Sweet home-coming

Paris Opera Ballet's Park in Seoul for gala performance

By Rachel Lee

Korean ballerina Park Se-eun has temporarily returned to her home country to grace the stage at the 2012 Seoul International Ballet Festival, which began on Thursday.

Park officially joined the Paris Opera Ballet as of June this year, the first Korean female dancer to be admitted to one of Europe's foremost troupes. The 22-year-old is to perform a number of repertories including "Romeo and Juliet" and "Adagietto" in Seoul today with Pierre Arthur Raveau, her fellow dancer of the company.

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"I still can't believe that I got in", the dancer told Wednesday The Korea Times during an interview at the Arko Arts Theater in Daehangno in Seoul. "It's the outcome of all the hard work I've done. I did my best to pass the audition".

Born in 1989, Park began dancing when she saw the ballet "The Nutcracker" at the age of 10. "I was absolutely fascinated by the story and the colourful costumes. I told my parents about it and my father suggested I take up ballet", she said.

Park began training at the Seoul Arts High School and entered a program for young dancers at Korea National University of Arts. She previously danced at American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company and has worked closely with the Korea National Ballet.

'Queen of competitions'

The ballerina is also known as the "Queen of ballet competitions", having won several coveted awards such as the Jackson International Ballet Competition in the United States in 2006 the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria last year.

Most notable, Park is the 2007 winner of the Lausanne Competition. Many former prize winners of the competition are now leading stars with major ballet companies. Kang Sue-jin, the longtime principal of Germany's Stuttgart Ballet and Yuhui Choe, first soloist at London's Royal Ballet also embarked on successful careers after winning this prestigious competition in 1985 and 2002, respectively.

Park said she has never felt bored or fed up during her 12 years as a ballerina.

"I learn something every day and it always feels different every time I practice. I reflect on myself and try to find my own style. I think it is the happiest moment in my life when I improve my own arabesque or any other position". In classical ballet, the term arabesque (French) is a position where the dancer stands on one leg while the other is lifted and stretched backwards while the dancer's arms are stretched out in front.

Combining mental strength and consistent practice, Park seems ideally suited for the disciplined lifestyle of a professional ballet dancer.

"My friends call me the toughest person on the planet because they think I never give up on anything. But actually it's only true when it comes to a certain ballet position that I must polish. I practice and repeat the position over and over until it fully becomes mine. But it doesn't mean I abuse my body. I get enough rest and always keep my physical condition in check", said Park.

This bright-eyed ballerina hopes to become the next Aurelie Dupont, a French principal at the Paris Opera Ballet.

"She has a remarkable inner strength. We have that in common. I have watched a documentary about her four times and the more I see it, the more I like her", said the Korean dancer.

She has her eyes set on becoming an etoile, or principal dancer, in the years ahead.

"I have come this far and I am satisfied but at the same time this is a new start for me again".