Sae Eun Park

Sae Eun Park(Korean: 박세은, Bak Se Eun) (born December 1989) is a South Korean ballet dancer. Following stints at ABT II and Korea National Ballet in her early career, she joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 2011. She is the company's first Korean female full-time member. In 2021, she became the first dancer from Asia to reach the rank of étoile at the company.

The native form of this personal name is Park Sae-eun. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Sae Eun Park
Sae Eun Park receiving a Korea Image Award in 2019
BornDecember 1989 (age 33)
Seoul, South Korea
EducationKorea National University of Arts
OccupationBallet dancer
Career
Current groupParis Opera Ballet
Former groupsABT II
Korea National Ballet

Early life

Park was born in Seoul in December 1989.[1] She started ballet at 10,[2] and studied at Korea National University of Arts.[3] She was mainly trained in the Vaganova method, before Kim Yong-geol, a former Korean Paris Opera Ballet dancer and a professor at the university introduced her to the French style.[1][3][4] In 2006, she won the silver medal in the junior division USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.[5]

Career

In 2007, she competed at the Prix de Lausanne and received a scholarship to American Ballet Theatre's second company, ABT II.[6] In May 2009, she returned to her home country and joined the Korea National Ballet,[7] where she became a soloist and performed main roles.[1] In 2010, she won the first prize at the Varna International Ballet Competition.[8]

In 2011, Park joined the Paris Opera Ballet with a fixed-term contract as a corps de ballet dancer.[9] A year later, she became a permanent member, after ranking first among 130 applicants in an audition, making her the first Korean woman to dance with the company full-time.[10][11] In 2013, she was promoted to coryphée.[12] She also received the Prix Du Cercle Carpeaux, and was the first Korean recipient of the award.[2] The following year, she became a sujet.[12][13] In December 2014, she danced as Naila in Jean-Guillaume Bart's La Source, thus becoming the first Asian dancer to perform a lead role in Paris Opera Ballet's history.[14] In 2015, she performed at Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia.[4]

In 2017, Park was named première danseuse, the second highest rank in the company.[15] She is the first Korean and second Asian to reach this rank.[16] In 2018, she was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for her performance in "Diamonds" from Balanchine's Jewels. She is the fourth Korean to win the award, after Kang Sue-jin, Kim Joo-won and Kim Kimin.[10] In June 2021, following a performance of Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet, in which she portrayed Juliet, she was named étoile by Paris Opera director Alexander Neef, at the suggestion of director of dance Aurélie Dupont.[15][17] She is the first dancer from Asia and one of only a few foreigners to hold the title.[1][17]

References
  1. "Paris Opera names first South Korean star dancer". RFI. 11 June 2021.
  2. "Park Sae-eun Honored by Paris Opera Ballet". The Korea Times. 17 October 2013.
  3. Jung, Da-min (11 January 2019). "Park Sae-un talks about her story of Korean girl becoming France's top ballerina". Korea Times.
  4. "Paris ballet's foreign legion reaches for the stars". France24. 3 December 2019.
  5. "2006". USA International Ballet competition. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  6. "Sae-Eun Park - Prix de Lausanne". Prix de Lausanne. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. "Ballerina Park Sae-eun Returns Home". Chosun Ilbo. 23 April 2009.
  8. "XXIV International Ballet Competition – Varna 2010". Varna International Ballet Competition. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  9. "L'Opéra de Paris fait de Sae Eun Park sa 1re danseuse étoile sud-coréenne". HuffPost (in French). 11 June 2021.
  10. "Park Sae-eun wins best female dancer at Benois de la Danse". The Korea Herald. 6 June 2018.
  11. "Ballerina Park Sae-eun Joins Paris Opera Ballet". Chosun Ilbo. 18 June 2012.
  12. Park, Ji-won (11 June 2021). "Ballerina Park Sae Eun becomes Paris Opera Ballet's 1st Asian principal dancer". Korea Times.
  13. "Sae Eun Park". Opéra national de Paris. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  14. "Flying high in ballet capital". Korea Times. 1 January 2015.
  15. Claes, Lucie (11 June 2021). "Sae Eun Park devient la première danseuse étoile sud-coréenne du Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris". Vanity Fair (in French).
  16. "Park Sae-eun Reaches 2nd-Top Rank at Paris Opera Ballet". Chosun Ilbo. 7 November 2016.
  17. Park, Jae-eun (11 June 2021). "Korean ballet dancer Park Sae-eun named "star" dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet". Korea Herald.
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