Kang Hyo-jung future of Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet’s principal dancer Kang Hyo-jung will take the lead role in a Korean production of “Swan Lake” in March. / Korea Times file
Star dancer to highlight Korean production of ‘Swan Lake’
By Do Je-hae
The exquisite ballerina Kang Hyo-jung will return to Seoul in March for her Korean debut as the lead role in “Swan Lake.”
The principal dancer of Germany’s prestigious Stuttgart Ballet will be performing at Seoul Arts Center at the invitation of Universal Ballet Company (UBC), a leading ballet troupe in Korea. She will be partnered by Evan Mckie, a fellow principal at her company.
She will take the role in one of the four performances of UBC’s “Swan Lake” that begins on March 3. The exact date of her performance is yet to be determined.
Kang is one of the most promising Korean ballerinas of her generation, along with American Ballet Theatre principal Seo Hee. They both studied at the Sunwha Art Middle School before training at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart.
Kang also attended the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. and won the prestigious Prix de Lausanne, which provided her the opportunity to join the Stuttgart Ballet.
Corps de ballet of the Universal Ballet Company (UBC) in “Swan Lake.” The UBC has invited Kang Hyo-jung, a prima ballerina with the Stuttgart Ballet, for its upcoming production of “Swan Lake” in March. / Courtesy of UBC
In 2003, she joined the Stuttgart Ballet as an apprentice and became a soloist in 2010. Artistic director Reid Anderson was so moved by her mesmerizing debut as Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" in April 2011 that he announced her promotion to a principal on the stage immediately after the performance.
The UBC invited the 28-year-old dancer in 2011 for the production of "Onegin," also partnering with Mckie. Kang’s interpretation of the tragic role of Tatiana left many in the audience in awe of the breadth of her acting and flawless technique.
Kang’s depth of emotional expression and technical maturity have made her an ideal pick for dramatic roles like Tatiana, usually reserved for more senior principals. At Stuttgart, Kang made her debut as Tatiana in October 2012, sealing her status as a future star of her company.
Kang is now one of eight female principals at the major European company, particularly renowned for the legacy of legendary choreographer John Cranko. The Stuttgart Ballet has another Korean principal, Kang Sue-jin, who joined the company in 1987 and became the first Korean to rise to the rank of principal dancer at a major European company.
Kang Hyo-jung’s previous lead roles with her company have been Juliet in Cranko’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Princess Aurora in Marcia Haydee’s “Sleeping Beauty,” and the female lead in Uwe Scholz’s “Siebte Sinfonie.”
Tickets for UBC’s production of "Swan Lake" ranges from 10,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information, call 070-7124-1737 or visit www.unversalballet.com.