A Festival of Korean Dance tours five venues in its ninth year

Returning to The Place for its ninth year, A Festival of Korean Dance brings a selection of Korea’s premier dance companies to the UK, including returning favourites Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC). Coming to The Place and Lowry, KNCDC will bring a double bill of new work, including the latest piece from choreographer Young-doo Jung, inspired by the Voyager space probe, following his 2025 Olivier Award nomination for Lear at the Barbican. Also returning to the festival 99 Art Company will be bringing two different shows, including a double bill contemplating grief, sorrow and resilience, and Ryu and Friends will make their UK debut with GRAVITY.

The festival opens on 13 May at both The Place, London and Tramway, Glasgow. At The Place, returning company 99 Art Company will present work new to the UK, Abyss & Ekah, a double bill interrogating the power of art to connect and drive change. The first half of the show explores ‘han’ – a deep, unspoken sense of sorrow and resilience. In Ekah, a female dancer and male pianist contemplate when to resist and when to confront grief. The company will then tour Burnt Offering, which received its UK premiere in 2024 at The Place, to Pavilion Dance South West (15 May) and Dance City Newcastle (18 May). Based on the traditional dance ‘Seungmu’, the Seoul Arts Award winning show clouds the stage with incense as dancers become engrossed in repetitive daily routines, finding meaning, beauty and peace in a world that grinds us down.

Making their UK debut after over a decade of creating dance in Korea and around the world, Ryu and Friends will present GRAVITY at Tramway (13 May) then The Place (15 May). Swept up by an invisible force, an eleven-strong company shakes, scatters and spins. GRAVITY is a work about relationships between all matter; the push and pull, the chaos, the harmony, the awe and the grace, of life in the universe.
Closing the festival, KNCDC will perform a double bill of Voyage & Hakkō at Lowry (26 – 27 May) and The Place (29 – 30 May). From 2025 Olivier Award nominated Young-doo Jung (Lear, Barbican), Voyage follows a solitary spacecraft, inspired by the 1977 probe that spent a lifetime venturing into the unknown, attempting to pause the present moment and lead us into a world beyond our experience. The show is accompanied by a score that includes sounds that were recorded onto a disk and sent into space with the probe. Finally, Ryu Suzuki’s Hakkō is a modern prayer to keep breathing in a world of perpetual flux, with dancers in a trance-like state of deep concentration against the intense energy of club culture and electronic music.

Jaeyeon Park, Senior Producer at the Korean Cultural Centre UK, said, “As the festival celebrates its 9th year, it is a pleasure to open simultaneously at The Place in London and Tramway in Glasgow. Audiences can look forward to the return of 99 Art Company with Abyss & Ekah, alongside the UK debut of Ryu and Friends, whose GRAVITY brings explosive physical energy to the stage. Korea National Contemporary Dance Company also returns with a striking double bill, featuring Voyage by Olivier Award–nominated choreographer Young-doo Jung and the meditative intensity of Hakkō. Following its powerful reception in London, we are excited to see whether Burnt Offering will resonate just as deeply with audiences in Bournemouth and Newcastle.”

Christina Elliot, Head of Programming and Producing at The Place, said, “A Festival of Korean Dance is always a highlight of our theatre season as we celebrate the artistry and skill of Korea's finest dancers and choreographers, inviting some festival favourites back as well as introducing new artists to the UK. This year we're delighted to showcase two new works from 99 Art Company, following their sensual feast, Burnt Offering, which captivated audiences in 2024. Ryu and Friends make their UK debut with GRAVITY, a bold riot of energy and precision, and the festival concludes with Korea National Contemporary Dance Company with a contrasting double bill which plays with lush musicality, intense rhythms and moments of stillness and minimalism. Each of the works, in different ways, address the emotions which can threaten to overwhelm, whilst seeking beauty, clarity and joy.”

A Festival of Korean Dance was established in 2018 as part of the Korea/UK Season, and The Place and the Korean Culture Centre UK have been partnered on the festival year on year. In 2026, the festival is presented with support from Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE). The growing popularity of the festival has coincided with the booming global success of the cultural phenomenon known as Hallyu – the wave of Korean pop culture. Over the span of eight remarkable years, the festival has proudly welcomed the participation of 25 esteemed companies, among them the prestigious Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, Art Project BORA, Modern Table, and Collective A. Together, they have presented a total of 29 dance pieces, accompanied by an impressive selection of 12 evocative dance films and documentaries.