Claire Verlet, programming assistant at Theatre de La Ville, one of France's oldest performing arts venues, on Dec. 11, 2025, gives an interview to Korea.net at a hotel in Seoul. (Lee Jeongwoo)
By Charles Audouin
Video = Theatre de La Ville
Claire Verlet, a programming assistant at Theatre de La Ville, one of France's oldest performing arts venues, says her visit to Korea last month left a deep impression on her.
Her trip was part of the Invitation Program for Leading Figures Overseas by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which has seen 200 overseas cultural and artistic figures participating over the past 17 years.
Verlet has been part of the Korean dance community for more than a decade.
During her visit, she visited leading performing arts venues in Seoul such as Doosan Art Center, Arko Arts Theater and LG Art Center for talks with choreographers, dancers and personnel on expanding bilateral exchanges. She also saw rehearsals of the National Dance Company of Korea at the National Theater of Korea and Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts to examine the status of Korean dance.
A veteran in the performing arts, Verlet helped plan around 10 projects in dance, theater and music 10 years ago to commemorate the 130th anniversary of bilateral relations between Korea and France.
In 2016, she held the international competition Danse Elargie simultaneously in Seoul and Paris, broadening the horizons of emerging Korean artists on the global stage. Twelve of the 34 teams who advanced to the finals had Korean contestants, including choreographer Jeong Seyoung, who won first prize, showing how Verlet recognized the potential of Korean dance.
As a former dancer, Verlet bases her dance aesthetics on originality. In an interview with Korea.net last month, she compared her selection criteria to a signature on a painting.
"All bodily expressions have value but what (Theatre de La Ville) pursues is not reproduction," she said. "Instead, we look for those who break away from conventional frameworks to create something unique, particularly those showing a unique personality that displays their country's appeal and traditional culture. It's like how an artist's signature on a painting is instantly recognizable."
Based on such criteria, her top "signature" was that of choreographer Ahn Eun-mi. "Ahn is a truly a distinctive artist with an infectious vitality," Verlet said. "Her costumes are always captivating and her performances are truly fantastic."
On Ahn's latest work "Post Orientalist Express," which was a hit at the Paris theater in November last year, Verlet called it a "masterpiece that unfolds the Western image of the East with wonderful and delightful irony," expressing high expectations for the tour, which ends in March.
Another person catching Verlet's attention during the latter's visit to Korea was choreographer Lee Yang-hee, who moved to New York to seek new forms of expression while retaining the roots of "new dance" that boomed in Korea from the 1920s to 70s.
"Leaving behind a stable environment to absorb new methods requires great courage," Verlet said. "I am paying close attention to see how the originality that emerges from that process translates on stage."
Her insight was clear even outside the performance venue. Seeing the craftsmanship of Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, she said at a seemingly new urban setting, "Where are the old and shabby things?"
After seeing Korean avant-garde at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, she said, "I found very paradoxical and compelling the works of artists showing new expressions while never losing their cultural foundations despite their stern and normative education system."
When traveling abroad, Verlet said she always visits museums and uses public transportation to get valuable insight about the host country's history.
Though unable to use mass transit in Seoul for her latest visit, she said, "My nephew told me that it's very well maintained and cleaned every day."
caudouin@korea.kr