This study aims at the description of ecological connection between body and earth(nature) through dances, rituals, and body movements. Referring to some dance studies which assume the body-earth connection as a lever for the realization of ecological relationality, this article illuminates some cases of ecologically related dances, rituals and body movements. In the first, this article reviews recent discourses of philosophy, anthropology, and dance studies on ecological consciousness, experience, ontology, and ecosomatic perception. Recent academic discourses emphasize that the connection is realized by the non-hierarchical relation, free from the perspective of dualism, between human being and ‘more-than-human’ world. Secondly, this article describes concrete cases. The cases show participants’ experiences of various ways or modes of connection, respectively; attentive efforts toward subtle energy in connection, immersion into the ecological world, surrender to earth, sensing reciprocity, realization of body as microcosm of earth, becoming other being and ontological transformation. In sum, this study describes people’s experience of the ecological world connected by dances, rituals and body movements.

This study has been started from the question about if court dance called as jeongjae(呈才) had been equally performed even in the different the ritual spaces of naeyeon(內宴) and oeyeon(外宴). The aim of this paper is to understand the ritual and jongjae(呈才) by figuring out how to composes of jeongjae is different in oeyeon and naeyeon based on Ŭigwe(儀軌) in the late Joseon Dynasty At First, there were more actors mostly in naeyeon as a result of comparing the numbers of actors in naeyeon and oeyeon. Moreover, in naeyeon, there were more actors in individual jeongjae. Secondly, according to the comparison of composes of jeongjae in naeyeon and oeyeon, there is an extended form of pair in naeyeon but not in oeyeon. In oeyeon, there were many cases that some part of song is omitted. Third, as a result of comparing the numbers of items selected in naeyeon and oeyeon, mostly the number of jeongjae items performed in naeyeon was bigger.

This study is on the eco-art from two dimensions, intentional and unintentional. As the cases of unintentional eco-art, the summer and winter ceremonies of Kwakiutl on west of Canada, written by Eric Wolf, and the winter ceremony Smila(Spiritual Dance) and related dances of Chehalis Indian Band are being considered. Unintentional conceptualization and realization as eco-art are investigated. The other one is on the intentional trials in contemporary societies for the integration of ecology and art. Cases of ‘performing nature’ are interpreted. Maehyang ceremony in Muan-gun tidal flat and related dance are considered. Rituals of Kwakiutl and Chehalis tell dances, as essences of rituals and as the subjects of expressions and communications, exist. The dances exist as the arts realizing relations between natural beings and human beings, realizing the transformation of natural beings, of human beings, of relations between human beings. Ecological relation between nature and man are realized from the immediate feeling and perception of bodily experience. The meanings of the relation are also produced from the feeling and perception. The term and concept of eco-art do not exist in these rituals. But realizing process of ecological relation and interaction is also the one of eco-art unintentionally. Body and dance are main subject and mediate of the process. Recently eco-art, the term has been used by some scholars and artists. But, in many cases the term is not used actually realizing eco-art. Some trials of modern art as ‘performing nature’, Maehyang ritual and dance as reinvented one composed of partial ideas from trasitional one are those realizing the issues and ideologies intentionally. As common phenomena in the two dimensions eco-art expresses ecological ‘relations’, not merely depicting nature. Commonly too, materiality of body and things on nature and human life, feelings and perception of them form the ecological relation.

To Japanese colonialists, scholars, and common Koreans influenced by and educated through the Japanese colonial historical perspective, Kwangmoo and Yunghee Emperor were powerless, impotent monarchs in the face of the Japanese forces. This kind of estimation corresponds exactly to that of the Daehan Empire under Japanese colonialism, which intentionally negated the positive role of these two emperors. However, we have to reconsider and re-evaluate this estimation. We can pose two political statuses, namely those of an “instrument of Japanese colonial domination” (Instrument) and a “symbol of anti-colonial resistance” (Symbol). Yunghee Emperor became a new emperor of the Daehan Empire under the Japanese in the era of the Residency-General, and played the role of Instrument to his death by the Japanese powers, who tried to use this emperor and the Royal Chamber itself. Paradoxically, and regardless of the Japanese intention, Yunghee also played the role of Symbol to oppressed common Koreans. We can confirm this role in the Royal South Tour and the Royal West Tour in 1907, as well as the Royal Tomb Tour in 1917. In the Royal Dance and Music for his 50th Birthday Party, the Instrumental meaning was greater than the Symbolic meaning due the Japanese Government General’s ability to distort these two art forms. It is a general estimation that Yunghee’s political status was that of an Instrument rather than a Symbol in the eras of both the Residency-General and the Government General. The Instrument status is practical, positive, and general, whereas the Symbol status is symbolic, negative, and partial. To the Japanese colonialists, Yunghee was an Instrument, and his status as a Symbol was permitted to a limited extent for common Koreans. However, we can deepen this Symbolic role through the further research.