“The Ballet Department has always been interested and actively involved in providing international, cross-cultural experiences for our dancers,” said Carol Iwasaki, chairwoman of the U ballet department.

The department, which offers an undergraduate degree emphasis in character dance, has sponsored performance tours in four countries during the last eight years and participates in an international cultural exchange with the Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea.

The exchange consists of a weeklong program in which ballet and modern dance students from Kyung Hee–along with the university’s traditional Kim Mal Ae Dance Company–spend time on the U campus interacting, dancing and performing with U ballet students.

“We feel international experiences enhance our students’ understanding of the world around them,” Iwasaki said. “The more they know and understand, the better prepared they are to interpret the roles they perform and to grow artistically.”

While all ballet majors are given the opportunity to take both a Korean Fan Dance class and a Korean Drum Dance class, dancers from Utah Ballet, the department’s premier company, will have the chance to immediately incorporate their cultural exposure of Korean dance into their own work on stage. The company will perform a selection of its current show, “Utah Ballet I,” the night of Kim Mal Ae Dance Company’s performance in Kingsbury Hall.

Brought from Korea on behalf of Kyung Hee University, the show will feature three Korean dances, two ballets and two modern dances.

“I can tell you that what I saw was stunning,” said Iwasaki of the Korean dancers’ work.

Scheduled for the exchange students’ benefit are what the department refers to as “master” classes taught by top professionals at the U in ballet, modern and character dance, along with dinners and receptions to honor the Korean troupe.

The Korean company’s shared performance with Utah Ballet will be set as a fund-raiser for the second portion of the exchange.

In May, Utah Ballet dancers will travel to South Korea, where they will have the privilege of taking master classes and performing with the school’s dancers again.

“The more they see and understand the dances of other nations and the cultural and historical influences that played a role in the development of (those dances), the greater will be their understanding and appreciation of their own,” Iwasaki said. “It is hoped this experience will develop a generation of human beings who are more tolerant, respectful and appreciative of people from all nations.”

Courtesy Photo