© 2012 Shen Yun Performing Arts
관객들에게 최고를 보여 드리기 위해 노력합니다. 대부분 관객은 공연을 한 번만 보시기 때문에 저는 관객들이 공연을 관람하면서 인생에서 가장 소중한 두 시간을 경험했으면 합니다.
1. You were born in Korea but now work for a Chinese dance company. We are very interested in your early upbringing in Korea and how you got started in ballet. What piqued your interest? I was born in Korea and then moved to the States when I was 4. My father worked for the Korean Air Force, so as I child I moved around a lot (Ohio, Indiana, Florida, etc). I grew up in an artistic family. My father was a tenor, my mother a violinist and my brother is a piano and violin virtuoso. I was also trained in music as a child, but I was not as passionate as my other family members. I spent more energy playing sports (baseball, basketball, soccer, swimming, track & field, etc). Later, I started gymnastics in my preteens. I was sufficiently skilled yet a little reckless, due to my excessive amount of energy. When I turned 14, our family moved back to Korea. Back then, junior high schools in Korea did not offer many after-school activities. Studying in Korean was also understandably a challenge for me after spending a long time in the States. After about a year, I was doing all right, yet still did not find life interesting enough. Later my father persuaded me to take ballet classes since it was both artistic and physical. I turned down his offer at first a couple of times, due to my notion that ballet was for girls. However after thinking about it for a while and watching videos of some amazing male ballet dancers, I thought I would try it. After about a month or so, I found passion in ballet and transferred to Daejeon Art High School. During high school, I learned ballet, modern dance, Korean ethnic and folk dances, but ballet was my passion throughout all 3 years and I was able to advance very fast despite my late start at the age of 15.
2. Can you talk about how you came to live in the States? What are the biggest differences between being a performing artist in Korea and in
26 PEOPLE March 2013
the States? Can you also talk about your journey in becoming the principle dancer for the Anaheim Ballet? After finishing high school in Korea, I had a hard time looking for jobs due to my lack of height. I decided to take a detour by learning Chinese medicine, wishing one day I would have a stable job, curing my fellow dancers and also keep dancing as a hobby. In 2002, I moved to Anaheim, California to study Chinese medicine at the South Baylo University. In my second week in Anaheim, I found Anaheim Ballet within 10 minutes from my apartment. I started taking their open adult classes daily. One day the director of Anaheim Ballet discovered my talent for dance and asked me to be a full time company member. Within a year, I went from soloist to principal dancer. While dancing for Anaheim Ballet as a principal dancer, I was able to perform as a guest artist in many other ballet companies. I was surprised to find that things in the US were a lot different from Korea. It seemed to me that there was a place for everyone as long as he or she was dedicated, whether it is in choreography, technique or body type. People were more open and accepting in the US.
3. You have received many scholarships from various ballet companies in your career: In your opinion, what are some of the things you feel that is most helpful in getting scholarships? Due to my physical disadvantages, I worked harder than any other student throughout my high school years. When I came to the States, I was quite advanced in technique. However, that was not enough. Every ballet school or company had a different style and aesthetic. I soon realized that as an artist I had to be able to learn many different styles to become a great artist. So I spent extra time taking lessons from different ballet masters, reviewed all the materials I learned that day and did not leave the classroom until I was 100% comfortable with all the steps.
4. We are interested in how you came to perform with Shen Yun. In 2007, I was able to see Shen Yun (previously known as "Divine Performing Arts") at the Radio City Music
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