HanNuRi Korean American Cultural Troupe

Greater Los Angeles Asian/Asian-American/Pacific Islander Dance Music 2009

Since 1992, HanNuRi Korean American Cultural Troupe has worked to revitalize Korean folk art and traditions within a contemporary context.  Focusing on pungmul – the multi-faceted performance of drumming, dancing, and singing, which has roots in shamanistic rituals called kut and today has expanded in meaning and is also used in political protest – HanNuRi promotes an appreciation of Korean community cultural traditions, participates in cross-cultural exchanges, and supports the social justice movement through street performances at rallies and marches.  HanNuRi (meaning “one world” or “world united”) is also dedicated to education in the arts and holds regular pungmul workshops for community members of all ages.

In 2009, HanNuRi received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support the project Individual Play in Community Ritual, which seeks to develop among HanNuRi’s members and students a higher skill and technique level in pungmul and kut.  The project emphasized the learning of solo performances from different regions of Korea.  These learned skills and techniques will be shared with the community at large in performances celebrating the Lunar New Year and Korean Autumn Harvest Festival.