CEO confident in 'solid repertoire' as Sejong Center announces 2025 slate
Published: 21 Jan. 2025, 16:11
Updated: 21 Jan. 2025, 16:12
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- LEE JIAN
- [email protected]
![Sejong Center for the Performing Arts' resident troupe leaders and CEO, middle, pose for photos after a press conference at the Seoul Metropolitan Ballet Studio in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SEJONG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/21/b661c371-eec2-4cc7-a838-5a914e6f7b0c.jpg)
Sejong Center for the Performing Arts' resident troupe leaders and CEO, middle, pose for photos after a press conference at the Seoul Metropolitan Ballet Studio in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SEJONG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS]
Amid the current economic pressures and political tensions, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts is determined to weather 2025 with a strong repertoire that includes beloved classics like the traditional dance show “Ilmu” and opera “Faust.”
"In these uncertain times, we do not expect robust spending in the arts this year, and possibly over the next 10 years,” CEO Ahn Ho-sang told the press at the Seoul Metropolitan Ballet Studio in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday.
"Consumers will likely prioritize spending on trusted, high-value experiences. I remain confident in our solid repertoire, which we've meticulously built over the past three years as a producing theater."
Sejong Center has been a producing theater since 2022 and thus, self-produces its plays, musicals, operas, choir shows and dance performances.
![Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts speaks to the press at the Seoul Metropolitan Ballet Studio in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SEJONG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/21/d458cabd-f4f2-42ba-9634-b10287bc4e0b.jpg)
Ahn Ho-sang, CEO of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts speaks to the press at the Seoul Metropolitan Ballet Studio in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [SEJONG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS]
This year, it is set to present 29 shows, with 86 percent of them being its own in-house theatrical productions. Eleven are part of its repertoire and seven are new shows debuting this year.
The Seoul Metropolitan Ballet, one of Sejong’s most ambitious troupes established last year, continues to focus on contemporary ballet. This year's highlights include the restaging of last year's “Kammerballet” by Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen and the Asian premiere of "Walking Mad & Bliss” by globally renowned choreographer Johan Inger.
Guest performers include the English National Ballet's lead principal Lee Sang-eun who will be featured in “Walking Mad & Bliss” and “Under The Trees’ Voices,” and Dutch National Ballet’s principal dancer Choi Young-gyu in “Five Tangos.” It will be Choi’s first time performing in Korea and Lee’s first time in 15 years.
The Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre is staging its staple and globally acclaimed “Ilmu” in addition to “Speed,” a compact show with less than 15 performers inspired by Korean folk’s janggu rhythm. In November, “Mimesis” will dissect Korean traditional dances and reinterpret them in a modern sense.
The Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Orchestra is celebrating its 60th year with the “SMTO 60th Anniversary Concert” in April, in collaboration with composer Lee Ji-soo, who worked on the music for the movies “Old Boy" (2003) and “Architecture 101" (2012).
The Seoul Metropolitan Theater is performing four shows, two of which are new. “Ghost,” set to premiere in May, will be directed by the troupe’s leader Koh Sun-woong. It explores the life of a person who doesn’t have a name or a social security number. It is also staging a revised version of Bavarian comedian Karl Valentin’s play “Comic.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Musical Theatre is debuting a new original musical, “The First Great Show,” which imagines the production process of Korea’s first-ever musical in the 1960s.
The Seoul Metropolitan Opera is staging three shows, including Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida,” in November, and expects to create an entertaining spectacle in the direction of the locally renowned musical director Kim Dong-hyun.
The Seoul Metropolitan Chorus is staging its beloved annual classics, like the “Summer Family Music Festival” and the “Regular Concert, Blooming” series.
All theatergoers attending Sejong’s productions this year will receive a digital playbook for their booked performances in advance, along with photos from the show afterward.
The center also updated its subscription program to allow subscribers to purchase up to two tickets for a show instead of one. Subscribers get 40 percent off all the center's shows for the year, among other privileges on seats and ticket bookings.
For more information, visit Sejong Center's official webpage, sejongpac.or.kr/eng/main/main.do.
BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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