Enchanted evenings with star-studded ballet gala

Enchanted evenings of ballet gala performances by a bunch of star dancers from prestigious worldwide dance corporations are in retailer this week.

The Korea World Dance Stars Pageant 2023, celebrating its twentieth anniversary, will happen on the Common Arts Heart in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday and Thursday.

This 12 months’s star-studded lineup consists of Kang Hyo-jung, first soloist from the Vienna State Ballet, Lee Eun-won, principal dancer from the Washington Ballet, Chae Ji-young, principal dancer from the Boston Ballet, and Lim Su-jung from the Zurich Ballet.

“After I first joined the Stuttgart Ballet, there weren’t many Korean dancers lively abroad. Now there may be at the very least one or two Korean dancer in virtually each ballet firm,” mentioned Kang from the Vienna State Ballet throughout a press convention in Jung-gu, Seoul, Monday.

“The earlier generations of dancers have set a terrific instance by paving the best way for us, and it seems that extra gifted Korean dancers are rising from that robust basis.”

The previous principal dancer with Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet joined the Vienna State Ballet as first soloist for the 2021-22 season.

For the gala, Kang will carry out a pas de deux from “Sleeping Magnificence” — specifically choreographed by Vienna State Ballet’s director and chief choreographer Martin Schlapfer for this occasion — together with her fellow first soloist Marcos Menha. The 2 can even carry out a pas de deux from John Cranko’s “Onegin.”

Lee from the Washington Ballet will introduce a brand new piece in Korea titled “Ballet Idilio” from the Nationwide Ballet of Cuba, choreographed by Eduardo Blanco, together with her colleague Gian Carlo Perez Alvarez. The pair can even carry out a chunk from “Don Quixote.”

Lee, who joined the Washington Ballet in 2016, was beforehand a principal dancer with the Korean Nationwide Ballet.

“It appears that evidently all locations the place folks dance and stay are primarily comparable and every ballet firm has its personal distinctive repertoire,” Lee mentioned. She talked about one notable distinction within the ballet scene: Stronger labor unions within the US that demand particular dance flooring and require hazard pay when acting at elevated heights.

Lim and her colleague Cohen Aitchison-Dugas from the Zurich Ballet are set to carry out two modern items: “Nocturne” and a pas de deux “In Our Needs” from Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters.”

Chae of the Boston Ballet will carry out “Pearl,” a chunk choreographed by Jo Ju-hyun.

Jo and Kim Yong-geol, two dancers-turned-choreographers, are collaborating within the gala as visitor choreographers this 12 months. Thirty-one dancers will carry out Kim’s “Bolero” to Ravel’s music.

As well as, Choi Soo-jin, a former dancer from the New York-based Cedar Lake Up to date Ballet, is performing her personal choreographed piece, “My Dance Is …,” to the music of “Rain” by Yukichi Sakamoto.

This 12 months’s creative director Hue Younger-soon, a choreographer based mostly in Germany who has labored with the Frankfurt Ballet, Dusseldorf Ballet and Zurich Ballet, is bringing two of her works to the stage: “Spouse,” which premiered in 2009, and “Unitxt,” which might be a world premiere.

The finale will function “Unitxt,” the place all of the dancers, together with Hue herself, will carry out to the music of Alva Noto.

Moreover, 4 rising teenage dancers have been chosen as “Younger Stars.” Amongst them is Park Sang-won, who gained third place on the Lausanne Worldwide Ballet Competitors in February, who will carry out her award-winning piece “Coppelia” on Wednesday.

Hue famous that earlier “Younger Stars” have included Park Se-eun from the Paris Opera Ballet and Kim Ki-min from the Mariinsky Ballet. Chae of the Boston Ballet and Lee from the Washington Ballet are additionally from the “Younger Stars” group.

By Hwang Dong-hee (hwangdh@heraldcorp.com)