Standing for “FOR Creative Entertainment,” FORCE is a fusion/new form art group which was created in 2016. Based on fusion and connection, they present performances that efficiently combine the intrinsic value of art with the unlimited possibilities of modern times. Through such works, they make attempts to change views and approaches of art. They work on fusion performances in collaboration of different genres, mostly on the basis of bodily art. Their major performances include "Suzik", in which they perform dizzying acrobatics on a six-meter pole, and "A;seul", which uses aesthetic acrobatic apparatuses.

Interview

Q. Could you explain in which field each of FORCE’s three members used to perform and how you three have gathered together to form a team?

LEE Young-ho: In 2017, I met different performers on the occasion of a circus acrobatics workshop called “Jumping Up” organized by Seoul Street Arts Creation Center. I wanted to create something new with some of them who saw eye to eye with me. This is how we came to plan the circus performance "Suzik". In 2018, the work was selected to benefit from support for creation. So we were able to produce and showcase the performance. The members I worked with at that time have continued to be with me to keep creating performances. Before joining FORCE, each of the team’s members had been active in a variety of performing arts fields such as play, musicals and other performances.

LEE Young-ho: We had done something similar to street arts during different events. But the workshop organized by Seoul Street Arts Creation Center allowed me to see different circus performances. I also had chances to have a better understanding of street arts culture at numerous arts festivals. I then began to focus on street performances in order to naturally meet many and unspecified people. "Suzik" is the first performance we produced to expand our realm to the circus and street arts.

LEE Young-ho: Seoul Street Arts Creation Center shares unconventional circus genres with the public while also invigorating the culture of creating and enjoying performances. It is an open space welcoming everyone who is interested in the circus like me. Before the center was established in Korea, those who were interested in the circus weren’t able to train and perform, even though the circus requires training more than any other genre due to the safety issues. Compared to its early days, the center currently plans a greater variety of programs while producing and distributing works. So the center seems to have nurture many people feeling artistic thirst like me. FORCE has been selected by the center as its official resident circus company benefiting from its support. This has enabled us to carry out our art practice sustainably. In this way, the center and the performers, who have grown thanks to it, share the goal of expanding the circus culture.

LEE Young-ho: We first choose a story or an acrobatic apparatus as a theme. After that, we provide its image with lots of imaginations and meanings. Exploring a given objet with our bodies, we look for different movements that could be derived from it. We constantly do research on how to create. Indeed, we do lots of experiments. And we are trying to find the most effective point for the performers, who consider both the artistic value and popularity of a performance, and for the audience. At first, rather than showing simple acrobatics, we wanted to highlight each member’s own artistic field. So for some time, we interpreted our own stories or social messages in the circus framework. These days, we attempt the genre-oriented expansion of the contemporary circus by strengthening our previous works and by adding modern technology to them.

LEE Young-ho: In 2017, I was selected for the “Circus Next” project run by Seoul Street Arts Creation Center and I had a chance to go to Montreal. I had really wanted to go there so I had stopped all my activities to make great efforts to be selected for the program. Looking back, it was worth the efforts. Just as I expected, Montreal had a different circus culture, a much bigger market and talented artists. I was so excited and had such a great experience. What was unexpected about the stay was that I got acquainted with many coaches and friends rather than learning acrobatics. I had some difficulties in communicating with them but we all loved the same thing so it wasn’t difficult to get close to them. This experience has led me to engage in exchange with numerous international artists and to collaborate with them. Experiencing acrobatic tools and apparatuses I hadn’t seen in Korea, I realized what FORCE would need for its performances. This one-month stay seems to have given me knowledge of more than ten years.

As for Cirque du Soleil, it was them who contacted me first. Circus du Soleil has been loved by Koreans so much that they performed several times in Korea. On the occasion of their performance last year, the company’s Cyr wheel performer contacted me. He said that he was curious about the current state of the circus in Korea. So I met him and introduced to him Seoul Street Arts Creation Center. This occasion made us friends, allowing us to communicate naturally. Rather than teaching acrobatics to each other, we became friends in an equal position to help each other grow. It was a precious experience.

LEE Young-ho: I saw the Cyr wheel for the first time in Montreal. One month wasn’t a sufficient period to get used to acrobatic apparatuses so during the stay, I tried to use as many tools as possible. Indeed, I experienced so many things including trampolines, wheels and aerial acrobatics. And a eureka moment came when I tried the Cyr wheel. I became convinced that I could integrate my past physical training and my favorite atmosphere into the Cyr wheel successfully. During performances in Montreal, the Cyr wheel scenes impressed me more than any other scene. Watching these scenes, I had a feeling of soft and wild things coexisting in solitude.

I had focused only on bodies and movements for my research and experiments but now, I’m more interested in what is aesthetic. So these days, I visit art museums often and carefully observe sculptures in daily life. Doing circus performances using unfamiliar objets has widened my view like that. Currently, I keep trying new acrobatic tools while also observing what is basic: mathematics, motility, stability, materials and textures. But my ultimate goal is to create aesthetic scenes after getting used to these things. This year, I’m also preparing a performance using new tools. It will premiere at the end the year.

LEE Young-ho: Performing abroad, I felt that I wanted to study local performing arts systems rather than accumulating overseas performance experiences. What impressed me was not just what is seen on stage but what is behind the scene (i.e. process before performing on stage, backstage work, safety, technology and management)). I believe that Korea also needs production crews with professional knowledge, experience and technology regarding the circus. It is a genre that generate many accidents and injuries so if we make up for this, artists on stage will be able to perform more excellent acrobatics in a stable manner. Making a safe and high-quality performance ultimately requires such a system.

LEE Young-ho: Last year, a large-scale performance called "Musa", which had been planned by Asia Culture Center, was presented. Under the theme of Korean mythology, the performance combined diverse acrobatics and genres including the circus and traditional Korean theater like Namsadang Nori. It was a chance to see Korean acrobatics which have existed for a long time: tightrope walking, Korean plank, plate spinning and traditional acrobatic movements. In fact, the contemporary circus also has numerous apparatuses that remind me of traditional Korean games like the Korean plank, tightrope walking and fire on paddies and fields. For example, “Korean plank” is the name of a contemporary acrobatic apparatus. This started from a traditional Korean game but it has been recognized more in other countries. And it is called the “teeterboard” more than the Korean plank. Just as Korea’s taekwondo, b-boying, traditional music and K-pop have drawn global attention, I would like to form Korea’s own unique circus culture based on the country’s acrobatic tradition I mentioned earlier and introduce the culture to other countries. I know that it will take lots of studies and research and it will take a great amount of time. It’s really my long-term goal.

#wild_flower

#field

*Photo Credit: ©FORCE