[Music] 1st Prize: Thus, I died in a Dream - Maegandang

🥇 1st Prize - Music, 2025 Clare C. & Friends Fellowship

Performance Overview

"Thus I Died in a Dream: 3 Rooms" is a groundbreaking 70-minute neo-traditional multidisciplinary performance that reimagines death as a transformative journey toward new beginnings. Drawing from Buddhist and Taoist concepts of reincarnation and Korean Han (恨) culture, this immersive experience weaves Eastern interpretations of dreams as gateways to spiritual awakening through three symbolic spaces representing the liminal journey between life and death.

Maegandang's contemporary reinterpretation creates an unprecedented artistic landscape by musically recreating afterlife realms from diverse cultural traditions—Korean shamanic concepts, Greek Elysium, medieval European Cockaigne, Nordic Valhalla, and Jeju's Ieodo island.

This revolutionary approach transforms traditional Korean instruments into vehicles for exploring universal themes of mortality, creating a truly global artistic language that establishes an entirely new paradigm for international traditional arts engagement.

Through FACP partnership, we aim to:

A. Expand International Network: Connect with presenting venues and festival programmers across Asia and globally.

B. Cultural Exchange: Facilitate meaningful dialogue between Asian traditional arts communities

C. Co-Production Opportunities: Develop collaborative projects with international artists and institutions

D. Educational Outreach: Share Korean traditional music and philosophy through workshops and masterclasses

Upcoming Shows

• June 2026 – New York, USA

• November 2026 – Seoul, Korea (Seoul Namsan Gugakdang)

Contacts

Yejin Yu

Artistic Director (Maegandang Representative)

Email: yui8878@naver.com