Sharing Wishes and Prayers through Singing, Dancing, and Play by Nine Performers

through a Reinterpretation of Gangneung Danoje

“Yeonheui” refers to a genre of comprehensive performing arts that crosses various fields of vocal music, dance, instrumental music, and theatrical play to create a single artwork. “Puneori” is an traditional yeonheui troupe formed by the successors of mugyeokbu (shamanic performance) secion of Gangneung Danoje, which is designated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage as well as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The group continues to explore the creation of tradition-rooted but aesthetically-modern stages through incorporating various forms and elements of performing arts, including Gangneung Danoje, from across the Korean Peninsula into their creative works.

“Nine Dragons Flying,” which will be presented at the 2025 Jeonju International Sori Festival, is one of the representative works that Puneori has been presenting for several years. The title is from a line of “Yongbieocheonga” (Song of Dragons Flying in Heaven) written in the early Joseon Dynasty era, that is, “the six dragons of the East ascend / and every deed is blessed by heaven.” The nine performers at the stage, reinterpreting the Gangneung Danoje, aim to reconsider the meaning of life and convey the hope and blessing that “every deed is done with good fortune.”