Ballet Festival Korea to be held on June 18-28 amid COVID-19
Seen is a scene from the Korea National Ballet's “Mata Hari” in 2019 Ballet Festival Korea. Courtesy of Ballet Festival Korea
By Park Ji-won
At a time when there are few indoor artistic performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an upcoming ballet festival is looking to revive people's spirits from coronavirus-related stress through a familiar dance repertoire and performances by leading ballet dancers from here and overseas.
The 10th edition of the festival, which was established in 2011 with the aim of bringing ballet closer to the public, is slated to take place from June 18 to 28 at the Seoul Arts Center, presenting nine ballet works ranging from classic to contemporary.
Poster for the 10th Ballet Festival Korea Courtesy of Ballet Festival Korea
The Korea National Ballet's romantic ballet “Giselle” was originally planned to be opening the festival on June 10, but it was canceled under the government's measures that closed state-run cultural facilities through June 14 due to the recent spread of the coronavirus in the Seoul metropolitan area.
To this end, Universal Ballet's “Ballet Gala & Aurora's Wedding” will open the festival at CJ Towol Theater on June 18 and 19. The troupe will perform key acts from some of the most famous ballet works such as “Swan Lake,” “The Pirate” and “The Sleeping Beauty.” In addition to the famous repertoire, highlights of choreographer Gerald Arpino's “RUTH, Ricordi Per Due” and Adrienne Dellas' “Gopak,” or Ukrainian traditional dance and, “Moonlight Pas de Deux” from “Shim Chung” will also be staged.
Kim Joo-won, who served as principal dancer at the Korea National Ballet for 15 years, will stage “Tango in Ballet: Su Tiempo” on June 23 and 24 at the same venue. Directed by herself, the performance was presented last year at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in a way to express her love of Argentinian dance and to explore ways to combine two different dance genres: ballet and tango.
Shows associated with “The Korea World Dance Stars Festival” will present to audiences world-class performances by 10 Korean dancers from overseas ballet theaters on June 27 and 28.
Up to 20 dancers including ballerina Kang Ho-hyun of the Paris Opera Ballet; ballerina Park Sun-mi and ballerino Han Sung-woo of the American Ballet Theatre; ballerina Lee Soo-bin and ballerinos Lee Sang-min and Lee Sun-woo of the Boston Ballet; and other ballet dancers will stage in famous ballet works such as “Don Quixote” by Kang and Han and “Pas de Trois from Le Corsaire” by Lee You-rim with Hungary National Ballet, Lee Sun-woo and Han.
At Jayu Theater, a small-sized performing hall with some 220 seats, some creative ballet productions will be performed by Ryu Hoi-Woong Liberty Hall and Lee Lu-Da Black Toe on June 18 and 19 while Yoon Jeon-il Dance Emotion and Yoomique Dance and Jeong Hyeong-il Ballet Creative and Kim She-yun Dance Project will stage their original pieces on June 23 and 24 and June 27 and 28, respectively.
On the sidelines of the festival, talks by performers regarding their stages and photo sessions with ballet dancers will also be held. Also, a small photo exhibition to chronicle the 10 years of the festival will also be taken place.
Audiences should wear masks inside the facilities and use hand sanitizer. Those who refuse to check their body temperature or present with a fever will not be allowed to enter the hall. Also, audiences need to submit a questionnaire regarding their health condition and whether they have recently traveled overseas. One seat will be left empty between every audience member to maintain social distancing guidelines.
Tickets are priced from 20,000 won to 80,000 won ($16-$66). Visit
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