By Kim Eun-young and Kim Young Shin
Photos=Moscow International Ballet Competition

Ballerina Park Seon-mee has won the women’s junior duet category in the 13th Moscow International Ballet Competition that ended June 20. She is the first Korean to win an award in the competition, which is one of the main four worldwide along with those in Lausanne, Switzerland, Jackson, Mississippi, in the U.S. and Varna, Bulgaria.

She danced to “Giselle,” “Don Quixote” and “Talisman.” Her partner Lee Sang-min also won a diploma in the men’s senior duet. Fellow compatriot Lee Soo-bin placed second in the women’s junior solo. All three dancers are students at Korea National University of Arts (K-arts) in Seoul.

K-arts professor Kim Sun-hee said, “It's very meaningful for Korean dancers to win at the time-honored and prestigious Moscow International Ballet Competition, the second oldest of its kind in the world," adding, “This means that Korean ballet dancers have gained approval in Russia, one of the world's most influential nations in ballet.”



eykim86@korea.kr