Struggle challenges the notion that fantasy is the sole domain of circus and pole dance. By applying a starkly realistic lens, the performance broadens the potential applications of these forms. It’s transcendence of fixed perspectives and approach of circus with great flexibility and depth is the very struggle worth examining in Struggle.

Struggle begins with a striking image: a dozen young women hang upside down in their undergarments. In the background, a middle-aged woman applies makeup and puts on a red tracksuit on a low platform. Throughout the performance, this middle-aged woman acts as a taskmaster, encouraging and supervising the young women. The struggle in Struggle reflects both the master-servant relationship and the desperate individual efforts to avoid falling behind within a group.

The circus component in Struggle is realized through pole dancing, with two poles installed on stage. The middle-aged woman, equipped with a whip or lasso, spends much of the performance urging and overseeing the young women’s training. The young women ascend and descend the poles, demonstrating various pole dance techniques while conveying gestures reminiscent of submission, competition, exclusion, and surrender. While whips and lassos are traditionally used in circus to encourage or create ambiance, in Struggle, they transcend these conventional roles. Here, they serve as symbols of power and represent the narcissistic, obsessive mindset of the female supervisor.

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Kim Chae-hyun
Director of the Institute for Dance Humanities, Honorary Professor at the Korea National University of Arts School of Dance, and Editor-in-Chief of Dance Webzine.