K-Content News
Pandemic-hit ballet companies lay off dancers, relocate to cut costs
- May 11, 2021
Pandemic-hit ballet companies lay off dancers,
relocate to cut costs
Updated : 2021-05-10 17:26
By Park Ji-won
Korea's ballet companies have begun to reshuffle their personnel and relocate to cut costs as the lingering pandemic has threatened their survival.
The Universal Ballet, the first private ballet company in Korea, laid off 25 of its 75 members this year. Ballerina Choi Ji-won, one of its soloists, left the art troupe in April to join a three-year-old ballet company in China run by Harbin Grand Theatre. She will start performing there as a principal dancer in July.
The Seoul Ballet Theater, another private ballet company founded in 1995 aiming to come up with original choreographies, also downsized its from 35 to eight and relocated its office which had been at the Gwacheon Foundation for Arts and Culture center to save costs.
The Wise Ballet Theater, founded in 2005, left Mapo Art Center as it failed to be chosen in the selection of organizations allowed to use the center for free.
Seo Ballet Company has undergone a similar fate as it is no longer allowed to use Suwon SK Artrium for free after failing to win the residency right last year.
A series of misfortunes hit private ballet companies as the performing arts scene is hit hard by the pandemic. Shows and performances were cancelled one after another in the wake of the pandemic.
According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System, aggregate ticket sales raised in the dance performance sector were 1 billion won ($897,135) between March 2020 and February this year, a 11.2 billion won decrease or down 90 percent year-on-year.
The two leading ballet theaters, the Universal Ballet and the Korean National Ballet, had to cancel their performances of "The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake." Male dancer Kim Ki-min of Russia's Mariinsky Ballet failed to perform in Seoul at the staging of "La Bayadere" which was scheduled to be held in April due to the two-week quarantine period.
Inside the ballet scene, some are calling for the government to increase subsidies for private ballet companies to help them survive the unprecedentedly tough times.
"There are only two state-run ballet companies: the Korean National Ballet and the Gwangju City Ballet. They focus on performances of popular classical ballet repertoires to attract audiences. However, creative choreography is also needed to see diversity in the scene and develop the industry. The government should provide more subsidies or programs so that those private ballet companies can survive this pandemic," an insider said on condition of anonymity.
Korea's ballet companies have begun to reshuffle their personnel and relocate to cut costs as the lingering pandemic has threatened their survival.
The Universal Ballet, the first private ballet company in Korea, laid off 25 of its 75 members this year. Ballerina Choi Ji-won, one of its soloists, left the art troupe in April to join a three-year-old ballet company in China run by Harbin Grand Theatre. She will start performing there as a principal dancer in July.
The Seoul Ballet Theater, another private ballet company founded in 1995 aiming to come up with original choreographies, also downsized its from 35 to eight and relocated its office which had been at the Gwacheon Foundation for Arts and Culture center to save costs.
The Wise Ballet Theater, founded in 2005, left Mapo Art Center as it failed to be chosen in the selection of organizations allowed to use the center for free.
Seo Ballet Company has undergone a similar fate as it is no longer allowed to use Suwon SK Artrium for free after failing to win the residency right last year.
A series of misfortunes hit private ballet companies as the performing arts scene is hit hard by the pandemic. Shows and performances were cancelled one after another in the wake of the pandemic.
According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System, aggregate ticket sales raised in the dance performance sector were 1 billion won ($897,135) between March 2020 and February this year, a 11.2 billion won decrease or down 90 percent year-on-year.
The two leading ballet theaters, the Universal Ballet and the Korean National Ballet, had to cancel their performances of "The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake." Male dancer Kim Ki-min of Russia's Mariinsky Ballet failed to perform in Seoul at the staging of "La Bayadere" which was scheduled to be held in April due to the two-week quarantine period.
Inside the ballet scene, some are calling for the government to increase subsidies for private ballet companies to help them survive the unprecedentedly tough times.
"There are only two state-run ballet companies: the Korean National Ballet and the Gwangju City Ballet. They focus on performances of popular classical ballet repertoires to attract audiences. However, creative choreography is also needed to see diversity in the scene and develop the industry. The government should provide more subsidies or programs so that those private ballet companies can survive this pandemic," an insider said on condition of anonymity.
Reporter : jwpark@koreatimes.co.kr
