About the Korean National Ballet
The Korean National Ballet (KNB), established in 1962, is Korea’s first professional ballet company and embodies the history of Korean ballet. During its nearly 60-year history, KNB has been widely recognized both at home and abroad for its scores of skilled dancers and choreographers as well as art direction and an impressive repertoire. Today, comprised of about 60 of the country’s top ballet dancers and a repertoire of international masterpieces, the ballet company continues to reach out to audiences through regular performances and an array of special events.
KNB’s major full-length ballet repertoire includes Yuri Grigorovich’s Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Spartacus, and La Bayadère; Patrice Bart’s Giselle; Márcia Haydée’s Sleeping Beauty; and John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew. With a range of other performances including Uwe Scholz’s The Seventh Symphony, Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring, George Balanchine’s Serenade, Christian Spuck’s Anna Karenina and Renato Zanella’s Mata Hari, KNB has broadened its scope from classical ballet to modern, neo-classical and dramatic ballet. KNB has also strived to create a repertoire of original works such as Prince Hodong and Heo Nan Seol Heon - Su Wol Kyung Hwa inspired by traditional Korean folk tales and classic poems, respectively. Hoi Rang, which premiered in 2019, is another original work that renders a traditional Korean narrative through the movement of Western dance forms. These productions demonstrate how much effort has been put into the creation of original Korean ballet works.
Since 2015, the ballet company has highlighted the KNB Movement Series to provide its dancers with an opportunity to showcase their choreography talent. This project is significant not only as it supports the dancers as they start a new phase of their lives as choreographers but also enriches and expands KNB’s repertoire by further developing the pieces created by the dancers to become robust works that continue beyond the one-off showcase.
Also, to fulfill its mission of making ballet more accessible to the public, KNB engages in a range of programs such as Regional Performance Tours and Ballet Academy Tours that bring ballet to every corner of Korea. Furthermore, it has performed around the world as the representative Korean ballet company, promoting the excellence of Korean culture and art to the entire world.
Artistic Director Kang Suejin & Choreographer Kang Hyo-hyung
