Physical movement is an important means of communication and a tool for expression. The art form of dance developed from concentration of movement. Forms that have developed through language are categorized as play, musical, and opera. As such, genres...
Physical movement is an important means of communication and a tool for expression. The art form of dance developed from concentration of movement. Forms that have developed through language are categorized as play, musical, and opera. As such, genres have become diverse and segmented, but they all have a common characteristic, that they are based on the physical movement of the actors.
Actors thus directly face the audience and exhibit their vivid movements. The audience, in turn, experiences catharsis from the trained actor’s perfectly performed expressions.
Actors must internalize the emotions of the characters they are playing when expressing them, and if they do not know what the emotion is like, they cannot express it correctly. Physical movement is direct related to both dance and acting, and can be said to aim towards perfection through constant training in order to shift from spontaneous expression to the completion of a known work. After the 1900s, many training theories have appeared, but there is a lack of education programs related to physical movement, which is a necessary element for an actor who specializes in plays.
Currently, most universities that teach acting have physical training programs that are largely comprised of modern dance, jazz, ballet, yoga, and Pilates. In contrast, there is no systematic curriculum of performance-oriented education programs and physical training that reflect our own country’s cultural aspects.
Even universities and educational institutions that train acting majors offer only basics or elective training, or teach choreography only when it is needed for performances, rather than offering Korean dance training.
Therefore, this study aims to measure the need for improvement in expressiveness for acting majors, and this research involved with junior students in SEJONG University who participated in survey method. It attempts to investigate the need for the education of Korean dance, via studies into the perception and the present condition of acting and physical training education programs for acting majors, in order to develop physical training education programs for Koreanesque emotional performances in works that are authentically Korean.
This study concludes the followings from the survey on acting majors’ perception of and the need for physical training that utilizes Korean dance.
First, it is clear that a major curriculum of most universities for actors does not have a physical training program or the importance is very low. However, there are various physical training programs including Korean dance in the acting company.
Second, Korean dance was found to positively influence the physical expressiveness of acting majors.
Third, although acting majors were constantly engaged in physical training, they used physical training with the course material from the curriculum, or basic physical training.
Forth, a lack of recognition was identified for Korean dance in physical training, which led to a subsequent lack in education programs that uses Korean dance as well as educators who can teach such programs.
The research results showed that while acting majors did recognize that physical training was an important factor in acting, they continued to engage in a lower level of training due to lack of information and systematically programmed education.
As the era changes, the qualifications for actors become more diverse in the performing arts. Thus, many students felt the need for physical training, which is an important element aside from acting.
If as systematic education program with language expression of Korean cultural emotion were produced and applied to actors, it would positively influence not only the physical training leader, but also the actors.
A previous paper about a physical expression of Korean dance and actors, “How Movement Education Through Korean Dance Affects The Play Actor’s Physical Expressiveness”, which is conducted by Han Myung-ok in 1998, is the only work that systematically develops Korean cultural aspects. This draws attention to the reality that Korea’s dance physical training systems in educational institutions and professional environments are stagnant rather than developing. Describing from another perspective, such problems mean that from now on, Korean dance education programs in various genres have infinite potential for research, which will deal with diverse attempts and application methods.
Additionally, to spur Korea’s performance art industry, which is growing, and to nurture actors who can be successful entertainers, a development and research of various education systems and reformation of curriculum by adapting Korean dance is expected to produce immeasurable result in the development of Korean art.