AHAM Art Project reimagines Lorca's 'Bernarda Alba' in ballet
AHAM Art Project, led by dancer and choreographer Ham Do-youn, will present its latest production, "Bernarda Alba," at the Daehakro Arts Theater this Saturday and Sunday.
Choreographed by Ham, the ballet is inspired by "The House of Bernarda Alba" (1936), the final work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca. Set in a small Andalusian village in the 1930s, the story unfolds within the suffocating confines of a mourning household.
Following the death of her second husband, Bernarda Alba imposes a strict eight-year mourning period on her five daughters. Believing that discipline and control are the only means to maintain order, she suppresses all expressions of personal freedom and desire.
But when Angustias, the eldest daughter, becomes engaged to a man named Pepe, tensions begin to fracture Bernarda's rigid rule, and the household turns into a battleground of suppressed longing and rebellion.
This adaptation stays true to Lorca's narrative but unfolds as a non-verbal dance performance. Structured in ten scenes, it explores themes of 'forced silence' and 'the struggle for freedom' through a fusion of ballet, Korean traditional dance and contemporary movement, according to the choreographer.
Veteran dancer Kim Soon-jung, also a professor at Sungshin Women's University with a career spanning over five decades, will take on the role of Bernarda Alba.
The five daughters will be portrayed by female dancers, while male dancers will perform as the household maids -- doubling as supporting characters and manifestations of Bernarda's inner psyche. Korean National Ballet's principal dancer Heo Seo-myeong will take on the role of Pepe.
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