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| A scene from the Kim Yonggeol Dance Theater's "Inside of Life." / Courtesy of the Seoul Arts Center |
By Kwon Ji-youn
There are very few household names in Korean ballet, but a spate of upcoming performances are looking to change that this summer with the onset of the Ballet Festival Korea (BAFEKO).
A handful of lesser-known ballet companies, including the Kim Yonggeol Dance Theater, Back Youngtae Ballet Lyubov and Ryu Hoiwoong Liberty Hall, will join the country's "big three" troupes at the annual festival set to kick off June 4 at the Seoul Arts Center (SAC).
The Korean National Ballet (KNB), the Universal Ballet Company and the Seoul Ballet Theater will top it off with a series of outdoor performances, admission to which will be free of charge.
The festival, which first hit town in 2011 with the objective of bringing ballet closer to the general public, will only feature two new productions this year -- the remainder will be repeats of performances from last year.
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| Poster of the Ballet Festival Korea / Courtesy of the Seoul Arts Center |
"Ballet is an art form that evolves with repeated practice and training, so ‘creation' to us remains an unfamiliar word," said Kim In-sook, president of the BAFEKO organizing committee during a press conference at the Hotel President in central Seoul, Tuesday.
"It has been about 20 years since we began passing into the realms of ‘creative ballet,' but even so, the focus remains with evolving, maturing and providing audiences with polished performances."
She continued, "Those who frequent the festival will be able to witness the breakthroughs these smaller ballet companies are making as they continue to stage productions year after year."
The BAFEKO presents a rare chance for young Korean choreographers, many of whom led successful careers as dancers years back, to stage their productions. According to Kim, a considerable number of choreographers and ballet companies applied for slots in the festival hosted by the BAFEKO organizing committee and the SAC.
Only the very best were selected based on artistic quality and value, technique and the philosophy behind the work.
"It is rewarding to see how much progress we have made over the last five years," Kim said.
Most of the choreographers are looking to walk audiences through the productions so as to ensure they don't wander astray.
"My company's ‘A Cowardly Pleasant World' deals with power and authority, which can be a difficult motif to understand, especially if the performances are this abstract," Ryu Hoi-woong of Ryu Hoiwoong Liberty Hall said.
"So to help make the ballet more accessible and enjoyable, we have made sure the movements and steps are straightforward and trendy."
Kim Yong-geol of the Kim Yonggeol Dance Theater will helm the opener, titled "Inside of Life."
"There is a lot of pressure on us as the curtain-raisers," said Kim, who transitioned from star dancer to teacher, and then to choreographer.
"We need to light the fire, and more importantly, we need to keep the flame burning until the curtains fall on the festival on June 28. Our plan is to approach our shows with pride."
Performances for the first two weeks will include Shakespeare's "Othello" through Hermann Hesse's "Demian," and the third will feature two original premieres ― the Choi Jinsoo S Ballet Group's "The Eyes from a Cage" and the Goh Hyeonjeong Decent Ballet Company's "Conatus."
The last week of the festival will be allotted to the "big three" troupes' outdoor gigs and the KNB will put on six additional performances of "Swan Lake" from June 24 through 28. On the side, KNB principal dancer Kim Ji-young will host ballet and stretching classes on June 6, and an outdoor flash mob will take place on June 13 and 20.
