Distinctive Dance Works to Go on Stage in March
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
March will be a month of unique dance performances, as a French movie star and Russian ballet troupe take the stage for local fans.
Actress Juliette Binoche and the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg will offer dance lovers interesting works, complete with their own distinctive colors and movements.
The Russian troupe, led by Boris Eifman, is bringing audiences the dramatic life of Anna Karenina March 27-29. Already made into dance performances, theatrical plays and movies starring famous actresses such as Vivien Leigh and Sophie Marceau, the passionate, tragic love story of Anna and her lover, Vronsky, will be staged at the LG Arts Center.
Anna is married to a high official and after a few years living as an aristocrat, she discovers herself alone and bored. She coincidently meets a young man, Vronsky, at a party, and the two fall in love, running away from all the aristocracy and responsibilities together, but not to Anna's enduring happiness.
Her story will be presented by one of the world's most dramatic choreographers, Eifman, and will be mainly focusing on the relationships between the three main characters: Anna, Vronsky and Anna's husband. The work won Eifman the Prix Benois de la Danse for best choreographer in 2006.
Eifman will bring two sides of Anna, the passionate and headstrong lover, and the wife who must live up to her status and responsibility. The choreographer will present her emotions through the colors of her costumes: white representing purity, black meaning evil and red representing passion.
Eifman, who started choreographing when he was only 10 years old, is famous for his experimental works and wide range of topics, winning various awards, including the prestigious People's Artist of Russia and the Golden Mask. He has worked on classic ballet works such ``Red Giselle,'' but also has created distinctive performances based on literary works of Shakespeare, Tolstoy and was the first choreographer in the world to bring Dostoevsky's novels to the stage.
Tickets cost from 40,000 won to 80,000 won. For more information, visit www.lgart.com.
Meanwhile, French actress Binoche will visit Korea for the first time to offer a dance performance, along with English dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.
The two artists have started their dance tour under the title ``in-i'' last year, visiting Italy, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. Now, the innovative piece is in Korea and fans will get the chance to watch Binoche perform on stage.
The performance is focused on the way the two dancers connect and how they express their emotions through movements, sometimes subtle, sometimes passionate. Thanks to the minimalism-themed stage settings and lighting, visitors will get to watch Binoche and Khan dance and communicate in the simplest state possible.
It was in 2006 when Binoche first considered dancing when her therapist, who was actually the wife of Khan's dance company's producer, recommended it. After attending a performance by the troupe, Binoche met Khan and the two decided to work on a special piece that would involve both of them as dancers and producers.
Khan, who visited Korea in 2006 with ``Sacred Monsters,'' starring legendary ballerina Sylvie Guillem, is one of the most innovative dancers and choreographers in the world.
Join the two artists with their creative ``in-i'' at the LG Arts Center March 19-21. Tickets cost from 40,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information, visit www.lgart.com.