[INTERVIEW] Universal Ballet to present hope amid pandemic in 'Triple Bill'

Dancers of the Universal Ballet practice "The Butterfly Lovers," the second work of Universal Ballet's "Triple Bill" in this undated photo. Courtesy of Universal Ballet

By Park Ji-won

Artistic director Yoo Byung-hun of Universal Ballet Courtesy of Universal Ballet

Following the outbreak and global spread of COVID-19, last year was the toughest year in memory for theaters and ballet companies. Performances were cancelled one after another. Relying heavily on ticket sales for their survival, ballet companies were forced to undergo restructuring. Some companies laid off staff, while others altogether ceased or suspended operations.

For Universal Ballet's artistic director Yoo Byung-hun, however, the toughest year enabled him to find time to think and create his first project after seven years.

"Triple Bill," choreographed by Yoo, consists of three contemporary ballet works; "Bun(Anger): Paganini Rhapsody," "Ae(Love): The Butterfly Lovers" and "Jeong(Affection): Korea Emotion." They will be performed at the Seoul Arts Center from June 18 to 20 as part of the 11th Ballet Festival Korea to be held from June 15 to 30.

Yoo, the first-ever Korean Chinese artistic director who assumed the position in 2009, said the pandemic created an opportunity for him to develop his artistic activities.

"It was one of the toughest years for me personally and all of us last year. But the positive was that I had some spare time due to the pandemic. So I looked back over what I had choreographed and other good pieces while listening to music a lot. I naturally came to think that I need to come up with new choreographies so that I could give comfort and hope to those suffering from the pandemic," You told The Korea Times in a telephone interview, Wednesday.

The three choreographed works, which last about thirty minutes each, will present various deeply rooted emotions and the cultural backgrounds of Russia, China and Korea.

Dancers of the Universal Ballet practice "Paganini Rhapsody," the first work of Universal Ballet's "Triple Bill" in this undated photo. Courtesy of Universal Ballet

"Bun(Anger): Paganini Rhapsody," based on the classical work, "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" composed by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, has had its original 2003 choreography revised and focuses on expressing "anger" and "brightness" so that it can resonate with virus-hit people's emotions and deliver hope.

"The music has two sides. There is brightness and anger in darkness. In 2003, I just followed the rhythm of the music and choreographed based on certain movements. But I reinterpreted the music and discovered that it could resonate well with the current desperate situation brought about by the pandemic. So I eliminated unnecessary technical movements and tried to highlight hope. Also, two pas de deuxs, or dance duets, the highlight of the work, will express sentimental, happy and free emotions."

"Ae(Love): The Butterfly Lovers," the original choreography, was based on a famous Chinese folktale called "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai," which is often called the Chinese "Romeo and Juliet," and "Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto," will explore the sad love story to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations between Korea and China, which falls next year. To express the sentiment embedded in the original story, he largely adopted China's operatic movements, or Jingju, in the choreography.

"When I was in the National Ballet of China, I was choreographing the story. But I ended up coming to Korea and didn't finish it. So I felt sad about that. I also felt sad over the fact that the tragic and beautiful love story, as well as the concerto, is not that famous in Korea. It is one of the most frequently adapted stories for China's traditional art forms, such as Jingju and Sichuan opera (Chuanju). As it is a Chinese story and music, I introduced some movements from Jingju so that it appears naturally to audiences."

In terms of "Jeong(Affection): Korea Emotion," he tried to showcase "Jeong" or Korea's multi-faceted idea of emotional attachment inspired by musician Ji Pyeong-gwon's album, "Daul Project" (2016), which harmoniously combined Eastern and Western music according to Yoo.

"I think Eastern culture doesn't express what is inside, while Western culture does the opposite. Those characteristics are well reflected in the dance as well. In Korea, for example, people need to first digest certain Korean emotions and philosophy as well as dance movement through the body and then express it afterword, while people in the West highlight the silhouette and bodylines in choreography. I chose the music of the album as it combined well both sentiments of Western and Eastern music making it easier for me to come up with the choreography for the Western ballet. To express the Korean sentiment, I also introduced some movements from Korean traditional dance."

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