National Ballet Company Principal Dancers Heo Seomyeong and Park Jongseok Promoted

Heo Seomyeong (left) and Park Jongseok [Photo by National Ballet Company]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The National Ballet of Korea announced on the 12th that dancers Heo Seomyeong and Park Jongseok have been promoted to the highest rank within the company, principal dancer. Heo Seomyeong was promoted to principal dancer after 8 years with the company, and Park Jongseok after 5 years.

Heo Seomyeong graduated from Sejong University and joined the National Ballet of Korea in 2013. In recent years, he has performed as a lead dancer in numerous major and minor performances, including the company’s regular seasons. Heo attracted attention when he was cast as the prince in the year-end performance of "The Nutcracker" in 2013, the year he joined. In 2015, he stepped in to perform the role of Prince Siegfried in "Swan Lake" due to an injury of the principal dancer, delivering a remarkable performance.

Since then, he has taken on lead roles such as Albrecht in "Giselle," Prince D?sir? in "The Sleeping Beauty," and Conrad in "Le Corsaire." He has also excellently handled roles requiring both acting and technique, such as Lucentio in "The Taming of the Shrew," Crassus in "Spartacus," and Nijinsky in "Mata Hari," thereby expanding his artistic range.

Park Jongseok joined the National Ballet of Korea in 2016 after dancing with the Washington Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Universal Ballet in Korea. True to his impressive background, he was cast as a lead dancer in the performance of "Serenade" just four months after joining, and also took on the role of Prince D?sir? in "The Sleeping Beauty" that same year, solidifying his position within the company. He has since performed lead roles in various productions including Prince Siegfried in "Swan Lake," Maslov in "Mata Hari," Albrecht in "Giselle," and Vronsky in "Anna Karenina."

In addition to Heo Seomyeong and Park Jongseok, the National Ballet promoted six other dancers. Demi-soloists Kang Hyohyeong, Park Nari, and Ha Jiseok were promoted to soloists, while corps de ballet members Kim Heeseon, Kim Jihyun, and Koo Hyunmo were promoted to demi-soloists.

Ten new full company members were also selected for 2021. Including Kang Kyungmo, Kwak Donghyun, Park Jehyeon, Lee Myeonghyeon, Lee Hayeon, and Heo Wan, who had been junior members, as well as new members Ahn Seongjun, Ahn Suyeon, Yang Junyoung, and Jung Eunji, all ten joined as full company members.

Furthermore, Lee Youngcheol, a principal dancer who has performed with the National Ballet for over 20 years, will begin a new chapter as a ballet master starting in 2021. Having taken lead roles on numerous stages as a principal dancer, Lee has been steadily preparing for the role of ballet master for about five years.

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