Korean ballet stars return for local dance fest

By Yun Suh-young

Noted ballerinas Kang Hyo-jung and Kim Seh-yun will return to Korea this weekend to participate in the 14th Korea World Dance Stars Festival.

The festival is on Friday and Saturday at the Arko Arts Theater in Daehangno, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The festival gives local audiences a chance to see Korean dancers who work in overseas dance companies. It also introduces rising stars.

The festival, established in 2001, was held biennially until 2007 and then became an annual event.

"We incorporated feedback that there should be more opportunities to see Korean dance stars' performances in Korea," said Chang Kwang-yeol, the festival’s general director and president of the International Performing Arts Project, the event’s host. “There are so many Korean dancers who are going overseas for their careers, and the numbers are increasing rapidly.

The festival has introduced over 80 Korean dancers to the public, including global stars like Kang Su-jin. Young rising stars introduced at the festival, including Kim Ki-min, Seo Hee and Park Se-eun, have joined some of the world's best ballet companies, such as the Mariinsky Ballet Company, the American Ballet Theater and the Paris Opera Ballet.

This year, the invited dancers are Kang Hyo-jung of the Stuttgart Ballet, Kim Seh-yun of Compania Nacional de Danza, Lee Ji-young of Ballet National de Marseille, Jeong Han-sol of the Joffrey Ballet and Jin Se-hyun of the Columbia Classical Ballet. Lee, Jeong and Jin will be performing for the first time on Korean soil. Ballerinas Kang Hyo-jung and Kim Seh-yun, who have risen as principal dancers of their respective dance companies, are invited as "Global Stars We Want to See Again."

Each of the dancers will be partnering with a foreign colleague whom they themselves invited. Foreign partners include Constantine Allen of the Stuttgart Ballet, Esteban Berlanga of Compania Nacional de Danza, Gen Isomi of Ballet National de Marseille, Brooklyn Mack of the Washington Ballet and Cho Hee-won from Korea.

Choreography was created especially for the festival by world-famous choreographers such as Douglas Lee, Emio Greco and Roland Petit. Six performances will be Korean premieres.

Local dancers will also be participating, including Kim Yong-geol of the KimYongGeol Dance Theater, who will dance with Kim Ji-young of the Korean National Ballet.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday. For reservations, call 02) 3668-0007. For more information, call 02) 3674-2210 or visit www.ipap.co.kr. Ticket prices range from 20,000 won to 90,000 won.