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| Ballerina Park Sae Eun of the Paris Opera Ballet poses after being promoted to principal dancer, or "danseuse etoile," after playing Juliet for "Romeo and Juliet" at Opera Bastille, Paris, Thursday, local time. Park is the first Asian dancer to secure the highest ranking in the dance troupe's history. Courtesy of Ballet Opera Paris |
By Park Ji-won
Ballerina Park Sae Eun of the Paris Opera Ballet was promoted to principal dancer, or "danseuse etoile," Thursday (CET), after performing Juliet for "Romeo and Juliet." Park is the first Asian dancer to secure the position in the history of the troupe, which was founded in 1669.
According to the Paris Opera Ballet's official social media accounts, Aurelie Dupont, dance director of Ballet Opera Paris, and Alexander Neef, director of the Paris Opera, named Park as principal dancer on June 10, right after the opening performance of "Romeo and Juliet," which is running from June 10 to July 10. Since joining the ballet company in 2011, she served in the "corps de ballet" in 2011, as the "coryphee" or leader of the corps de ballet in 2013, as a soloist in 2014, and as "premiere danseuse," or first dancer, since 2016, which is the position right below principal dancer.
"It is a great joy and great honor to be named the etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet! A big thank you to Aurelie Dupont and Alexander Neef for your confidence in me. Thanks to my Romeo, Paul Marque, for this unforgettable evening, and well done for your first performance as an etoile (also). Finally, thank you all for your warm messages," Park wrote on Instagram in French, Friday.
Park, who graduated from the Korea National University of Arts, performed for a year with the American Ballet Theatre's studio company in 2007 after winning the Prix de Lausanne, and has performed in the Korean National Ballet since 2009. Park also won the best female dancer prize at the Benois de la Danse ballet competition for her role in "Diamonds," choreographed by George Balanchine.
It was largely expected that she would be promoted to the highest rank of the ballet company, as the four other members of the cast who are performing Juliet this summer are all principal dancers.
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