By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Ballet fans may know the tragic yet innocent tale of Giselle, but the Seoul Ballet Theater (SBT) is offering a different, even shocking, interpretation this summer.
Led by choreographer James Jeon, ``She, Giselle'' will reinvent the character as an illegitimate child and mother and a prostitute.
``I have enjoyed watching and performing `Giselle' all my life, but as I started working as a choreographer, I wanted to bring something different, something real,'' Jeon said at a press conference in Daehangno, Tuesday.
The characters are the same, but the story takes a turn when Giselle realizes that her lover, Albercht, is actually her half-brother. It turns out that Giselle's mother and Albercht's father had an affair in the past, and when Giselle finds out the truth, she runs away without telling Albercht that she's pregnant. The lonely Giselle gives birth to a daughter, only to find that she has no place to go. She ends up in a brothel, where Albercht comes looking for her. The hopeless Giselle gives her daughter to her mother and finally dies of AIDS, forgiving her parents and leaving Albercht heartbroken.
While the original work offers graceful and soulful movements, ``She, Giselle'' will present modernized moves with quick jumps and kicks.
``The choreography is indeed different, and I have many scars and bruises from rehearsing,'' said Lim Hye-ji, who will appear as Giselle.
The dancers gave a quick preview of some of the sequences during the press conference, and indeed, Jeon was telling the truth when he said he wanted to bring ``something different.''
In the preview, the simple settings and props created a large stage, helping the audience focus on the dancers dressed in simple white and silver. Giselle makes open and sensual moves, unlike in the original, in which the movements are conservative and gentle. The final scene surprised viewers, as Giselle slapped the jealous Hilarion in the face for trying to separate her and Albercht.
Then came the dance of forgiveness, where Giselle, Albercht and their parents get together before she dies.
Instead of the subtle movements of the original, there was stomping, clapping and jumping, the dancers shouted to express frustration and stomped their feet to add intensity. Some even hit their chests to show exasperation.
When asked why he chose to send Giselle to a brothel, Jeon smiled and said it was one of the questions he received the most.
``The brothel became the backdrop as I thought there would be only a small number of places the hopeless single mother Giselle could go. The brothel was just one of the options,'' he said.
Adding that the work was also a means to bring up the issue of conservatism society still holds against single women, Jeon said that ``prostitutes are people too. Their job may be different, but they have emotions and their own stories. I wanted to portray that through this performance.''
``She, Giselle'' will be staged at the Daehangno Arts Theater on Aug. 28-29. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 70,000 won. For more information, visit www.ticketlink.co.kr. The theater is located near exit 2 of Hyehwa Station on subway line 4.