Reunited with our South Korean Seoul-mates in Arnhem, Netherlands for a residency at ArtEz University and it feels amazing! On March 12, 2022 the four main company members and Kia travelled out to Amsterdam to meet up with our collaborating company (Choomna Dance Company) from Seoul, South Korea. We spent five weekdays educating the dancers at the university which is considered to be the “Julliard of Europe”. The students had great energy, were insanely receptive to our teaching, and reignited our passion to continue the season. Students participated in Kia’s Horton technique modern class, learned repertoire from our upcoming show, had multiple improvisation lessons from Joseph Kim of Choomna, and even experienced the collaboration of Kia and Joseph in their own creation of a short piece.

Our time in Arnhem was not only beneficial to the students, but we also got to premiere Kia and Joseph’s collaborative piece titled “Resilience in the Rain” on the Friday of the trip. After three years of working together on this piece with multiple casts and rehearsals, the piece was shown on a stage with lighting and recorded professionally for reference. The piece itself is one of my favorites to perform – working with the dancers from Seoul is a whole different experience that bonds us through the language of dance. Having Joseph’s style so effortlessly blend in with Kia’s from section to section is one of the most fascinating projects to watch come to fruition.

More to come about our personal times in Amsterdam and how we felt traveling internationally as a group, but I am insanely thankful to have had this experience for many reasons. I leave feeling inspired by the dancers at ArtEz University, craving more of Joseph’s improvisational practices, and proud of the company of dancers I get to work with on a daily basis.

Thank you, Amsterdam! After a year of cancelled performances and virtual stages due to Covid-19, it was just a blessing to safely travel to the Netherlands and be around dancers of a different culture. Looking forward to more trips in the future!