Six Small Theater Creative Ballets to Be Showcased at the Korea Ballet Festival 2025
Double-bill Performances to Feature Premieres and a Restaged Work at Jayu Small Theater
The 15th Korea Ballet Festival 2025 will present small theater creative ballet performances starting June 12.
The Korea Ballet Festival annually introduces works by private ballet companies through its "Small Theater Open Call Performances." This initiative aims to provide opportunities for the continuous development and advancement of small theater creative ballets, thereby improving the domestic dance environment where the creative foundation is currently weak.
"Life of Ballerino-Dreamer," which premiered at the Korea Ballet Festival's Small Theater Open Call in 2019, was selected as a planned performance for this year's festival and achieved a remarkable feat by selling out all three shows.
Scene from Baekyeon Ballet Project Y's 'Miro 2.0' performance [Photo provided by Korea Ballet Festival]
This year, a total of six small theater creative ballets will be showcased at the festival. They will be presented in double-bill format, with two works paired for each performance.
On June 12-13, "Miro 2.0" (Baekyeon Ballet Project Y) and "Waiting for Godot" (Ahham Art Project) will be performed. On June 17-18, "123.45MHz" (Das Tanz) and "The Room" (Seokibeom MuTanz Project) will be staged. On June 21-22, "Earth" (Movement momm) and "Heart of the Wild" (Project Cloud Nine) will be performed.
Among these, only "Miro 2.0," a revised and expanded version of choreographer Baekyeon’s previously presented "Miro," is a restaged work. The other five are premieres. All performances will take place at the Jayu Small Theater in Seoul Arts Center.
"Miro 2.0" visualizes the fundamental human desire to pursue "beauty" through movement and imagery. "Waiting for Godot," inspired by the play of the same name by German playwright Samuel Beckett, expresses the uncertainty inherent in a choreographer’s journey to achieve their creative ideals.
Performance scene of Ahham Art Project's "Waiting for Godot" Photo provided by Korea Ballet Festival
"123.45MHz" seeks to present the values and direction of an autonomous life that remains steadfast amid the rapid changes of the hyper-connected era, where technology and humanity move beyond "connection" into the stage of "convergence." "The Room" portrays the journey of a man who, having closed himself off from the world due to childhood wounds, seeks inner peace.
"Earth" explores, through dance, how nature and humanity interact and coexist, set to Vivaldi’s violin concerto "The Four Seasons." "Heart of the Wild" is based on the novel "Near to the Wild Heart" by Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector and addresses the emotional isolation and neglect experienced by modern people.
The 2025 Korea Ballet Festival will feature six small theater creative ballets, as well as the official invitational work "Ballet Chunhyang" by Universal Ballet Company from June 13 to 15, and will conclude on June 22.
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