Sungkyunkwan University: Global Water Dances at Myeongnyundang

In 2008, a university in England held a conference on “Dance and the Environment”. Dancers and choreographers who study “movement analysis” set the theme of the environmental problem as “water” because the dance movement and water properties have common characteristics, “flowing”. To suggest the importance of “water”, the event called “Global Water Dances” was created to inspire action and international collaboration for water issues thorough the universal language of dance.

Global Water Dances began as a collective idea of an international group of individuals, certified by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS), with decades of experience in producing Movement Choirs: events that use community dance to create social cohesion through non-verbal communication. It can be thought of “Flash Mob”. The first event of the Global Water Dances took place in 2011, on the weekend of World Oceans Day, where 57 locations came together for a 24-hour movement around the world. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the event will be held in 138 cities around the world at a similar time for each country.

The event, which is held once every two years, was first held in 2017 in Cheonggye Stream, but has been held at Myeongnyundang, Sugnkyunkwan since 2019. It aims to revive the clear stream of Okryu Stream, which starts from the eastern stem of Bukak Mountain and passes through the well spring behind Changdeok Palace to Cheonggye Stream.