The Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture will present the original ballet "The Age of Innocence" at the Art Hall Mac of the Mapo Arts Center on May 9 and 10, 2025.
"The Age of Innocence" is an omnibus work composed of five choreographies, each exploring the common theme of "innocence" from different perspectives. The production was created by the Seoul Ballet Theatre, which is the resident company of the Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture, in celebration of its 30th anniversary, in collaboration with five leading choreographers in Korea.
The choreographers participating in this production are Kang Hyo-hyung, a soloist and choreographer with the Korean National Ballet; choreographer Yoo Sun-sik; Kim Yumi, a choreographer and former member of the Atlanta Ballet; James Jeon, the founding artistic director of Seoul Ballet Theatre; and Choi Jin-soo, the current director of Seoul Ballet Theatre and the general director of this production.
The performance opens with James Jeon's work "1x1=? (Il Gopagi Il Eun Muleumpyu)," which features three dancers expressing questions and answers about the essence of human existence through dance. Next, Yoo Sun-sik's choreography "Another Wave" delicately depicts human emotions and inner feelings as shimmering ocean waves.
Kim Yumi's piece "Fiseta" explosively expresses the passion and energy of life to the music of Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre," evoking moments of celebration that bring vitality to life and provide an escape from the hardships of daily routine.
Kang Hyo-hyung's new work "Molecular Motion" is an experimental piece that choreographically represents the movement of molecules as they transition between solid, liquid, and gas states, based on scientific concepts. The final piece, "The Violet" by Choi Jin-soo, is a modern and emotionally rich classical ballet set to electronic music composed by Hong Woong specifically for this work.
Choi Jin-soo, who serves as the general director, stated, "This performance will deeply move not only ballet fans but also all audience members seeking artistic resonance in their daily lives," adding, "I hope it will be a new experience in which various moments of life are sublimated into beautiful art."
Founded in 1995, Seoul Ballet Theatre is a private ballet company with a repertoire of about 100 works, ranging from classical ballet to experimental modern ballet. Since being selected as the resident company of the Mapo Foundation for Arts and Culture last year, it has presented representative works for children such as "Shin Cinderella" and "Peter Pan," as well as outreach performances like "Ballet Tok Tok." This year, the company plans to showcase its unique creative capabilities through narrated ballets and original modern ballet works.
"The Age of Innocence" will be performed twice: at 7:30 p.m. on May 9 and at 2:00 p.m. on May 10. For more details about the performance, please visit the foundation's website.
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