The Korea Times: Korean National Ballet presents independent female lead in ‘Hoi Rang’
"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery
The Korea Times: Korean National Ballet presents independent female lead in ‘Hoi Rang’
By Anna J. Park
The Korean National Ballet (KNB) will present its original dance titled “Hoi Rang” Nov. 6-10 at Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater in southern Seoul.
The 110-minute modern ballet is the story of a strong-willed female character called Rang, who disguises herself as a man to join the army to save her ill father and lead the victory in a war.
The plot was inspired by the compilation book “Ilsayusa,” published in the early 20th century in Korea, which collected famous stories of low and middle-class citizens of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom.
It is the national ballet company’s third original piece, created to showcase homegrown ballet to international audiences, following “Prince Hodong” in 2009 and “Heo Nan Seol Heon” in 2017. More than three years have been spent preparing this piece.
“I think, from a global perspective, anybody in the world can easily follow the story and share its sentiment,” KNB artistic director Kang Sue-jin said during a press conference on Wednesday. “It just feels like Walt Disney’s fairy tale. This original ballet marks a new challenge for the Korean National Ballet to advance one more step. I am very proud of it.”
Read the full article in The Korea Times.
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