Festival in Chuncheon

Chuncheon International Mime Festival

The Chuncheon International Mime Festival will mark its 19th anniversary beginning May 27. This internationally known festival is based in Chuncheon, a city surrounded by lakes and mountains just two hours to the northeast of Seoul by train or bus. The CIMF focuses on contemporary visual and physical theater, where body, movement and image are more important than text. This year's Festival begins with a Grand Opening outdoor performance in downtown Chuncheon, and ends in the late afternoon on Sunday, June 3, following forty straight hours of non-stop performance and celebration. All Festival events will be in Chuncheon --- either in one of the five indoor theatres, in the downtown streets or on Goseumdochi "Hedgehog" Island in the middle of the North Han River near the center of town. The festival's big focus for 2007 is on New Circus, blending contemporary theater with traditional circus technique and body movement. It'll have some of the best international New Circus groups, including 7 Fingers from Canada, Dislocate from Australia, Diablo Dance Theatre from Taiwan and New Circus Asia from Thailand, Germany and the USA. Also this year there will be four companies working with Asian movement, both traditional and contemporary. These include Gangneung Gwanno Gamyeongug non-verbal mask drama, Namsadang Nori Korean clowning and acrobatics, Ulsan Hakchum traditional crane dance, and Yukio Waguri and Kohzensha presenting Japanese Butoh. As always, 2007 will see plenty of Korean Nanjang, starting with the outdoor Opening Performance and continuing at random times throughout the city during the week. For more information, call (02) 242-0551/4585 or visit the event's homepage (www.mimefestival.com).