K-Arts Dance: Rising Stars of Korean Classical & Contemporary Dance
Presented by Valentina Kozlova Dance Foundation in association with the Korean Cultural Center New York
Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 7PM
Kaye Playhouse
(68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10065)
Tickets: $50 ($25 for Student and Senior)
Experience a world of grace, elegance, talent and power as you witness the next generation of dance stars at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition.
Valentina Kozlova and the Valentina Kozlova Dance Foundation are proud to include in this year's event a performance of K'Arts of Seoul, Korea, in "Rising Stars of Korean Classical & Contemporary Dance," a full evening performance of excerpts from the classics along with original dances, Wednesday April 10th, 7 PM, at the Kaye Playhouse. K'Arts is headquartered at Seoul's K'Arts Academy, where they receive training in the Vaganova method.
To purchase tickets and learn more about the performance, please visit
https://kayeplayhouse.showare.com/
◆ Program
Classic Works:
* Pas de Trois from Le Corsaire, Act II
* Pas de Deux from Giselle, Act II
* Pas de Deux from Marco Spada (choreography by Joseph Mazilier and Pierre Lacotte)
Original Works:
* Etudes 2024, inspired by Harold Lander's renowned "Etudes", also set to music by Carl Czerny, choreography by Hyewon Shim;
* Westside Rhapsody, music by Leonard Bernstein, choreography by Juhyun Jo. Inspired by "West Side Story," the pas de deux depicts the first encounter of Maria and Tony;
* Pearl, a solo created by Juhyun Jo to music by Janis Joplin; a tribute to her spirit and the timeless messages conveyed through her music;
* But Now I'm Back, solo for a male dancer by Juhyun Jo, a celebration of exuberance and energy set to the song of the same name by Alex Marasian of Pink Martini;
* Bow, a quintet by Misook Jeon inspired by the socio-cultural meaning of greeting, an everyday gesture. The Korean greeting of bowing the head and lowering the body, intended to show respect for others, is examined by the choreographer;
* No Comment, created for an ensemble of seven by Changho Shin, who believes that a picture paints a thousand words and reflects society through a more neutral lens;
* among the ‘Green eyes’, choreographed by Kim Sung Hoon, about the negative effects of jealousy and suspicion. Music by Angels and Amar Forgiveness
*Programs are subject to change
◆ Artistic Director Kim Sunhee
Professor, dancer and choreographer, KIM Sun-hee began her ballet training at the age of 9 with UM Young-ja at Gwangju and continued her education at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, Korea and received M.F.A at New York University(Tisch School). She also studied Dance Pedagogy at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. As a professional dancer, she performed with such dance companies as the Korean National Ballet Company, New York Colloquium Dance Company, etc and awarded first prizes at many Korean Ballet competitions.
Since 1981 she began to create her own works such as <The Song of the Mermaid>, <Fall> and <Adagio>. Seeking to combine the movements of the Korean traditional dance with those of classical ballet she staged <Sok-Pul-yi>, <Variation Jang-go- Chum>, etc. From 1985 onwards she taught in many Korean universities and from 1992 till 1994 – in the Brussels Conservatory. She worked as a professor at the Korean National University of Arts, School of Dance, and dean of Pre-school, the KNUA from 1996. Since 1993 she has been representative of the A. Vaganova Ballet Academy Korean Center.
She has served as a jury member for several international competitions such as Prix de Lausanne, Varna International Ballet Competition, Prix de Vaganova, VKIBC, and the Cuba Ballet Competition. She also worked as a guest artist with Washington Ballet (2013) and Boston Ballet (2023), where her choreographic works were featured in performances. She has conducted masterclasses at YAGP workshops, Varna Ballet Competition, and others.
The gravity of her works is on her efforts to establish Korean-style ballet based on completely classical techniques. She also contributes to stage Korean ballet pieces and dancers internationally.
