Cancellation of March Performances by Two Major Ballet Companies... National Ballet Dancers Self-Quarantined After Controversy Over Japan Trip

National Ballet Company Cancels Performances of 'Baekjo-ui Hosu' and Universal Ballet Cancels 'Jamseuneun Sopsok-ui Minyeo'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] South Korea's two major ballet companies, the National Ballet of Korea and Universal Ballet, announced on the 2nd that they will cancel their ballet performances scheduled for March.

The National Ballet of Korea abruptly canceled its performances of 'Swan Lake,' scheduled for March 20-22 at the Opera Theater of the Seoul Arts Center, and 'Hoirang,' scheduled for March 27-29 at the same venue. The National Ballet explained that the decision to cancel the performances was made due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The National Ballet stated, "While staging performances is also a promise to our audience, we tried to proceed with the performances as much as possible. However, as COVID-19 is spreading nationwide, we decided to cancel the performances as the best choice to ensure the safety of all audience members and ballet company staff and dancers. Given the national disaster situation, we hope everyone will unite to improve the situation as soon as possible, and the National Ballet will strive to repay with better performances in the future."

The National Ballet performed 'Swan Lake' at the Daegu Opera House on February 14-15. After the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, all staff and dancers underwent self-quarantine for one week from February 24 to 28. During this period, no staff or dancers showed suspected symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19, the company explained.

However, controversy arose when it was confirmed that one National Ballet ballerino traveled to Japan on February 27 during the self-quarantine period. The National Ballet announced that it plans to discipline the ballerino after confirming the travel fact.

National Ballet Company's performance of 'Swan Lake'
[Photo by National Ballet Company]

Universal Ballet also announced on the 2nd that it will cancel its first regular performance of the season, 'The Sleeping Beauty,' which was scheduled to be held at the Universal Art Center in Seoul from March 2 to 5.

Universal Ballet stated, "This decision is a preemptive measure prioritizing the health and safety of our customers. Although the ballet company inevitably faces losses and damages due to the cancellation, canceling close to the performance date would cause greater harm to customers, dancers, staff, and subcontractors. Therefore, we made a bold decision about a month before the scheduled performances. This also reflects our intention to participate in the government's efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as a leading organization in the performing arts community."

Both the National Ballet of Korea and Universal Ballet announced that they will fully refund the tickets already purchased.

The National Ballet explained that if tickets were purchased via bank transfer, the audience must apply for a refund directly at the ticket office. For payments made by card or other methods, the payment will be automatically canceled without a separate application from the audience. Inquiries about ticket refunds can be made to the Seoul Arts Center or Interpark Ticket. Interpark Ticket explained that due to the large number of cancellations, refund processing may take some time.

Universal Ballet also explained that customers who purchased tickets for 'The Sleeping Beauty' will receive a full refund including booking and cancellation fees, and guidance and cancellations will be processed sequentially from 1 p.m. on the 2nd at each ticketing agency.

Universal Ballet's "The Sleeping Beauty" Performance
Photo by Universal Ballet

Following these cancellations, the National Ballet plans to hold its first regular performance of the 2020 season, 'Anna Karenina' (choreography by Christian Spuck), on April 22-26 at the Opera Theater of the Seoul Arts Center.

Universal Ballet will perform the original ballet 'Simcheong' in Gangneung (May 8-9 at Gangneung Art Center), Seongnam (May 23 at Bundang Park Outdoor Theater), and Jeju (May 29-30 at Jeju Art Center), followed by the comic ballet 'Don Quixote' on June 19-20 at the CJ Towol Theater of the Seoul Arts Center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.