Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Universal Ballet to present 'Giselle' in October
A scene from the ballet “Gieselle” / Courtesy of Universal Ballet
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
The Universal Ballet Company will present its performance of “Giselle” at the Seoul Arts Center from Oct. 29 to 31. The work was performed online last year due to the pandemic.
The classic ballet that was first performed in 1841 with music composed by Adolphe Adam is one of the works the ballet company has been widely known for since “Giselle's” first performance in Korea in 1985.
The story revolves around a young and innocent peasant girl named Giselle. She falls in love with Count Albrecht, a philandering noble in disguise. After learning that Albrecht is already engaged and has betrayed her, Giselle dies of heartbreak, but pursues her eternal love as part of the Wilis sisterhood, the ghostly spirits of young women who died following betrayals by their lovers and thus seeking revenge.
With this performance, the Korean company made its first European debut in 1999, performing the work in Spain, Italy and Hungary.
For the upcoming performances, ballet dancers Hong Hyang-gee, Son You-hee and Han Sang-yi are set to play the lead role of Giselle, while Rhee Hyong-jun, Konstantin Novoselov and Lee Dong-tak and Gantsooj Otgonbyamba will play Albrecht. This cast will be a rare combination of dancers in which the audience can see the chemistry of a real married couple on stage: ballet dancers Son You-hee and Rhee Hyong-jun.