National Ballet Company's New Production 'Jewels' This Year... 'La Bayadere' Also After 5 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The National Ballet will present George Balanchine's choreography "Jewels" as a new work this year. The blockbuster of the ballet world, "La Bayadere," known for its spectacular visuals, will also be performed again after five years since 2016.

The National Ballet unveiled its performance lineup for this year on the 11th. Starting with "Le Corsaire" in March, the National Ballet will perform "La Bayadere," "Heo Nanseolheon - Suwol Gyeonghwa," "The Taming of the Shrew," "Jewels," and "The Nutcracker" throughout the year.

The newly introduced new work "Jewels" stands out. It is a plotless divertissement (a dance for simple amusement unrelated to a storyline) expressing three shining jewels?emerald, ruby, and diamond?each through different music, atmosphere, costumes, and dance. The piece consists of three acts, featuring music by Gabriel Faur?, Igor Stravinsky, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, corresponding to the three precious stones.

The first act, "Emerald," begins with soft string instrument performances, where dancers in romantic tutus reinterpret the feel of French romantic ballet to express dreamy and romantic choreography. In the second act, "Ruby," you can see lively and intense dances distinctly different from the first act, accompanied by Stravinsky's music. The third act, "Diamond," evokes the elegance of the Russian imperial court. It features spectacular corps de ballet, advanced jumps, fouett? turns, and various techniques, culminating in a grand finale with over 30 dancers performing a dazzling ensemble.

'Pirates' performance scene [Photo by National Ballet Company]

The first work the National Ballet will perform this year is "Le Corsaire," choreographed by National Ballet member Song Jeong-bin. This version is a re-choreography of the original by Marius Petipa, restaged by Song Jeong-bin, a soloist and choreographer of the National Ballet, and was performed as a new work last year. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic causing successive cancellations, this was the only regular performance presented by the National Ballet last year. This work, returning to the stage after five months, is based on the dramatic poem by British Romantic poet Lord Byron.

The National Ballet's "Le Corsaire" sets the heroine Medora as a beautiful girl from Florina Island and Gulnara as the high priestess of the Magentos kingdom, boldly omitting the original plot where women are sold as slaves and adapting the story to suit contemporary times. Also, the original three-act structure is revised into two acts, offering a faster pace and thrilling composition.

The classic ballet "La Bayadere" (choreography by Yuri Grigorovich), known for its spectacular visuals, returns to the National Ballet stage after five years since 2016. "La Bayadere," meaning "Indian temple dancer" in French, is set in ancient India and depicts the love, betrayal, and desire of four main male and female characters. This three-act work boasts over 120 dancers, more than 200 colorful costumes, advanced techniques, and diverse characters, offering a magnificent spectacle. Especially, the "Shades" scene performed by 32 dancers in the final third act is a representative scene of ballet blanc, expressing dreamy and elegant beauty.

Performance scene of 'La Bayad?re' [Photo by National Ballet Company]

"The Taming of the Shrew" is one of the few comedic ballets, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. The National Ballet premiered "The Taming of the Shrew" in 2015 and subsequently performed it in 2016 and 2018. Choreographer John Cranko studied character psychology through Shakespeare's plays such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "The Taming of the Shrew" requires more acting skills from ballerinas and danseurs compared to other works.

The work closing the year 2021 is the fairy-tale-like ballet "The Nutcracker" (choreography by Yuri Grigorovich), which everyone from young to old can enjoy. "The Nutcracker" is a popular ballet repertoire enjoyed by the whole family and is performed in many theaters worldwide every Christmas season. Since its premiere in 2000, the National Ballet has performed the same version annually, but last year the performance was canceled due to COVID-19.

Since 2015, the "KNB Movement Series," planned to strengthen the choreography skills of National Ballet members and provide a stepping stone for their second careers, is now in its sixth year.

Choreographer Kang Hyo-hyung, who emerged from the "Movement Series," will present "Heo Nanseolheon - Suwol Gyeonghwa" at the National Theater's Daloreum Theater this year. This work expresses the beautiful but harsh life of the mid-Joseon female poet Heo Nanseolheon, drawing on her poems "Dreaming of Mount Gwangsan" and "Feeling Rain." The leaves, birds, orchids, and hibiscus flowers appearing in the poems are represented through the dancers' beautiful movements, embodying the poems themselves.

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