Programmes

A Festival of Korean Dance 2025

Performing Arts

A Festival of Korean Dance 2025

7 - 24 May 2025

A well-established staple of the dance calendar, A Festival of Korean Dance is returning for its 8th edition from May 7 to 24, showcasing performances in major venues across London and Manchester. This year’s lineup features five acclaimed Korean companies, including the renowned Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC), who will be headlining with the festival’s largest show to date with a company of 16 dancers. Festival favourite Modern Table presents a bold new interpretation of Shakespeare, blending dance with a piece of live rock music. Following last year’s sold-out Flight, Melancholy Dance returns with a piece exploring gravity and falling, presented alongside innovative video works by Jihye Chung and Choi x Kang Project in a captivating double bill.

““both moving and uplifting””

““very beautiful””

A Festival of Korean Dance 2025 Programme

Jungle by Korea National Contemporary Dance Company

Wed 7 – 8 May / The Place

Opening the Festival of Korean Dance 2025, The Korea national Contemporary Dance Company’s Jungle explores the instinctive human drive to create order amid chaos. A 17-strong ensemble embodies the elements of the jungle—animals, plants, winds, lights, and the humans navigating them—awakening primal sensations and responses. After receiving high praise from audiences in France, Italy, Austria, Kazakhstan, and the UAE, Jungle makes its UK premiere as part of this year’s festival.

Kontemporary Korea Tour: A Double Bill of K:Dance

Fri 9 – Thu 15 May / Pavilion Dance South West, The Place, Dance City

Kontemporary Korea presents a thrilling double bill showcasing some of the freshest voices in contemporary Korean dance, each exploring the delicate balance between the every day and the extraordinary. At Pavilion Dance South West, audiences will experience A Complementary Set_Disappearing with an Impact by Choi x Kang Project, alongside 0g (zero grams) by Melancholy Dance Company, whilst at The Place, 0g (zero grams) returns to the stage, paired with Shinsegae by Ji-hye Chung, merging digital imagery with movement to explore the interplay between the artificial and the natural.

Ham:beth by Modern Table

Tue 20 May – Fri 24 May / The Lowry, The Place

Boy-band energy meets Shakespearean tragedy in Ham:beth, an explosive all-male performance by Modern Table. Loosely inspired by depictions of madness in Hamlet and Macbeth, this high-energy production blends traditional Korean songs with a live rock band to create an electrifying gig atmosphere. Eight dancers in sharp suits battle against conformity, each on a quest for individual freedom. Following their acclaimed UK performances of Darkness Poomba and Sok-do(Velocity), Modern Table returns with another bold and breathtaking show at The Lowry and The Place.