By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The Korean folktale ballet ``Shim Chung’’ has toured some 40 cities across 10 countries since premiering in 1986, and an ``upgraded version’’ will be presented to local fans at the end of the month.
A staple of the Universal Ballet Company’s (UBC) repertory, the piece was choreographed by the troupe’s first artistic director Adrienne Dellas to music by Kevin Barber Pickard. It tells the long handed-down tale of the lovely, devoted young Shim Chung. When she hears of an expensive operation that may cure her father’s blindness, she sells herself to sailors who are in need of a maiden to sacrifice to the Sea Dragon King. Her devotion and self-sacrifice is ultimately rewarded with a happy marriage to the king.
Beginning in 2001, the ballet was staged overseas at prestigious venues such as the New York Lincoln Center and Washington D.C. Kennedy Center, and has been praised for its unique focus on familial love. The New York Times said it is ``filled with vivid and lyrical dancing and heartwarming storytelling with some lessons to teach about dance audiences.’’ ``Shim Chung’’ is hitting the local stage for the first time in six years.
``The ballet has constantly evolved over the past 15 years. If the older version appealed to the analogue age, then the new version, with its modernized costumes and set design, will attract the audience of the digital age,’’ Julia H. Moon, UBC’s general director, told reporters in Seoul, Tuesday.
The former prima ballerina, who was the first ever Shim Chung, will be making a special cameo appearance.
``Dancing in the 2001 production of `Shim Chung’ naturally became my retirement show because of an injury, so I never had an official farewell performance. I haven’t worn toe shoes for the past nine years, so don’t expect anything big, but I will make an appearance as the elder Shim Chung. It’s a miniscule role but I am still very nervous and excited,’’ she said.
The upcoming rendition will feature a sophisticated digital video piece to depict the heroine’s famous plunge into the sea. To create the video, the company’s principal dancers spent 12 hours in an aquarium to shoot dreamy underwater dance sequences.
The costumes also underwent a change, with new designs by a Korean-Irish artist who has worked for the American Ballet Theater. Fans can also look forward to a more opulent depiction of the Korean royal court in the third act.
The ballet will be staged eight times from May 24 to 30 at the Opera Theater of Seoul Arts Center. Veteran ballerinas Hwang Hye-min, Kang Ye-na and An Ji-eun will each play the lead part twice, while Han Seo-hae and Kang Mi-sun will each perform once.
Tickets cost from 10,000 to 80,000 won. Visit www.ubcballet.com.