Kang Sue-jin (; born 24 April 1967) is a South Korean ballerina. She is a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

Stuttgart Ballet Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the L ...

Early life

Kang Sue-jin was born in Seoul, South Korea. After initial ballet lessons at Sun Hwa Arts Middle School, where she majored in

Korean traditional dance Dance in Korea began with shamanistic early rituals five thousand years ago and now ranges from folk dance to newly created and adopted contemporary dance. Overview Korean traditional dance originated in ancient shamanistic rituals thousands ...

, she continued her education at Sun Hwa Arts High School until 1982. Following graduation from high school, Kang went to

Marika Besobrasova Marika Besobrasova (russian: Мари́ка Безобра́зова, Maríka Bezobrázova; 4 August 1918 – 25 April 2010) was a Monegasque dancer and ballet teacher of Russian origin. She was a founder and a head of Princess Grace Classic Danc ...

at Monte Carlo Dance School. In 1986, she became a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, where she was appointed Soloist in 1994 and Principal Dancer in 1997. Following her long career as a ballet dancer, Kang was awarded an honorary degree from Sookmyung Women's University in 2016.

Career

Kang joined Stuttgart Ballet in 1986 and was its first and youngest Asian ballerina. In 2002, Kang appeared in ''Die Kameliendame'' and two years later, she performed with

Benito Marcellino Benito may refer to: Places * Benito, Kentucky, United States * Benito, Manitoba, Canada * Benito River, a river in Equatorial Guinea Other uses * Benito (name) * ''Benito'' (1993), an Italian film See also * '' Benito Cereno'', a novella by ...

in Cranko's '' Onegin''. Following the 2016 performance of the same ballet with

Jason Reilly Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

as partner, Kang had retired from performance. In 2003, Kang debuted in USA in a role of Juliet from Cranko's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' opposite to Romeo role by

Filip Barankiewicz Filip () is a masculine given name and a surname, cognate to Philip. In Croatia, the name Filip was among the most common masculine given names in the 2000s. Notable people with the name include: ; Given name * Filip Barović (born 1990), Montene ...

. In 2008, Kang reprised the role of Juliet in the same ballet. In 2013, Kang published her first memoir titled ''I Don't Wait for Tomorrow''. The same year she also became an honorary ambassador of PyeongChang at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

. In 2015, Kang performed in John Neumeier's ''Die Kameliendame'' in her hometown Seoul, South Korea and the same year appeared in Cranco's ''Onegin'' at

Seoul Arts Center The Seoul Arts Center, also referred to as SAC, is an arts complex in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, in South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the Han ...

where she sang the "Swan song". In 2017, Kang became a jury member of the Prix de Lausanne, Prix Benois de la Danse. and of the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition.

Featured performances

*1992 ''Mata Hari'' *1992 ''

'' *1993 '' The Magic Flute'' *1994 '' The Sleeping Beauty'' *1996 ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' *1997 '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' *1998 ''Die Kameliendame'' *1999 Gala performance - Korea's best Ballerina *2006 Korean Nat'l Ballet, 2006 New Year's Gala *2008 Appeared at Lotte Dept. Store CF. *2016 '' The Lady and the Fool''

Honours and awards

*Won a scholarship of

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...

in 1985 *Recipient of the Korean Young Artist Award, 1998 *Recipient of the Best Female Ballerina Award at the Prix Benois de la Danse, 1999 *National Hwa-Gwan Order of Cultural Merit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (South Korea), 1999 *

Ho-Am Prize in the Arts The Ho-Am Prize was established in 1990 by Kun-Hee Lee, the Chairman of Samsung, with a vision to create a new corporate culture that continues the noble spirit of public service espoused by the late Chairman Byung-chull Lee, founder of Samsung. ...

, 2001 *Recipient of the German title “ Kammertänzerin” (German: Royal Court Dancer), 2007 *Recipient of the John Cranko Award, 2007 *

Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg (german: link=no, Verdienstorden des Landes Baden-Württemberg) is the highest award of the German State of Baden-Württemberg. Established 26 November 1974, it was originally called the Medal of Merit of Bad ...

, 2014 * Order of Cultural Merit, 2018 In 1998, German Orchid Society named an orchid from the '' Phalaenopsis'' genus in her honor.

References

External links

Kang Sue-Jin, Stuttgart Ballet Interview
at CriticalDance.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Sue Jin 1967 births Living people Prix Benois de la Danse winners Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Korea) Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Prix de Lausanne winners South Korean ballerinas South Korean expatriates in Germany People from Seoul Korea National Ballet 20th-century ballet dancers 21st-century ballet dancers Recipients of the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts