Summer Ice Ballet Returns to Korea
By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter
``The Nutcracker'' visits South Korea twice a year _ around the Christmas season and in the summer, skating across the ice all the way from Russia to cool audiences here.
This year, the St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet marks a decade since it began presenting the classical ice ballet shows annually in Korea, having racked up over 250,000 spectators here in total.
To celebrate the anniversary, the company will present two of its highly popular repertoires _ ``The Nutcracker'' and ``Swan Lake'' _ across the nation in several venues. Dancers wearing skates instead of toe shoes will grace the ice with their ballet skills to the classical, fantasy-ridden scores of Tchaikovsky.
The troupe, which debuted in 1967, features former figure skating champions among its members. General Director Mikhail Kaminov was a champion of Leningrad pair figure skating. Konstantin Rassadin, principal choreographer, is a Merited Artist of Russia.
``The Nutcracker'' will hit the stage at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul from July 31 to Aug. 2, followed by ``Swan Lake'' from Aug. 3 to 5. Tickets cost from 10,000 to 80,000 won. After Seoul, the troupe will travel to Bucheon, Daegu, Gimhae, Chuncheon, Uijeongbu and Gwacheon. For more information, visit www.iceballet.co.kr.
Bolshoi Ice Theatre, another Russian company specializing in summer ice shows, will perform yet another version of ``The Nutcracker.'' The company, which has come to Seoul biennially since 1993, has presented diverse repertoires in a musical style on Mok-dong Ice Rink.
``Bolshoi on Ice 2007'' will stage ``The Nutcracker'' on weekdays, and ``Snow White'' on weekends. Both programs will be accompanied with diverse solo and pair figure skating shows from various acts such as ``Phantom of Opera,'' ``Notre Dame de Paris,'' and ``Romeo and Juliet.''
Under the directorship of Igor Bobrin, former figure skating European Champion, the theatre will bring other former Soviet figure skating star pairs such as Andrei Bukin and Natalia Bestemianova, winners at the 1988 Winter Olympics, as well as Maxim Marinin and Tatiana Totmianina, champion pair of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
The show will run from Aug. 18 to Sept. 9 at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. Tickets cost from 25,000 to 70,000 won. For more information, visit www.ice-show.com.