◆ Choreographer Jeon Misook
Jeon Misook explores the delicate choreographic structure and composition, the philosophical point of view penetrating the theme, and the humorous yet ambivalent aspects of life. She expresses the experimental concept of modern dance well based on the concept of the stage as a space, a delicate and outstanding interpretation of music, and extremely logical choreography. The group’s works include Bow (2014), Talk to Igor (2012), Amore Amore mio (2010), Stay there (2006), Are you happy to see me (2005), What’s going on (2005) and Adieu, My Love (2001). , to name a few. It also participated in 2020 Holland Dance Festival (Netherlands), 2018 Dance Festival Steps (Switzerland), 2011 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (U.S.), 2011 White Bird Festival (U.S.), and 2005 Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico).
◆ Choreographer Jo Joo-hyun
JuHyun Jo is one of the most established figure in Korean ballet and now continues her career not only as a ballet dancer but also as a dance educator, choreographer and artistic director.
JuHyun Jo is currently a professor in ballet at the Department of Dance Performance at the Korean National University of Arts and also at the Korea National Institute for the gifted in Arts. She has devoted herself to the education of gifted ballet dancers of Korea. Her passion as an educator also resulted in the foundation of Jo JuHyun Dance Company. Also, she has been the Artistic Director of The Korea World Dance Stars Festival for the year of 2013 and 2014.
Jo has completed her bachelor’s degree in ballet at the Korean National University of Arts and has joined the Washington Ballet in 1992. She continued dancing with the company as a principal dancer until 2000. Her repertoires as a principal dancer includes <Nutcracker>, <Romeo and Juliet>, <Giselle>, <Serenade>, <Agon>, <Conterto Barocco>, <Allegro Brilliant>, <The Leaves Are Fading>, <Diverimento No.15>, <Birds of Paradise>, <In the Glow of the Night>, <Momentum>, <Vivaldi>, <Quartet>, <Sonata>, <Passing By>, <Stop it>, <Gershwin’s piano concerto> and <Transcdndental Etudes>. She has worked with many renowned choreographers and dancers which include Mary Day, Simon Dow, Krzysztof Pastor, Nils Christe, Septime Weber, Kevin Mckenzie, Suzanne Farrell, Christina Holder, John Goding and Lynn Cote, etc.
Jo has made a profound contribution to the growth and development of Korean ballet as a choreographer. Her choreography works include <D-Holic>, <Shaking the Mold>, <Dreamlike>, <See-Off>, <Inspiration>, <Love or hate it>, <Pearl>, <The Picture>, <Re-evolution>, <On the Wings>, <Grace!>, <Oh! Paganini>, <S.I.N.G>, <Faure Duet>, <In These Days>, <Out of Time> and <Happy Parade>, etc.
As a choreographer she has recieved many prestigeous awards including Best Choreography award at 29th Seoul Dance Festival(2008), Choreography award at Critics Choice 2010(2010) and Best Choreography award at 19th DANCE ART AWARD(2012).
◆ Choreographer Shin Changho
Shin Changho graduated from the Korea National Universiy of Arts(K-Arts) and
was the Artistic Director of Laboratory Dance Project. He previously worked at the Laban Dance Centre and the Theatre of St.Gallen in Switzerland. His major work No Comment received international acciamation and was performed in overseas festivals and theatres including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival(us), Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Olhao Municipal Auditorium (Portugal), Dansens Hus (Sweden), The Place (UK), Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm (Germany) and Theater Winterthur (Switzerland). He is currently a professor at K-Arts.
◆ Valentina Kozlova Dance Foundation
VKDF is a nonprofit organization founded by Valentina Kozlova, a renowned ballerina, teacher, and choreographer. The mission of the foundation is to support and promote the education and training of dancers, providing them with opportunities to perform, learn, and grow. The foundation provides scholarships and grants from all over the world to young dancers, and hosts dance competitions, master classes, and other events that offer performance and training opportunities in a spirit of sharing and caring for fellow dancers.