Ballet Festival Korea features social issues

"Moment" by Shin Hyun-ji B Project / Courtesy of Ballet Festival Korea

By Yun Suh-young

The seventh annual Ballet Festival Korea will begin June 8 this year and be held for two weeks until June 25.

The festival will be staged in three different venues of the Seoul Arts Center _ Opera Theater, CJ Towol Theater and the Jayu Theater.

This year, the festival sees more pieces by male choreographers and a wider variety of social themes that can resonate with the younger generation.

The festival will open with "This is Modern" by Universal Ballet which will run from June 8 through 10. It will feature three pieces including Jiri Kylian's "Petite Mort," Ohad Naharin's "Minus 7" and Remondo Rebeck's "White Sleep."

"This year's program is organized based on popular pieces by foreign choreographers. Petite Mort is a classical piece using Mozart's music which was met with positive reviews at the Salzburg Festival on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death, while Minus 7 interprets Israel's nationalism from a Western perspective. White Sleep is a new piece by German choreographer Remondo Rebeck who sends a philosophical message through the performance," said Kim Sei-young, PR representative of Universal Ballet, during a press conference last week.

"The Last Exit" by Wise Ballet Theater and "Ahn Jung-geun, a Dance in the Heaven" by M Ballet Company will be performed on June 13 and 14 as well as "Moment" by Shin Hyun-ji B Project and "Black Swan Lake" by Luda Lee Black Toe Project.

"'The Last Exit' was inspired by a recent TV series 'Misaeng' which was about the hierarchy in Korean office culture, the discrimination against women, the unequal treatment of contract workers, and the abnormal hoesik (after-work dinner) culture. We wanted to spotlight the pain and sorrow of the temporary contract workers in our society," said choreographer Hong Sung-wook.

Choreographer Moon Byung-nam of M Ballet Company said, "'Ahn Jung-geun, a Dance in the Heaven' poses a question of whether people these days know about Ahn's philosophy," while Shin Hyun-ji of Shin Hyun-ji B Project said, "'Moment' is a great opportunity for the audience to understand dance photography and the making of it. They will be able to interact with the producers of the program."

Lee Lu-da of Luda Lee Black Toe Project whose last year's "Black Swan Lake" sold out, said, "If last year was a black and white concept, this year's color is red, symbolizing desire and power. The R in red stands for reality as well. The black swan will be portrayed in red but as a symbol of society. I hope it will resonate with the public."

On June 16, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be performed by Seoul Ballet Theatre and the Ballet Gala performance will take place on June 17 and 18 by the Korean National Ballet.

Also on June 17 and 18, "Step by Step" by Kim Yong-geol Dance Theater and "The Ordinary Men" by Dark Circles Contemporary Dance will take place at the Jayu Theater.

"Step by Step was initially supposed to be a story about me but since I had a calf injury, I changed the concept. It's a story of a ballerina who retired at the age of 38. She wanted to be the prima ballerina but retired as a group dancer. It's a portrait of us. We want success and fame but only one person ends up as the protagonist and the rest are in the shadows," said choreographer Kim Yong-geol. "When you seek success defined by others, you'll end up feeling hopeless. But what is the meaning of success? Why do we have to be number one? We can be happy as who we are. I hope this message is delivered to the audience through a ballerina's life."

"The Ordinary Men" by Dark Circles Contemporary Dance is another socially-conscious piece.

"It's about the intense life of modern day people. Whereas they want to hide their uniqueness, they also want to deviate from an ordinary life. Various genres of music such as soft rock and electric music will be played during the performance," said choreographer Jo Hyun-sang.

Programs by guest choreographers are also in the lineup. Jo Ju-hyun and Kim Seh-yun's "Accompany" and "Death Song" will be performed on June 19 and 20.

Closing the festival will be "Spartacus" by Korean National Ballet, which will be performed from June 23 through 25.

Special events are also available during the festival period. Ballet classes for beginners are offered by ballerina Kim Ji-young on June 3 and ballerino Uhm Jae-yong on June 10 and lectures on ballet will be offered as a three-part series beginning with ballerino-turned-photographer Kim Kyoung-sik on June 7, ballerina-turned-choreographer Kim Seh-yun on June 8 and rehabilitation trainer Park Tae-soon on June 10.

For more information, visit www.bafeko.com or call 02) 580-1300.