By Do Je-hae
The Universal Ballet Company (UBC) will open its 2012 season with a collection of modern ballet masterpieces, the company said in a press release, Friday.
To break the misconception that modern ballet is hard to understand, UBC will bring together the works of three masters of modern ballet choreography: Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe and Ohad Naharin.
The show, entitled “This is Modern 3,” includes Kylian’s “Petite Mort” and “Sechs Tanze,” Forsythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elated” and Naharin’s “Minus 7.” They will be presented at Universal Arts Center in Seoul on Feb. 18 and 19, followed by performances in Japan and Taiwan.
The show will aim to demonstrate UBC’s growing expertise in modern ballet, according to the company.
“Today’s choreographers check each dance company carefully to be sure that they are capable of performing their works in the correct style before granting the company a license to perform them,” Kim Sei-young, a PR official at UBC said. “We are proud to be the first Asian company to have obtained licenses to perform works by Kylian, Forsythe and Naharin.”
At the performances of “This is Modern 3” in Seoul, Julia Moon, UBC general director, will give a brief talk before the performance, to allow the audience to get the most out of the program.
“This is Modern 3” will be performed at the Parthenon Tama Cultural Center in Tokyo, Japan on Feb. 28 and 29 and again at the National Theater in Taipei, Taiwan on April 14 and 15. A special fan meeting was held for 70 Japanese fans and Universal ballet dancers Kang Min-woo and Lee Seung-yun, Saturday in Tokyo as a promotion in advance of the show.
The company is currently conducting a large scale tour, “Universal Ballet World Tour 2011-2013.” The first year of the tour focused on performances of the company’s original signature work, “Shim Chung, a Legend from the Far East.”
This year, the tour is more diverse with works including “Swan Lake” and “This Is Modern 3,” demonstrating to audiences around the world that UBC can embrace the entire range of classical and contemporary ballet.
In the past Universal Ballet has introduced a variety of noted contemporary ballets since 2001 through their “An Evening of Contemporary Ballet” and “This is Modern” series in Korea.
Founded in 1984, the UBC is one of only four professional ballet companies in Korea, the company performs a repertory that includes many full length classical story ballets, together with shorter contemporary works and original full-length Korean ballets created especially for the company.
The company has 73 dancers, including some Russian and Chinese dancers.