Collaboration between Restless artists and Korean artists
Restless has returned from a sold-out season of Intimate Space at the internationally acclaimed Seoul Street Arts Festival. The production brought together 4 Korean artists with disability and two key Korean coordinators along with a touring party of 17 from Restless to celebrate diversity and cultural collaboration on the world stage. Festival audiences attending Intimate Space were resolutely engaged with the honest, emotionally surprising vignettes presented in unexpected places throughout the New Seoul Hotel.
“At 15th floor, as soon as I was there, I was shocked and my eyes were filling with tears. The show at the bedroom really touched and new to me. Thank you for the show.” - Audience Member 1
“It was a beautiful topic. I hope many people can watch this performance. There was a moment when the intimate space became a furtive space I feel like crying.” - Audience Member 2
“I got goosebumps. It’ll be a performance I’ll never forget. Their acting is the best.” - Audience Member 3
“Thanks for the performance. It was beautiful. In fact, I cried a little at the end. This performance made me see and feel the things that were close to me but I didn’t notice before.” - Audience Member
Practice for a collaborative project with Korean and Australian artists
Experiences of Seoul
Seoul was a fabulous and exciting destination, it is a high-energy, intense city with cultural experiences on every corner. Office hours stretch well past 10 pm and the city streets have wonderful markets that create a chaotic and old-world vibe. During our stay there was everything from a music and K-pop festival to a rice festival which took over the main square. Seoul’s 24 hour lifestyle sees young and old sharing their lives in public spaces.
There's a tangible creative energy in Seoul that makes it very exciting to be part of. The company was struck by the kind hearted, hardworking South Korean people, they're friendly, open and willing to help. The Seoul Street Arts Festival, It was amazing to be part of a rich and eclectic international festival. The directors of the festival celebrated diversity with an aim to reduce the gap between people and also to provide a gap in space to celebrate the unfamiliar in the vibrant city.
Presenting in an operating hotel and providing a unique opportunity for audiences was a huge success with all 20 shows selling out a week before opening. The New Seoul Hotel had never before experienced an immersive site specific work and were won over by the generosity of the performers as well as the integration of people with disability in a public space.
Working with the 4 Korean artists was a highlight of the tour. We found ways of communicating that surpassed language barriers. Within just one day the dancers felt comfortable in the physical space working alongside each other. There was a genuine sense of understanding and camaraderie between the Australians and South Koreans. The Koreans immediately took to the style and sensibility of the Restless work and stamped their own unique personalities and physical styles on the work.
Families of the South Korean dancers thanked the Restless team for shining a light on their creativity and highlighting their ability to perform in a mainstream festival.
“I think the Korean dancers were so gentle and kind, they worked so hard” - Jianna Georgiou, Restless dancer.
“It was very special working with the Korean dancers, they were nice people and great dancers. I feel warm from the experience” - Michael Hodyl, Restless dancer
The Seoul Street Arts Festival provided Restless with 2 incredible coordinators who were dedicated, kind and worked 24/7 to help us deliver the collaborative work in such a short time frame. From translating and negotiating with the hotel to helping with social outings for the Restless team, Hesseon and Sehee were always a delight to work with. The Korean audiences engaged with the work in a different way to Australian audiences, they were playful and more overtly curious.
“It was a really amazing performance. I’ve been touched hard. The way you used a place like a hotel... it’s really incredible... I especially like the moment when the performance and reality got overlapped” - Audience Member 4
“It was a super, super funny beautiful and meaningful performance. Thank you so much for making me a good memory.” - Audience Member 5
“Not only authentic but delicately touch people’s heart. Thank you.” - Audience Member
“If the most beautiful thing that trees can do is blossom flowers, the most beautiful thing that humans can do is dancing. The best performers, dancer, artists, directors. Thanks a lot.” - Audience Member 6
Enjoying Korean BBQ
Eating Korean foods
The Restless team were adventurous travellers and really loved experiencing the incredible Korean cuisine.
“I loved taking a seat in a Korean restaurant and instantly being served a hot steaming broth and tasty side dishes of kimchi and other pickled vegetables. Eating is a lively, communal affair with a lot of the cooking done at the table.” - Restless Artistic Manager, Roz Hervey
“I loved the Korean food, I now have Kimchi at home, I bought it from West Lakes.” - Michael Hodyl, Restless dancer
What we want to achieve with Connect2Abilities
Restless look forward to working with the University of South Australia and Korean Disability Arts and Culture Centre to realise the Connect2Abilities project that we firmly believe will see mutual cultural, performance and knowledge exchange in disability arts between Australia and Korea. Restless will continue to develop relationships with the 4 Korean dancers that performed in Intimate Space but the team are also excited to open the doors to a wider group of artists with a view to create a new and impactful cultural dialogue and fresh approach to arts and disability. We see this as the beginning of a great partnership and we will be pursuing opportunities to further connect and develop new projects together.