3 Koreans nominated for internationally-acclaimed ballet award

By Yi Whan-woo

Park Seul-ki, Lee Jae-woo

Three members of the Korean National Ballet _ Park Seul-ki, Lee Jae-woo and Kang Hyo-hyung _ have been nominated for this year’s Benois de la Danse, the world’s most prestigious ballet award.

Park, Lee and Kang were nominated for best female dancer, best male dancer and best choreographer, respectively, according to the Korean National Ballet, Wednesday.

The annual prizes, nicknamed the Oscars of ballet, are given to outstanding ballet professionals worldwide.

The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony slated from May 30 to 31 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Park won the nomination for her performance in “Aegina in Spartacus.”

If Park wins the honor next month, it will be the third time for a Korean to be awarded the best ballerina title at the Benois de la Danse.

Two others _ Kang Sue-jin and Kim Joo-won _ won the prize in 1999 and 2006, respectively.

Lee Jae-woo was put on the nomination list for his performance in “Sleeping Beauty.”

He seeks to become Korea’s second danseur to win the award after Kim Ki-min in 2006.

Kang Hyo-hyung became a nominee for choreographing “Into the Pulse,” through which she made her career debut as a professional choreographer.

Meanwhile, Kang Sue-jin, the artistic director of the Korean National Ballet, will be joining the award ceremony as a judge.

The International Dance Association in Moscow founded the Benois de la Danse in 1991 to honor Alexandre Benois (1870-1960), a Russian artist and art critic who held great influence in modern ballet.

The award is divided into categories of lifelong achievement, ballerina, danseur choreographer, composer and designer.