North Korean story launches first NZ-Korean dance company

The country's first Korean-New Zealand dance company, Jang Huddle, is about to stage its first production.

With North Korea frequently in the news for all the wrong reasons, our first home-grown Korean-New Zealand dance company aims to relate a different type of story to those we're used to hearing.

Korean-born New Zealander and emerging choreographer Cindy Jang started Jang Huddle last year, wanting to tell more Korean stories on our stages.

The University of Auckland dance studies graduate is starting with Iron Eyes, a production that explores a part of her family history and brings into focus the feelings of those with close links to North Korea.

Aged 14, Jang's maternal grandmother fled from North to South Korea leaving behind a sister who remains there.

"My grandmother hasn't seen her sister since that night, when they ran," Jang says. "It's been over 60 years."

Like so many other 1.5 generation Korean-New Zealanders, she has found it frustrating to answer the "where are you really from?" pop quiz and finds the awkwardness increases when Korea is raised.

"What would people think if they knew that I'm from North Korea? Sometimes they think it's funny and make a joke about it and at other times they are just taken aback — it's actually incredibly uncomfortable."

Despite Auckland having a large Korean community, Jang says these questions are still very common and it's the lack of understanding around North/South Korea that motivated her to create Iron Eyes.

"For a long time, I've felt that I'm part of a machine, "she says. "I'm a dancer but working in this landscape I've been on the periphery; Jang Huddle is the gateway to create genuine inclusion and start having different conversations.

"I actually have family in the North and I want to say that — I want to acknowledge them but at the same time, I've been afraid."

A contemporary dance work, Iron Eyes draws upon Jang's background in jazz and recent training but it also has a strong emphasis on community dance.

"This is an immersive experience and it's about creating connections in ways that will grow and sustain a platform," she says. "Through creating this company, I hope Jang Huddle can bring a diverse group of people together to collaborate and experiment — after all, it's a conversation, not a dictatorship."

The new work might aim to create better informed opinions in New Zealand but it's also a tribute to Jang's mother, who was born in South Korea, and her grandmother who decided to leave the North.

"I've visited my grandmother and asked her to share her stories; she remembers what it was like to grow up under the Japanese regime. She doesn't know too much about this work but I know she'll be proud that I am making an effort to explore these histories."

Jang believes Iron Eyes has the potential to change our contemporary dance landscape, not just through the performance but through gathering together people interested in exploring relationships and history through movement.

"These are our stories, "she says. "Our missing links, only we can start rebuilding the connections."

Lowdown:
What: Iron Eyes
Where & when: Basement Theatre, April 17 -21