Mega Drum, featuring a convergence of modern dances and traditional Korean tunes. Also presented was B-Boy, the Korean break dance, which combines American, African American and Latin American hip hop tunes and is very popular among Korean youths. This was followed by an interesting rhythmical show of the Korean traditional dance Buchaechum (ventilator dance), which produces the effect of wavy unfolding colors. The Sori show, which was also part of the concert, is a genre of Korean traditional music that includes Pansori and a variety of Korean voice rhythms.
Pansori (or phansori) is a musical genre often referred to as ``Korean opera``. It is a vocal and percussional music performed by a sorikkun (singer) and a gosu (drummer).
The word ``phansori`` is derived from ``phan``, which means ``a place of public gathering`` and ``sori``, which stands for ``sound``. UNESCO has included ``phansori`` into the list of masterpieces of verbal and intangible heritage of humanity.
The audience was particularly fascinated by Pangut, a dance show of exorcism. Dancers appeared in hats with long sangmo ribbons and held Samul items in their hands personifying four symbols - wind, thunder, rain and a cloud. They showed a dance with energetic moves on stage worshipping soil and air.
In the final, all the participants sang the Korean folk song Arirang in hip hop style.
An AzerNews reporter has watched a rehearsal of the Kwanggaeto Samulnori band and briefly interviewed its leader.