"Something special seems to be happening in Korea. It would not be an overstatement to say the center of gravity in world ballet is shifting to Korea."
Sascha Radetsky, artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, offered that assessment of Korean ballet at a press conference for the 1st Seoul Global Ballet Forum, held on the 27th at the Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Seoul's Yongsan District. Current and former artistic directors of leading ballet companies cited solid fundamental technique and a diligent attitude as the strengths of Korean dancers, but agreed that training choreographers and strengthening the foundation for original work remain challenges ahead.
The forum, held under the theme "Reimagining Ballet Education Today: How Should We Train Dancers," drew eight masters from the international ballet world, including Kim Sun-hee, the forum's general director, Susan Jaffe, artistic director of ABT, Mikko Nissinen, artistic director of Boston Ballet, Yuri Fateyev, director of the Mariinsky Ballet, Christopher Hampson, artistic director of Scottish Ballet, Ingrid Lorentzen, artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet, Radetsky, Ted Brandsen, former director of Dutch National Ballet, and Kenta Kura of Japan's K-Ballet School. Korean dancers working abroad also took part, among them Jeon Min-chul of the Mariinsky Ballet, Park Sun-mi and Han Sung-woo of ABT, and Kim Seok-ju of Boston Ballet.
The artistic directors pointed to solid technique and attitude as the competitive edge of Korean dancers. "Korean dancers have solid fundamentals, powerful performance quality and they respond well to music," Nissinen said. Fateyev attributed that to Korea's education system. "Korean dancers are well trained at institutions in their home country before they join a company," he said. "The attitude and mental strength they acquire by keeping to discipline at school helps them a great deal in their careers." Jeon, who joined the Mariinsky Ballet last year, said, "If I built my fundamentals at the Korea National University of Arts, now I am growing on that basis, creating my own appeal."
Still, developing choreographers and other creative talent was cited as a task that lags behind the country's record of producing world-class dancers. "You can learn the fundamentals first and still gain artistry and creativity while working as a professional dancer," Jaffe said, adding that "young talents need more exposure to environments where choreography is created." Brandsen said the field must consider "what value Korean ballet's choreography and artistry can offer Korean society, and how it can win affection there." He added that what is ultimately needed is "a ballet ecosystem that can attract not only outstanding Korean dancers but foreign dancers as well."
Education and performance programs tied to the forum will follow. From the 28th to the 31st, the heads of the overseas companies will lead eight master classes teaching promising Korean dancers at Seoul National University of Education, Korea Youth Ballet Stars and Ladansa Ballet. On the 28th, a world star gala titled "A Midsummer Night's Ballet Festival," featuring Park Sun-mi and Jeon Min-chul among others, will be staged at Samsung Hall at Ewha Womans University.
