Seo Hee in Artful Journey With Ballet

By Han Sang-hee

Staff Reporter

Korea has a number of talented ballerinas, and it seems one more has been added to the roster. Seo Hee, a member of the corps de ballet at the prestigious American Ballet Theater, was recently tapped to star as Juliet, one of the most sought-after characters in the industry.

``I did not expect the news at all because not even the principal dancers get to perform in `Romeo and Juliet.' Only a handful of dancers get to play the part,'' the 23-year-old ballerina told The Korea Times during an interview on Monday held right after her daily ballet workouts. Seo came to Korea for a vacation, but that hasn't stopped her from rehearsing.

Seo was in rehearsals for ``Swan Lake'' and ``Giselle'' when she was told by the ABT's artistic director Kevin McKenzie to ready herself for ``Romeo and Juliet'' as the two passed each other in the hallway.

``He said it so calmly I didn't even react. It was not until the performance when I finally thought, `Okay, this is it,''' she said laughing.

Seo is the first Korean ballerina to play the main role in the ABT's full performance. The ABT is one of the three great ballet troupes, along with the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet.

Although Seo knew all the movements and was well acquainted with the music, playing Juliet was not easy, as she had to learn how to express her feelings of the character.

``One of the most difficult things about the piece is that there are not many supporting roles. Romeo and Juliet are the only dancers that appear in the third act, and I had to have that gentle charisma to lead the whole performance,'' said Seo.

So, the ballerina worked on striking a balance in expressing her feelings, neither too subtly nor over the top.

``Watching movies gave me ideas. Dancers tend to exaggerate on stage because they want to make sure that everyone sees their emotions through the movements, but in movies, the acting is very subtle and realistic. I think it's important to find a balance. You can't overact just because you want the viewer in the back to notice you, but then you can't control your feelings too much either,'' Seo said, adding that she loved the original play by Shakespeare because the lines were so romantic. She added that such sentiment is ``hard to find these days.''

Seo didn't start out on the typical path for a ballerina; rather her career began by coincidence.

``I did swimming for a long time, and when I told my mother that I didn't want to swim anymore, she suggested ballet, adding that I had to do some kind of sport for my health,'' she said.