South Korean prima ballerina (born 1978)
Ji-young Kim
(
Korean
:
김지영
; born July 26, 1978) is a South Korean
prima ballerina
and is currently a
principal dancer
with the
Korea National Ballet
(KNB) in
Seoul
, South Korea.
Early years
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]
Kim was born in
Seoul
,
South Korea
. She tried a number of hobbies while young, including
Taekwondo
and
piano
. She developed an interest in
ballet
and began taking ballet classes when she was ten years old.
[1]
Dancing career
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In 1991, when Kim was thirteen years old, she began training professionally at the Yewon School, a specialist arts junior school in Seoul. During vacation she attended season sessions for ballet in
New York City
. Later the same year, she had a chance to train with professors of the Vaganova Academy and Kim decided to study at the Vaganova. In 1992, Kim went to
Russia
and she passed the entrance exam for the school. Kim entered the
Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
. In 1996, Kim performed in Vaganova's graduation performance. While she planned to join the company in Russia after her graduation, Kim withdrew her plans and returned to Seoul when her mother died suddenly from a heart attack during Kim's graduation performance. Five months later, Kim joined the
Korea National Ballet
(KNB) as the youngest principal dancer. She made her
stage debut
, dancing the role of Esmeralda in
Notre Dame de Paris
.
Kim has won awards in top ballet competitions: in 1998 she won the bronze medal in the 6th
USA International Ballet Competition
in
Jackson
,
Mississippi
,
United States
. In the same year, she won the First Prize in the 8th Paris International Dance Competition (Le Concours international de danse de Paris) in
France
, with her partner, Yong-geol Kim. In 1999, after winning the competition, the couple received the Order of Culture Merit: Hwagwan from The Republic of Korea; Kim was the youngest recipient. In 2001 she won the silver medal and best art prize in Kazan International Ballet Competition in
Tatarstan
,
Russia
and Prima Ballerina Award from Ballet Association in
South Korea
.
In 1999, Kim resigned from the
Korea National Ballet
and applied to and auditioned for several ballet companies in Europe. She joined
Dutch National Ballet
in 2002 as a Grand sujet after an offer from the Artistic Director
Wayne Eagling
of the
Dutch National Ballet
(Het National Ballet). Kim was promoted to soloist in 2005. In 2007, Kim was promoted to principal and awarded the Alexandra Radius Prize, an incentive prize for young and upcoming talent, from the ballet company.
[2]
After an invitation from Balletto di
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
(Rome Opera ballet),
Italy
, Kim made her debut as Odette/Odile in
Swan Lake
. In 2009, Kim rejoined
Korea National Ballet
but remained in
Dutch National Ballet
as guest principal dancer.
In 2010, Kim danced the premiere of
Don Quixote
as Kitri, with choreography by
Alexei Ratmansky
, with
Dutch National Ballet
. Her performance lead to another invitation from Balletto di
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
to dance as Kitri in
Don Quixote
. Subsequently, Kim made her debut with the
Bolshoi Ballet
with KNB, dancing the roles of Juliet in
Romeo and Juliet
and Raymonda in
Raymonda
for the 20th anniversary of Korea-Russia bilateral relations. In April 2011, Kim performed in the
Latin dance
project "Latin Innovation". In May, she performed in
Sicily
,
Italy
, making her debut as Cinderella in
Cinderella
with the
Teatro Massimo
Ballet company. In October 2011,
Korea National Ballet
was invited as the opener for San Carlo Dance Festival. KNB performed the premiere of
Prince Hodong
and Kim danced the main role, Princess Nakrang, at
Teatro di San Carlo
(San Carlo Theater) in
Naples
,
Italy
.
[3]
In 2014, Kim performed in "Two in Two", a collaboration with her rival from the KNB,
Kim Joo-won
, which incorporates
tango
,
flamenco
, ballet and
contemporary dance
.
[4]
The two principal ballerinas had shared the role of princess Nakrang in the KNB show "
Prince Hodong
" in 2011 at the
Teatro di San Carlo
in
Naples
, Italy.
[5]
Following years of performances with the KNB, she announced her departure from it in summer 2019. Her last performance with the KNB was
Giselle
at the
Seoul Arts Center
following which she became a professor of dance at the
Kyung Hee University
.
[6]
Style
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Kim has been described a versatile ballerina, with brilliant academic technique and as deeply expressionistic with beautiful sharp lines. Her elegance has made a great impression in notable classics like
Swan Lake
,
Giselle
and
La Bayadere
,
[2]
and Kim is in perfect harmony with music: she fits with neoclassical and contemporary ballets, like Tchaikovsky's Pas de Deux. It has been noted that her performance as Kitri in
Don Quixote
is one of her best roles because of her powerful technique and charismatic acting.
List of ballets performed / roles performed
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With the Korea National Ballet
With Dutch National Ballet (Het National Ballet)
With the Balletto di Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera ballet)
With Bolshoi Ballet
With Teatro Massimo Ballet company
Awards
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]
- The Bronze Medal in the 6th USA International Ballet Competition in
Jackson
,
Mississippi
,
United States
(1998)
- The First Prize in the 8th Paris International Ballet Competition (Le Concours international de danse de Paris) in
Paris
,
France
(1998)
- Order of Culture Merit: Hwagwan, The Republic of Korea (1999)
- The Silver Medal and best art prize in Kazan International Ballet Competition in
Tatarstan
,
Russia
(2001)
- Prima Ballerina Award, Ballet Association in
South Korea
(2001)
- The Alexandra Radius Prize, Dutch National Ballet (2007)
References
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]