February 16-18 at Universal Art Center
The Universal Ballet Company announced on the 22nd that it will present the original ballet "Korea Emotion 情 (Jeong)" as the opening work for its 40th anniversary this year, from February 16 to 18 at the Universal Art Center.
"Korea Emotion 情" is a work that highlights the sophisticated harmony between traditional Korean crossover music and ballet. It consists of nine pieces that add Korean colors and melodies to the language of ballet.
"Korea Emotion 情" premiered in 2021 as an official invited work for the 11th Korea Ballet Festival's "Triple Bill." At that time, it featured four pieces?"Mirinaegil," "Moonlight Young," "Biyun," and "Gangwon, Jeongseon Arirang 2014"?extracted from composer Ji Pyeong-gwon's album "Daul Project (2014)" and received favorable reviews. Last year, five additional pieces were added: "Donghae Rhapsody," "Chanbiga," and "Moonlight Play" by the traditional music ensemble Sinawi, and "Dasom I" and "Dasom II" by the German jazz band Saltacello, expanding the total to nine pieces with a runtime of 65 minutes.
The first piece, "Donghae Rhapsody," and the final piece, "Gangwon, Jeongseon Arirang 2014," feature dazzling and powerful group dances performed by sixteen and eighteen male and female dancers, respectively. Especially, "Gangwon, Jeongseon Arirang 2014" is a work that blends traditional Korean music, vocal music, classical music, and ballet, featuring former members of the band Dallychi: traditional musician Kwon Song-hee, soprano Sindella, and master singer Jeong Ju-hee.
"Moonlight Play" is a vibrant and dramatically choreographed dance for four women. In contrast, "Chanbiga" is a male quartet rarely seen in classical ballet, expressing the longing for a beloved.
"Dasom" is a dance where two dancers harmonize like a decalcomania over refined melodies. The female duet "Dasom I" reveals strong energy within delicate and soft lines, while the male duet "Dasom II" showcases the delicate movements, dance lines, and unique weightiness characteristic of men through smoothly flowing footwork, jumps, turns, and flexible upper body movements.
"Biyun" is performed by four pairs of male and female dancers, dynamically portraying the poignant love and affection between men and women that seems to almost touch but never quite does.
"Mirinaegil" and "Moonlight Young" beautifully and poignantly depict the "Jeong (情)" between a married couple. "Mirinaegil" expresses a wife's longing for her deceased husband, while "Moonlight Young" represents a husband's longing for his deceased wife. "Mirinaegil" also earned Universal Ballet's principal dancer Kang Mi-sun the prestigious "Benois de la Danse" Best Female Dancer Award, often called the Oscar of the ballet world, last year.
Mirinae-gil (Kang Miseon, Lee Hyunjun) [Photo provided by Universal Ballet, ⓒUniversal Ballet_Kyoungjin Kim]
This performance is also the farewell stage for principal dancer Son Yoo-hee. Son Yoo-hee was active with the Universal Ballet Company for eight years starting in 2004, then served as principal dancer at the Tulsa Ballet in the United States for four years from 2013, before returning to the Universal Ballet Company as principal dancer from 2019. In this performance, Son Yoo-hee will appear in four pieces: "Donghae Rhapsody," "Moonlight Play," "Mirinaegil," and "Gangwon, Jeongseon Arirang 2014."
Moon Hoon-sook, director of the Universal Ballet Company, said, "As Korea's first private ballet company, we are grateful to everyone who has supported us up to our 40th anniversary." She explained, "'Korea Emotion 情' is a Korean contemporary work with a different tone from previous works such as 'Simcheong' and 'Ballet Chunhyang,' where our melodies and movements form a dense harmony with the language of ballet, showcasing the concentrated creative capabilities of the Universal Ballet Company."
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