The modernization of Northeast Asia started with the acceptance of western civilization. At that time, Korea and China were experiencing cultural confusion period. The dancing field is no exception. Western dance flowed into Korea and China through Japan which firstly accessed to the western civilization and the modern dance formed. As typical modern dancer, Korea’s Choe Seunghui and China’s Wu Xiaobang can be raised as representatives. In the same period and with similar social and cultural background, they changed the dance culture and the understanding of the dance through creative works. Through art activities, they lead the dance to qualitative and quantitative development. Accordingly, this study is aimed to compare Korean dancer Choe Seunghui with Chinese dancer Wu Xiaobang. The study is mainly based on the theories and previous studies. For the comparison of these two dancers’ art world, their life and art activities were reviewed first. Through this method, the results of their influence on the modern dance history of China and Korea are as follows.
First of all, as the representative modern dancers in Korea and China, they combined the western expression method and the traditional dance of their own country and respectively established a new dance system.
Secondly, in terms of their art activities, the consciousness of dancing art reflected the temporary situations as it was and it was also presented through their works. In the creation of works, they well used the eastern and western materials and established a new system of dancing art from the self-consciousness of national dance. Especially, through the realization of systematic dance creation and the theories, they have similarities in which they developed new dance while they lived in the same period and have common in the art activities.
Thirdly, Choe Seunghui firstly established the basis and the theory of dancing in the dancing history of Korea and devoted to traditional dancing, including the understanding, characteristics and development of traditional dancing. She built up unprecedented and new understanding of tradition and creation, ability and training, content and form, national creativity and modernity. In the 20th century, she contributed a lot to the history of national dance. Moreover, she danced on the dancing stage and realized her dancing art and concepts. As such an artist, not only in Asia but also in U.S. and Europe, she held a provincial performance and glorified Korean dance internationally. In the Japanese colonial era, her art activities was restricted because her own country was invaded. After liberation, she went to North Korea and then for the political involvement she went to China to start her art activities. Personally, she is an artist who overcome the pain of the times and sublimated the pain to arts.
Fourthly, Wu Xiaobang set the first dancing school in the dance history of China and he was also the first dancer doing personal performance. He published a theoretical book named The Introduction of Dancing Art and cultivated many professional dancers. He is a pioneer of the dancing world in the confusion period and living more peaceful life than Choe Seunghui did. As a respected and excellent dancer, his activities and works greatly influence in the mainland of China.
From the results above, these two dancers established new dancing art culture in the confusion period of the modern times in Korea and China. The implications given by the life and arts of these two dancers are important. It includes cultural inheritance and preservation of the tradition and creation of new arts.
Taking East Asia as one cultural area, in terms of the study of Asian dances, this study has significant academic value and meaning. It will become the basic work of eastern dance study. In the future, in the dance history, study of the establishment of dance in each country including not only Korea and China, but also Japan is necessary study topic for the establishment of the identification of East Asian dance.