A New Picture Book by Suzy Lee, Winner of the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award

A Dance for the Most Fragile and Beautiful Souls

Danced Away is a captivating picture book by Suzy Lee that follows a child’s dance-like journey, mirroring the rhythmic structure of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. The accompanying music, rearranged by Jang Young-gyu—renowned film composer and member of the alternative pop band LEENALCHI—seamlessly guides the story’s flow. Much like the build-up and eventual collapse in Boléro, the child in this story experiences the recurring patterns of the rise and fall of history. Nature performs a dance of peace, while war executes a dance of destruction. Amid these two endlessly repeating rhythms, the child’s dance continues. Through her illustrations, Lee tenderly asks, “We move forward to the waltz, hand in hand, but are we truly progressing?” Her artwork whispers a delicate and heartfelt tribute to the most fragile and beautiful souls in the world.

Lee has consistently expanded the boundaries of picture books. As the first Korean recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, she proves how her work has transformed into an art form that resonates with both children and adults, hence establishing a distinct genre along the way. Danced Away is another bold experiment of hers for wordless picture books. This book is an extension of the Danced Away Project, which was an attempt to move beyond traditional print media and step into new creative realms. The NFT Marketplace KONKRIT released 18 NFT animated videos based on scenes from Danced Away, and a special edition of the book was created in the same quantity as the NFT editions. This special edition is designed with separate, unbound pages to more faithfully capture the sentiment of the original artwork. Each page stands alone as a piece of art; and when combined, they create a visual score and offer a uniquely immersive experience.