ABSTRACT

This study examines how and why traditional dance in Korea is conceptualized in a way that diverges from the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention of UNESCO. Using literature review and discourse analysis, it analyzes Korean cultural heritage laws and policy documents while critically engaging with theoretical shifts in folklore studies, anthropology, and performance studies that informed the ICH framework. The findings show that the Korean system conceptualizes traditional dance as a formalized performing art of professional practitioners, grounded in a product-oriented paradigm emphasizing historic value, artistry, and superiority. In contrast, the ICH Convention foregrounds a process-oriented paradigm, understanding heritage as community-based practice, transmission, and performance. This divergence produces a structural gap between form-centered and process-centered perspectives of the same dance practices. This study conceptualizes this difference as a tension between “preservation-oriented” and “process-oriented” paradigms, and proposes the necessity of reformulating the dual ontology of the intangibility and tangibility of dance cultural heritage.

This study aims to identify the cognitive emotional mechanisms underlying why AI-based performance reproduction does not fully feel “authentic” to audiences, and to analyze the structure of audience authenticity perception. An AI-based performance reproduction video featuring Audrey Hepburn was used as a stimulus. The study does not seek to evaluate the authenticity of a specific traditional dance form, but focuses on how perceived visual artificiality influences authenticity loss and emotional distance. The research model draws on uncanny valley theory, perceptual realism, authenticity theory, and Walter Benjamin’s concept of aura. PLS-SEM analysis of 1,124 respondents revealed that unnatural gaze and facial expressions, violations of physical laws and detail errors, and excessively smooth skin representation all had significant effects on authenticity loss and emotional distance. Authenticity loss significantly affected emotional distance and partially mediated the relationship between visual artificiality and emotional distance. The findings suggest that audience experience in digital performing arts may be shaped more strongly by the perceived naturalness and authenticity of performance than by the level of visual reproduction itself.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of narcissism on self-management and performance confidence among university students majoring in dance. A survey was conducted with dance majors enrolled in four-year universities in Seoul, and a total of 363 valid questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS Version 23.0. Data analysis included frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability testing, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The findings are as follows. First, narcissism had a statistically significant effect on self-management. Second, narcissism significantly influenced performance confidence. Third, self-management had a significant positive effect on performance confidence. These results indicate that narcissism functions as a psychological resource that promotes self-management and enhances performance confidence among dance majors. The findings suggest that, within pre-professional dance training contexts, certain dimensions of narcissism may contribute positively to psychological stability and performance-related competence.

This study examined the effects of performance participation motivation on dance self-confidence and major satisfaction among Chinese international students majoring in dance studying at Korean universities and tested the mediating effect of dance self-confidence. A survey was conducted with 303 respondents, and the collected data were analyzed using measurement and structural equation models. The results showed that performance participation motivation had significant positive effects on both dance self-confidence and major satisfaction. Dance self-confidence also had a significant positive effect on major satisfaction and demonstrated a mediating effect in the relationship between performance participation motivation and major satisfaction. These findings suggest that systematic support for performance experiences and educational support measures to enhance dance self-confidence are necessary to improve major satisfaction and academic adjustment among international dance major students in Korea.

This study examined examine the effect of resilience on dance performance confidence of university students majoring in modern dance and to investigate the mediating role of psychological well-being in this relationship. Data were collected from 154 modern dance majors across Korea using a non-probability sampling method, and an online survey was employed for analysis. The validity and reliability of the collected data were confirmed through factor and reliability analyses, followed by multiple regression analysis and mediation analysis based on the procedure proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986). The results indicated that resilience had a significant positive effect on dance performance confidence, and that psychological well-being was found to mediate this relationship.

This study aims to critically approach the immersive element in William Forsythe's Heterotopia.. The research method uses a variety of data, including a direct viewing of the performance and criticism presentations, to overcome the limitations of literature research. The research discusses how Richard Schechner's environmental concept influenced early immersive performances in the postmodern period, while highlighting how Jacques Ranciere's concept of eliminating differences between the stage and the auditorium contributed to the full-scale spread and development of immersive performances. Based on this, space dismantling and installation, sound installation, movement away from traditional techniques, and active and subjective gaze of the audience are discussed as immersive elements in William Forsythe's Heterotopia. This study will provide important analytical data to the dance scene of Korea, where the production of dance works utilizing immersive elements has been increasing recently.

