Universal ballet

History of the Ballet Genre in Korea

The development of ballet as a theatrical and musical art in Asia is closely connected with the October Revolution in Russia. In Japan and China , the Russian emigrants who left their homeland as a result of the revolution became the founders of the ballet, while Koreans became acquainted with European ballet through Japan. Thus, the ballet genre, which originated in Europe in the 16th century, reached the Asian continent through Russia only in the 20th century. Such a time gap, as well as national traditions and customs of Asian peoples, somewhat complicated the process of mastering ballet art by them.

Russian ballet teachers, who have worked in Japan for many years, sharing their impressions, write that the traditional kimono culture, as well as the habit of sitting and walking with knees joined together, create serious obstacles for such basic elements in classical ballet as eversion.

However, for Koreans, this problem does not exist. This is primarily due to the fact that Koreans, especially men, sit exclusively in a pose that almost coincides with the lotus position, and in this position they spend a significant part of their lives. Since this is a pose when, in a sitting position, the legs bent at the knees are turned to the sides, it can be said that the position en dehors is one of the most common and organic Koreans in everyday life. Despite the above, the history of ballet in Korea began with overcoming complexes. Pioneers in the field of ballet of the late 1920s, all as one, noted in their memoirs: “Ballet is a purely Western phenomenon. With our short legs and arms, with our emotional specifics, he is definitely unacceptable to us. ”

Having made their first attempts to introduce Koreans to ballet art in the 1930s, dance specialists did everything in their power, and yet then retreated and considered attempts to introduce Koreans to classical dance as futile. Then they turned their attention to Korean traditional dance ^[1] .

Korean viewers were sympathetic to this result, recognized the ballet as very far from Korean culture, and therefore did not expect much from this type of art. Interest in ballet remained inherent only to extremely small professionals: they kept it, passed it on to subsequent generations.

50 years after the first attempts to introduce Koreans to the ballet, the Universal troupe began to actively tour across Southeast Asia , Europe , the USA , and other countries, while the production of Sim Cheon attracted the attention of sophisticated audiences in Europe and the Central United States to Korean ballet . The New York Post correspondent Clive Varne wrote in 2001 after the Korean troupe returned from touring the United States ^[1] :

Thus, the situation has radically changed: the perspective of Korean ballet has opened up, and Korean audiences have regained interest in ballet.

Universal Ballet

The Universal Ballet Troupe from Seoul was founded in 1984, and the Universal Ballet Troupe Foundation was launched by the Unification Movement in 1986 as part of the development of the idea of ​​spreading the 5,000-year-old Korean culture around the world through ballet. ^{[2] [3]} Located in Washington , the Universal Ballet Fund operates Universal from Korea as its headquarters. The Ballet Academy was originally launched by Pak Pohie and ballerina Adrian Dellas. ^[4] Previously, Dellas was Julia's personal instructor. Julia's father served as Universal in 2000; he was also president of the International Cultural Foundation. Since their discovery, Julia Moon has represented them as a prima ballerina. ^[4] In 1986, Julia Moon starred in a play based on an old Korean fairy tale, Sim Cheong, during the Asian Games and at the Seoul Festival of Culture and Art. ^[4] Sim Cheon , staged and first performed by Universal Ballet, continued to become an increasingly famous work in South Korea. ^[4] In total, the Universal Ballet Fund spent more than $ 10 million on tours in 40 countries of the world. ^[five]

In December 1989, Julia Moon made her debut at the Mariinsky Ballet Troupe in Leningrad, playing the role in Giselle . ^{[6] [7]} Her performance was described in a laudatory full -time New York Times article. ^[6] The article also painted the positive face of Moon Song Myung . ^[6] The text also contained an interview with Moon Song Myung by a Soviet journalist in which Moon said that ballet was "a decisive step in developing my personal contacts with the Soviet Union." " ^[6] Moon Song Myung created the Mariinsky Ballet Academy specifically for Julia Theater (Kirov) in the United States and hired Oleg Vinogradov from the Mariinsky Ballet Company to work as artistic director; ^[8] Vinogradov began work in 1988. ^[9]

In 1990, the founder of the Washington Ballet, Mary Day, commented on the New York Times about Julia Moon: "She is a very, very nice girl, a talented ballerina and just a good person. We were sorry to lose her when she returned to Korea to run the company." ^[10] By 1990, Universal Ballet was still to perform in the United States, and the company still continued to invite high-value ballet teachers from the United States. ^[eleven]

In a 1993 interview with Tulsa World, Julia Moon, about ballet as an art form, said, “This is a truly universal language.” ^[12] She said, “I would say that Korean ballerinas, who grew up and studied at Compared to Americans, Japanese or Chinese, Korea is more lyrical in its movements. ” "There is something that connects them with Korean folk dances, adhering to a soft style, and which makes them more lyrical." ^[12] In 1995, Julia Moon took up her duties as Director General of the Universal ballet troupe. ^[13]

Universal made his first US tour in 1998 . ^[14] Julia Moon said that the company is separate from the Unification Church, and that everyone except her and another employee are not members of the Unification Church. ^{[14] [15]} She said that her ballet does not perform art nouveau, because she believes that the classics are the most beautiful form, because "our origin is rooted in this very place." ^[14] She also added that she did not want to exclude modern dance trends from her repertoire and that she would develop this trend in parallel with the classical tradition. ^[14]

In 2000, during an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Julia Moon shared her thoughts on her position as CEO of Universal. "I lack the qualities of both a ballerina and a director. Sometimes I wish that I was just nobody, but since this company lies with me, it seems to me that if I hesitate and stumble, the company will also stumble," she said. In the same year, Universal Ballet gained fame during its tour of Europe, in particular in Greece, which, years later, will invite Universal Ballet to visit the country again. ^[sixteen]

In 2001, Universal performed Sim Cheong in California . ^[17]

In 2004, Universal performed La Bayadere at the Sojong Center for the Performing Arts. According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, the role of Julia Moon as artistic director is overshadowed by the presence of the charisma and energy of Moon Song Myung and Pak, both of whom share the desire to create world-class ballet in Korea. " ^[13] The Unification Church still provides financial support for the Universal Ballet, and Julia Moon is on its board of directors. ^[18]

Over the years of its existence, the troupe has presented 14 big ballets and 40 one-act ballets; in total, it has performed about 1,400 performances in Korea and abroad. The company has about 60 artists and 40 technical and administrative personnel. The repertoire consists of such performances as: “Swan Lake” edited by O. Vinogradov (1992), “Sleeping Beauty” (1994), “Coppelia” (1985), “Vain Precaution” (1987), “La Bayadere” (1999), The Nutcracker directed by V. Vainonen (1986), Don Quixote (1997), Giselle (1985), Universal Ballet Company, South Korea. “ Romeo and Juliet ” directed by O. Vinogradov (2002), Sim Cheon (1986) and others.

In 1999, the troupe made a large European tour and entered the international level. Now it is international, uniting artists and teachers from Russia , America , Italy , Korea , etc. ^[19]

Universal Ballet consists of 57 members, including 8 leading ballerinas, 6 single ballerinas, 4 demo soloists, and 39 others. ^[20]

• Kang Sue-jin : Ballet dancer from the Stuttgart ballet
• Kim Young Gol, Paris Opera and Ballet Theater
• Kim Ji Young (lead ballet dancer) and Kim Se Hyun from the German National Ballet
• Han Eun Ji from the National Ballet of Finland
• So Hee from the USA Ballet Theater

• Official website of the Universal Ballet (English) (cor.)