Korean Immigrant Dance in America: Artist Talk + Dance Performance

* Registration on is not required but appreciated. First come-first serve *

Join us for a unique talk and dance demonstration by virtuoso artist Vong Pak and his dance group "Korean Immigrant Dance in America (KIDA)" coming directly from New York City. Vong Pak is a Korean folklore specialist, musician, teaching artist, and director. Performances by Chi-Chung Kim (kaaenggari, Korean small gong), Jung Bae Park (haegeum, Korean fiddle), Myeong Soon Choi (dancer), and Vong Pak (janggu, hour glass-shaped Korean drum).

Korean Immigrant Dance in America is a traditional Korean dance performance with live music, first staged at Brooklyn Public Library's Dweck Center in 2023 and directed by Vong Pak. Featuring first-generation Korean immigrant artists, the performance showcases the preserved beauty of traditional Korean music and dance. Since immigrating in the 1970s and 1980s, KIDA's artists have maintained their rich cultural heritage in the U.S., offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience authentic Korean performing arts, from court music to ritual dance, passed down through generations.

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This special event is co-sponsored by the UNM Department of Anthropology and Museum Studies Program, and is the grand finale of a series of free events on Nov. 8 including a two-part forum from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm in our museum's Hibben Center for Archaeology Research, Rm 105, open to the UNM community and general public titled Mobilizing Heritage in Museums to Promote Inclusion and Engagement.

This forum is part of the 2024 American Folklore Society (AFS) annual meeting taking place in Albuquerque from Nov. 6-9 and is also sponsored by the AFS Folklore and Museums Section. A reception will follow from 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm in the Hibben Atrium with food and beverages by Diné Chef Cleo Otero and live original music by UNM graduate student Carlos Arellano.

* For registered attendees of AFS, a charter bus will be running non-stop from 12:45 pm - 7:30 pm from the ABQ Convention Center to the Maxwell Museum and back, "round robin"-style *

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

UNM Department of Anthropology, Rm 163, 500 University Boulevard Northeast, Albuquerque, United States