Taking place from 26-27 July at Arts on Site, Kaja! will be an evening of storytelling, kimchi-making, dance, and theater. Sunhi Willa Keller’s playful, provocative, and whimsical choreography is an interweaving of traditional Korean dance forms and her own personal stories. Inspired by the folktales her halmoni (grandmother) told her, the performance will feature Kaja! (Let’s go!): a dedication to misbehaving frogs, and 9 Tales of a Bitch: a modern retelling of the sly, shapeshifting nine-tailed fox woman. Get your taste buds ready for a night of laughter and pickled cabbage!
Kaja! represents the multigenerational nature of storytelling – how we pass our memories along to each other, and how we take control of our futures by telling our pasts. Inspired by the tale of Green Frogs told by Sunhi’s grandmother to her mother to her, the Korean gopuri ritual of absolving han (generational grief), and the importance of rice, Kaja! is a dance-theater piece that blends tradition with modern, humor with grief.
9 Tales of a Bitch leans into the space of the outcast in order to push back against stereotypical ideas of Asian women. As a mixed person who comes from different cultures, Sunhi found solace in Kumiho’s story, a shape-shifting woman who lives between two separate worlds. In questioning how Kumiho makes space for herself in her story, Sunhi questioned how, especially as a mixed Asian woman, do she unapologetically take up space? 9 Tales of a Bitch is transformative work — the performers slowly unravel at the seams, shifting from hyper-femme characters engaging in traditional Korean fan dance to wild, angry temptresses, breaking the boundaries that hold women back.
“I intend to explore my cultural and familial heritage, not just in my own life, but in interactions with the broader world. How can my experiences be shown through my artwork, and how can others connect with them? An incorporation of food, stories, dance, and theater, Kaja! will hold true to the very heart of my practice.” – Sunhi.
About the artist:
Sunhi was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i, surrounded by two wonderful parents, a brilliant big sister, and many, many feisty dogs. After graduating Punahou School with a love of humanities, art, and dance, she traveled to New York City to further her dance education. She graduated from New York University with a BFA in Dance and a BA in Art History (2021) and the following year, she moved to London, UK, to earn her MA in Dance Practice from London Contemporary Dance School (2022). Her work has been performed at the West 28th St Theater as part of the SPARK Theatre Festival (2023), Dixon Place as part of Dance Bloc Festival (2023), The Place Theatre as part of Resolution Festival (2024), and 14 Street Y as part of the Pride and Joy Showcase (2024). She received the Eryc Taylor New Choreographer Grant (2024) and is pleased to share her work at Arts on Site this July 2024. As an emerging choreographer, she uses humor, curiosity, and her perspective as a part-Korean woman to broaden the contemporary dance canon. Website: sunhikeller.com
Tickets to see Kaja! can be found here. The show runs from 26-27 July with shows at 6:30pm and 8:30pm.