By Xu Aiying and Sohn JiAe
Photos = Yonhap News

Ballerina Park Sae-eun has won what’s called the equivalent of the Academy Awards in the ballet world, the Benois de la Danse award.

Park, currently a premier danseur at the Paris Opera Ballet, received the most-coveted award at a ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on June 5. The award was given in recognition of her stable and outstanding technique that she has displayed in her performances as the lead in “Diamonds,” which is part of choreographer George Balanchine’s “Jewels” trilogy.

“I never expected it. It’s surprising,” said the dancer in her acceptance speech.

Park, who started dancing at age 10, is known for practicing very hard. Her efforts paid off in 2011 when she joined the Paris Ballet as a temporary member, the world’s top dance company and which was established in 1669. Five years later in 2016, she became the first East Asian to be chosen as a premier danseur.



Meaning “glory and honor of dance” in English, the Benois de la Danse award was founded by the International Dance Association in 1991 in honor of French choreographer Jean Georges Noverre (1727-1810).

Statuettes are given to the best dancers, choreographers and composers after an evaluation of their performances. Among the Korean winners, there have been ballerinas Kang Sue-jin in 1999 and Kim Joo-won in 2006, and ballerino Kim Ki-min in 2016. Park has now become the fourth Korean to win the prize.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jonghwan gave some words of congratulations on June 6. “Park has contributed greatly to spreading and developing Korean ballet’s excellent artistry all around the world. Hopefully, she will be long beloved and remembered as the best ballerina that the people of Korea and the whole world recognize,” the minister said.

xuaiy@korea.kr