Famous dancers back for star-studded festival
/ Courtesy of the Royal Ballet
By Rachel Lee
World-class Korean ballet dancers are returning home to wow audiences at the Korea World Dance Stars Festival next month.
The five ballerinas _ Ha Eun-ji from the Finnish National Ballet, soloist Choe Yu-hui from London’s Royal Ballet, Won Jin-young from America’s Cedar Lake Ballet, Orlando Ballet’s Won Jin-ho and Hagen Ballet's Yang Eun-ji _ will be joined by four foreign and five local dancers.
They will perform contemporary and classic items, including “Cinderella,” “Drift” and “Double Evil.”
Ha, 30, has signed a “lifelong” contract with the company, thanks to her ability to perform both classic and contemporary ballet remarkably well. Won, 27, studied at Sunhwa Arts High School and won the Grand Prix at world-famous Prix de Lausanne in 2005. She also worked at Netherlands Dans Theater 2.
Other participants include the Kim Yong Gul Ballet Theatre, and rising stars Lee Su-bin, Kim Sin-young and Jung Eun-ji, who won the Junior Grand Prix at the International Ballet Competition-Varna in 2014, the Best Junior Award at the Youth America Grand Prix this year and the Grand Prix at Sicilia Barocca in 2013, respectively.
The ballerinas will perform “La Vayadere,” “La Esmeralda” and “Paquita.”
The Korea World Dance Stars Festival is at the Arko Arts Center in Jongno, Seoul, on July 10 and 11. For more information, visit www.koreapac.kr.