By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Fan away the sizzling heat with the St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet's ``Swan Lake.'' The 41-year-old ballet troupe will bring the graceful movements of ballet and the speedy footwork of figure skating together with this delightful and refreshing performance.
The St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet gave its first performance in 1967 under the direction of Constatine Boyarski. The breakthrough performance still tours worldwide, with the golden rule that it is put up on stage in theaters, instead of ice rinks as are other ``ice shows.'' By offering famous works such as ``Swan Lake,'' ``Romeo and Juliet'' and ``The Nutcracker,'' the show has managed to combine classical ballet with figure skating.
The troupe has visited Korea every year since 1998, and has become a must-see performance among children and adults alike, with its beautiful music, gliding footwork and lavish costumes and sets.
``Last year, two works (The Nutcracker and Swan Lake) were on stage but we realized that the Korean audience enjoyed `Swan Lake' better than `The Nutcracker.' So this year, we have prepared only `Swan Lake,' '' said Chung Joo-ha, performance manager at Seoul Arts Management, the organizer of the event.
``It will be fun to see an ice rink located inside of one of the nation's top art theaters,'' she added.
Curiously enough, it takes only 24 hours to transfer a theater to a grand ice rink, thanks to a special technique called the ``Yontzmat Portable Ice Rink.''
The stage is first covered with several layers of thick carpet, Styrofoam and vinyl to elevate the stage a bit higher for a better view. Then a large wooden frame is placed over the stage. The technician team connects special pipes and coils that contain coolants across the wooden frame and pour in four to five tons of ground ice. For 12 hours, a technician must check every 30 minutes if the rink is cold enough, pouring in more ice and water. When the ice is finally smooth and hard, it is ready for the performance. Getting rid of the ice after the show, however, is a bigger task. To prevent the stage from being ruined by melted ice, a support team breaks the ice with hammers, loads the pieces onto a truck and discard them in a stream or river.
The skaters of the troupe are mostly former figure skating champions. They may be the best to perform on ice, but as soon as they enter the St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet, arduous training begins. They not only have to attend strict and tough ballet lessons, but also acting, pantomime and theater classes as well. Those who master all the skills, and portray the artistic movement on skates, then take to the ice stage.
The piece is choreographed by the internationally acclaimed Konstantin Rassadin of the renowned Kirov Ballet.
St. Petersburg State Ice Ballet's ``Swan Lake'' will be performed July 23-27 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Seoul. Bring a light jacket in case the theater gets chilly. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information visit www.ticketlink.co.kr or call (02) 548-4480. Located near exits 8 and 1 of Gwanghwamun Station on subway line 5.