Seoul Ballet Theater facing big transition

Seoul Ballet Theater (SBT) artistic director James Jeon, left, and SBT general director Kim In-hee pose at the Gangdong Arts Center in Seoul, May 27. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

James Jeon, Kim In-hee search for successors

By Kwon Ji-youn

Seoul Ballet Theater (SBT) founders Kim In-hee and James Jeon have lots to do before they officially retire next year — they have to stage a ballet version of Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” (something they have always wanted to do), build a content center for dance and settle on who will replace them as general and artistic directors of the country’s first private professional ballet company.

“But we’re determined to get all this wrapped up before June 2016 because the SBT is in need of some new blood,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times. “The SBT does not belong to us and we’ve run it for 20 years, so it’s natural we hang it up.”

Kim and Jeon founded the SBT in February 1995, while the pair were principal dancers with the Korean National Ballet (KNB). The couple, who first met in 1987 and tied the knot in 1989, fielded three objectives on founding the SBT — to promote ballet to make it more accessible, to create original productions and to send their ballets and dancers abroad.

But it was not smooth sailing. The company almost drowned in red ink when the financial crisis hit in 1998 and, for the most part, has had difficulty making ends meet.

A scene from the Seoul Ballet Theater’s “Rage.” / Courtesy of the Seoul Ballet Theater

“I was a ballerina who knew nothing about how to manage and effectively run an organization,” Kim said. “Securing funding for our productions was difficult. It’s a miracle we’ve come this far.”

But Jeon’s dance philosophy is about taking what ingredients he has and whipping up the finest dish he can, which may be the SBT’s secret to success. And according to Jeon, whose choreography has been recognized in America and Europe for its dramatic and extraordinary creativity, the best productions are created when you have nothing to lose.

“The late George Balanchine, when he co-founded the New York City Ballet, choreographed productions to be staged at all sorts of venues, including Macy’s,” Jeon said. “During the SBT’s early days, we performed ballets at events of all shapes and sizes, like motor shows. These experiences were priceless.”

For a ballet company to prosper, it needs an audience, Jeon stressed, which is why the SBT has also staged a handful of family ballets.

“I was recently asked to choreograph a ballet version of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ fit for an outdoor stage,” Jeon said. “We have been given a very small, almost unreasonable, budget but I said I would do it because this will be the first ballet version of this particular Shakespeare play staged in Korea. It’s a completely new experience and that’s what matters.”

It is clear the couple have very different tastes, but the two obviously respect each other too much to let that become a problem. Kim prefers romantic, comic and hopeful ballets like “Coppelia,” while Jeon, who has choreographed 102 original productions so far, wants his ballets to make a statement.

“The romantic ballets are great, but my creations need to say something about society,” Jeon said. “Our version of ‘Giselle,’ namely ‘She, Giselle,’ dealt with single moms. In this production, Giselle is an illegitimate child and mother, and a prostitute.”

SBT ballet master Jeong Woon-sik

‘Rage’

“Rage,” to be staged on Friday and Saturday, is another production of Jeon’s that has a lot to say.

Kim says her husband, through “Rage,” has vented some of his pent-up anger, which has been building steadily over the past few years. But to Kim, “Rage” is about hope.

“Think about it. We get mad because we think that’ll make a difference,” Kim said.

Jeon added, “I’m aware it’s not possible to please everyone, but when we begin disregarding principles and common sense, this makes me mad. So I transformed this anger into dance.”

“Rage” is a reflection of today’s society as it belts along to survive, knee deep in anger and frustration. It begins with an act in which the dancers are without their toe shoes, putting out there the resentment, the yearning and the emptiness people feel as they search for hope.

“It’s not that I believe ‘Rage’ will bring about significant changes, because I don’t,” Jeon said. “But I hope it will help with the healing process.”

Future of ballet

Kim sees hope in the few changes she has seen over the past 20 years, but for Korean ballet to meet global standards, there is still a lot of work to do.

“Society is not yet fully aware of how important the arts are,” Jeon said. “In the U.S., it is important each city has a symphony orchestra and dance company that represents it, for its own development. The Geneva Ballet also plays a very important role in its community — it educates the people, communicates with them and comforts them. It’s a big part of their lives. This is something Korea lacks.

“The society calls for more choreographers and they seem to understand the need for more choreographers, but these choreographers will end up jobless, because there are no companies for which they can work.”

There are only four professional ballet companies that offer their dancers major insurance benefits — the KNB, the Universal Ballet Company, the Gwangju City Ballet and the SBT.

“Today’s mothers are smart,” Jeon said. “Who would want their children to pursue dance professionally when there are no job options?”

Kim added, “If there are more private ballet companies like the SBT, dancer aspirants will work diligently toward a future that is no longer uncertain. In turn, universities will flourish and so will ballet schools and schools for the arts.”

Jeon suggested as one possible solution the establishment of national ballet companies in each of the country’s metropolitan cities.

“France has 19 national dance companies, and China has seven,” Kim said.

“It’s frustrating, because we’ve been saying the same thing over and over for the last 20 years. And it’s partly our fault —we haven’t worked hard enough to make sure our voices are heard.”

Both said society is too reliant on connections, whether it be by blood, by school or by region.

“Neither of us have any of the above,” Kim said. “We’re a lone mountain without a range to support it.”

After retirement

The content center Kim and Jeon so dearly want to build will lay the groundwork for their after-retirement plans.

“No big progress has been made as of yet,” Kim said. “But I know it’ll happen.”

The content center will bring government subsidies, conglomerate sponsorships and the SBT together to build performance halls, education centers and practice rooms for dancers.

“The U.S. state of Nevada operates eight practice rooms for dancers, three of which are used by professional ballet troupes,” Kim said. “The remaining five are available to people of all ages. Some 10,000 people dance and stretch in those rooms all day.”

Another goal for after retirement entails building a ballet school for troubled teens and children. Jeon gave as an example the Dance Theater of Harlem, which provides an outreach program that reaches out to more than 1,000 children who want to study dance.

“And there are ballet schools in Argentina and Columbia for troubled teens,” Jeon said.

“Some of them grow up to be world-famous dancers.”

Kim said it is important these schools find a home here in Korea.

“Because, no matter how great our productions are, it is pointless if our society is unsound,” she said.

“Each and every person is responsible for making the world a better place to live.

“It’s not someone else’s problem — it’s ours.”