[In depth interview]At 40, ballerina says she’s never been better

Ballerina Kang Sue-jin is a busy woman. Asked for an interview, she managed to find some time in her tight schedule of performances and practices. She sat down at 7:30 a.m. over breakfast late last month.
Beforehand, she said, “I am a boring person who gives obvious answers every time ― 30 minutes will be enough for my interview.”
The interview lasted longer than that. The ballerina, who is best known for her elegance on stage, turned out to be a regular woman-next-door: outspoken, friendly and warm.
Kang, a principal dancer in Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet, was in Korea recently for six performances of the gala show, “Kang Sue-jin with Friends,” which started July 25 and ended Monday, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of her joining the company.

Q. You have already reached the age of 40. Some people say that age sounds too old for a ballerina.
A. So you are asking when I am retiring, right? Well, it may sound strange, but I feel much better nowadays. It’s more than being mature ― my techniques are getting better and I am in better condition than ever. If I cannot make a jump or fail in any difficult technique that I can do now, I will retire then and there, without a second thought.

What is the secret of your long career?
It’s simple. I just do things step by step. After joining the Stuttgart Ballet in 1986, I did group dancing for seven years, which was tough but fun. Only after years of being in a group of dancers could I build my solo career. I truly ripened as a ballerina during my time as a group dancer. To this day, I tell my juniors, “If you go up fast, you’ll go down fast.”

As you once said, you are well-known for practicing hard. Doesn’t it feel tedious to have the same schedule every single day?
I think I still do ballet because I am not bored. I get up at 6:30 in the morning and stretch for about one-and-a-half to two hours. Then I go to the theater, which is five minutes from my house, and practice all day. When I have a performance coming, I go home at 11 p.m.; when I don’t, I’m home by 6:30 p.m. That’s all. Sometimes I go to the sauna. Yet I feel that every day is fresh.
From the outside, what I am doing may look tedious and repetitive. But if you look inside my life, you can see that every moment is filled with new ballet moves.

There is a famous photograph of your feet, symbolizing hard work and practice. How did the photo come about?
I think it was 1995. I was taking a rest at home, putting my bare feet up on a table. Then my husband told me that my feet looked like a work by Picasso ― meaning that they looked deformed and abnormal ― and took a picture. We enlarged that photo for fun and hung it in the house, and it became known after several years. My husband still takes photographs of my feet. Actually, they look worse now. However, my feet are precious treasures to me, and no one other than my husband can see them up close.

Do you think everyone has the same chance as you if he or she practices every single day like you?
To be frank, practice alone is not enough. Intense training is just a basic element. It takes inborn talent to some extent. Musical ability or the skill to absorb oneself in a character, for example, are also necessary inborn talents.

I heard that your husband is a good cook.
Preparing meals is entirely my husband’s work. He can cook everything ― Turkish food, European food and Korean food like kimchi. Instead of cooking, I do laundry and cleaning. We have someone to help us once a week, but we have to clean every day since our kids [Kang and her husband have two puppies and one cat] put the house in disorder.

Are you fully satisfied with your “kids”? Don’t you want more than that?
You are asking me if I would ever give birth to my own children. Well, I am trying, but it has not turned out as I wished. Lately, however, I’ve started to find comfort instead of obsession. I think that a child will find its way to me when he or she is ready. I am just waiting patiently.

I heard that you are a “big sister” figure in the Stuttgart troupe. How do your Western juniors regard you?
I have to say that I am a very conservative person. I think that I have something to learn from a person who is older than me, even if he or she is just one day older than me. When junior dancers do something wrong or are impolite, I point it out harshly to them and give them lessons. I practice harder than they do. Authority or charisma comes from actions, not words.

I heard that the Stuttgart Ballet dedicated a performance to you.
Since I joined the troupe in 1986, this is my 21st year with them. You know, seven is a lucky number in Western culture.
Last year, the Stuttgart Ballet decided to perform “Romeo and Juliet” to celebrate my 20th anniversary of joining the company [which actually fell on July 7, 2007]. Not surprisingly, I was Juliet that night.
In appreciation of the memorable night, I ordered some 500 roses and gave seven roses to each of the troupe members. With the roses, the theater was ablaze in red, as if it was dyed in that color.

Who is Kang Sue-jin?

Maestro is an Italian word for master, often referring to a skilled and well-known artist. Of the many maestros in Korea, Kang Sue-jin, 40, is one that represents ballet.
Korean fans have been waiting to see Kang, currently a senior ballerina for Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, on stage. Last week, they were rewarded with six performances commemorating Kang’s 20th anniversary with Stuttgart. Titled “Kang Sue-jin and Friends,” the performances were held at the LG Arts Center, Nowon Culture and Art Center and Gimhae Arts and Sports Center.

By Choi Min-woo JoongAng Ilbo [estyle@joongang.co.kr]