Marion Meyer’s Pina Bausch: Tanz kann fast alles sein resonates deeply from its title alone. “Unending gesture” implies that while Bausch is no longer with us, her artistic spirit lives on and continues to inspire future generations. Written by journalist Marion Meyer and translated by Joonseo Lee, the book is divided into nineteen chapters that chronologically follow Bausch’s artistic journey. It highlights not only her most renowned works but also lesser-known pieces, offering insight into their creative processes and behind-the-scenes stories. Photos from rehearsals and performances, as well as images with fellow artists, enrich the narrative. The book unfolds from three key perspectives: Bausch’s childhood and student life in New York; her creative work in Wuppertal and abroad; and the continuation of her legacy after her death. It also includes interviews with Bausch and her dancers, who speak of her not just as a director but as a companion in artistic exploration. These testimonies reveal how her presence lived vividly in the people she worked with. Ultimately, Pina Bausch: Tanz kann fast alles sein is not just a biography, but a testament to how Pina Bausch’s art continues to move within the bodies and memories of those she touched.

This study aims to analyze the characteristics of domestic and international dance performances utilizing VR technology, focusing on immersion and interactivity, and to explore their future potential. To achieve this, five works showcasing prominent collaborative features of VR-based dance performances implemented between 2016 and 2023 were selected for case analysis. The production processes and interviews were thoroughly examined to specify the developmental potential and limitations of VR dance performances. The findings are study highlights the collaboration between VR technology and dance performances as a means to create new artistic forms that enhance immersion and interactivity. It is expected to contribute to the development of specific methodologies that expand the expressive potential of the body and actively engage the audience.

Dance majors' dance emotional expressiveness is based on their body-emotion integration, which impacts their level of performance engagement. Through training to improve the expression of dance emotions, dance majors learn to identify and express their feelings. In this study, 507 Chinese majors in contemporary dance were asked to evaluate the relationship between dance emotional expressiveness and performance participation using emotional intelligence. The findings demonstrated a substantial relationship between dance emotional expressiveness and emotional intelligence, as well as a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and performance engagement. Furthermore, it was discovered that the relationship between dancers' emotional expressiveness and performance involvement was mediated by emotional intelligence. This study is important because it sheds light on the relationship between Chinese contemporary dance majors' performance engagement, emotional expressiveness, and emotional intelligence. This information will help develop better teaching strategies and curricula.

The purpose of this study is to investigate and reflect on the pro-Japanese activities of Choe Seunghui, also known as Sai Shoki (1911-1969) during the Japanese colonial period. I reviewed literature including the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Figures and documents from the Investigation Committee on Pro-Japanese Collaborators, as well as newspaper articles. Choe Seunghui's pro-Japanese activities from 1937 to 1944 included: first, donating large sums of money to national defense funds and pro-Japanese organizations; second, performing numerous consolation shows for the Imperial Japanese Army; and third, receiving the National Cultural Award for her pro-Japanese work Muhon. Immediately after liberation, Choe exhibited a process of denial, acknowledgment, atonement, and justification regarding her pro-Japanese actions. The study discusses her own stance on her pro-Japanese activities, the positions of South and North Korea, and the perspectives of the South Korean dance community after the lifting of restrictions on her works, highlighting the gap between 'facts' and 'acknowledgment.' In conclusion, the study emphasizes the importance of remembering both Choe Seunghui's pro-Japanese misconduct and her contributions to dance. As Hannah Arendt insightfully noted, the phenomenon of 'thoughtlessness' leading to immense evil can occur not only in past instances like Nazism or pro-Japanese collaboration but also in contemporary contexts. This study aims to assist the dance community in existing as reflective individuals, aware of these historical lessons.