Alice and Don Quixote to Dazzle Fans
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Two of Korea's prominent ballet troupes, the Universal Ballet Company (UBC) and the Seoul Ballet Theater (SBT), are starting the New Year with some of their trademark works, ``Don Quixote'' and ``Alice in Wonderland'' respectively.
The UBC celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and the company is looking forward to another fruitful season starting off with one of its best works.
Making its debut in 1869 as a ballet performance at the Bolshoi Theater in Russia, ``Don Quixote'' was introduced to Korean fans by the UBC in 1997. Choreographed by former artistic director to the UBC, Oleg Vinogradov, the Spanish tale was chosen as the ``Best Dance Performance'' of that year among local dance critics.
Last year, local fans had the chance to watch the famed American Ballet Theater's version and the UBC will bring similar thrills and excitement through their best dancers, including Hwang Hye-min and Kang Ye-na.
An interesting, and a helpful, feature will be the appearance of UBC general director Julia H. Moon 30 minutes before the performance. Moon will explain about the storyline and movements, while subtitles will be projected on screens to help viewers understand the plot more thoroughly. The performance venue, the Universal Arts Center, has been renovated and has new floors and seats that will provide fans with a more comfortable view of ballet works.
UBC's ``Don Quixote'' will be performed at the Universal Arts Center located near Achasan Station on subway line 5. Tickets cost from 70,000 won to 10,000 won. For more information, visit www.ubcballet.com or call 1588-7890. The UBC is also planning to bring their works to the cities of Busan, Haenam, Mokpo, Daegu, Chuncheon and Bucheon soon.
Meanwhile, the SBT is bringing the story of Alice from writer Lewis Caroll's ``Alice in Wonderland.''
Choreographed by the company's artistic director James Jeon, SBT's ``Alice in Wonderland'' mixed modern settings and music with the English novel, perfect for children and also entertaining for parents.
``This is the first work for children since the SBT was formed. I wanted children to understand ballet more easily through Alice and also give them a chance to meet the colorful characters that appear in the story. Alice follows a white rabbit into a dark cave in the original story, but considering that children these days enjoy watching television and playing video games, we made her follow him into a television screen,'' Jeon said in a statement.
Guests will have the chance to watch the white rabbit, Cheshire Cat and the playing cards-turned dancers on stage, along with the lovable character Alice at the venue, the Arko Arts Theater.
The music will also be an interesting feature, as various numbers ranging from Vanessa Mae's music from her album ``Storm,'' Leonard Bernstein's ``Candide Overture'' to Aaron Carter's number from the ``Pokemon's OST'' will join Alice and her friends.
SBT is performing ``Alice in Wonderland'' at the Arko Arts Theater Feb. 28. The theater is located near Hyehwa Station on line 4. Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 30,000 won. For more information, visit www.ballet.or.kr or call (02) 3442- 2637.