Universal Ballet
Based in Seoul, Korea with dancers and staff from more than a dozen countries throughout Europe, the US and Asia, Universal Ballet embodies the blending of the grace and harmony of Asian thought and culture with the strength and beauty of western classical ballet. Dedicated to preserving the rich tradition of European classical ballet and at the same time following the trends in contemporary choreography, the company continues to be the leading force of ballet in Korea. Since its founding in 1984, the company, now led by General Director Julia Moon and Artistic Director Brian Yoo, has steadily gained fame and recognition.
Performing both at home in Korea and abroad, the 70 dancers in Universal Ballet present well known full-length classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Giselle and La Bayadère, as well as contemporary masterpieces such as Wiiliam Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Jiri Kylian’s PETITE MORT and SECHS TÄNZE, Hans van Manen’s Black Cake, Nacho Duato’s Na Floresta and Duende, Heinz Spoerli’s All Shall Be, Christopher Wheeldon’s Variations Serieuses and Ohad Naharin’s Minus-7. In 2009, during their 25th anniversary season, Universal Ballet added John Cranko’s dramatic ballet, Onegin to the repertory.
Universal Ballet owes its progress and success to a number of people who have invested in the company during its formative years. These include four American directors: founding Artistic Director Adrienne Dellas, and subsequent directors Daniel Levins, Roy Tobias and Bruce Steival. Universal Ballet inherited much of the rich ballet tradition of St. Petersburg between 1998 and 2007, while under the leadership of Oleg Vinogradov, former Artistic Director of the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg. Mr. Vinogradov now serves as Artistic Director Emeritus for the company.
The company has won high praise for its success in combining Korean folklore with classical ballet in Shim Chung, and has presented this moving story of daughterly devotion worldwide. More recently, two additional Korean works, The Love of Chunhyang and Ballet Musical Shim Chung have been added to the company’s repertory.
Persons
- Ahn, Jiwon
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Ahn, Jieun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Bae, Heekyung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Cho, Moonkang
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Choi, Jiwon
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Choi, Hyojung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Dai, Jiyan
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Dong, Jiadi
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Fang, Mengying
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Han, Sangyi
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Han, Seohye
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Hong, Hyang Gi
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Hwang, Hyemin
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Inglis, Aynsley Taylor
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Jin, Heonjae
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Jung, Anna
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kang, Misun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kang, Minwoo
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kang, Minyoung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kang, Yena
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Khissamutdinov, Yevgeniy
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Sungeun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Aeri
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Yousun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Na Eun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Chaelee
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Dongmin
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Hyunwoo
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Myungkyu
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Hyunjoo
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kim, Jiyoon
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kwak, Yuna
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kwak, Taekyung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Kwon, Ho Eun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Sungah
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Dajung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Yoonjung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Youngdo
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Seunghyun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Jungmin
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Binna
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lee, Dongtak
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Liang, Shih Huai
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Lu, Shuang
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Min, Hongil
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Mizouchi, Anna
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Novoselev, Konstantin
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Oh, Hyeseung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Ohm, Jaeyong
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Park, Minjae
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Park, Sunghwa
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Rhee, Yongjung
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Rhee, Hyonjun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Seo, Dongeun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Seo, Donghyun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Seo, Rabul
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Shao, Kun
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Shin, Hyejee
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Shin, Jimi
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Son, Yoohee
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Song, Hojin
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Wang, Hyeji
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Xing, Xue
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Xu, Mengfan
Classical Ballet / Dancer - Yoo, Brian
Classical Ballet / Artistic Director - Yu, Zheng
Classical Ballet / Dancer
Archive Persons
- Chudin, Semyon
Classical Ballet / Principal
