Male ballet leads steal spotlight in new director's 1st 'Giselle' production

Corps de ballet members Na Dae-han and Kim Yoon performed Albrecht in the Korea National Ballet’s “Giselle” at the Seoul Arts Center from Oct. 13-18, in the company’s first regular production since Kim Joo-won became artistic director. The dancers brought contrasting interpretations to their first full-length leading roles. Na said the role renewed his enjoyment of dancing as he dealt with declining stamina and Achilles tendinitis, while Kim described the applause after his performance as a new experience. Both said the production opened new possibilities for them as principal performers.

Na studied ballet from his second year of high school, graduated from the Korea National University of Arts’ School of Dance, and later danced with Tulsa Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada.

Kim joined the Korea National Ballet in July 2024 at age 17, becoming its youngest-ever member, and had struggled to adjust to company life for about a year.

Na said he learned to manage hydration, physical conditioning and energy conservation while performing with the effects of Achilles tendinitis.

Kim said he was nervous during Act 1 and found it difficult to concentrate, but remembered Act 2 as a happy experience after he settled down.

Kim said he hopes to dance Siegfried in “Swan Lake” and Prince Désiré in “The Sleeping Beauty.”

Published Oct 22, 2026 12:40 pm KST

Korea National Ballet's Corps de Ballet members get stage of a lifetime under new director

Korea National Ballet dancers Na Dae-han, left, and Kim Yoon pose at the Seoul Arts Center, Tuesday. Courtesy of Korea National Ballet

A single leading-role performance can rekindle the fading embers of one dancer’s dream and give another the confidence to discover his potential.

The Korea National Ballet’s first regular production of "Giselle" since Kim Joo-won took over as artistic director, staged from Oct. 13-18, drew praise for casting a host of new faces in leading roles. Among them, corps de ballet members Na Dae-han, 34, and Kim Yoon, 19, stood out for their distinct interpretations of Albrecht, Giselle’s love interest. Their performances impressed audiences so much that some viewers said they had attended multiple performances to appreciate each male dancer’s individual style.

The two dancers met on Tuesday at the rehearsal building for the National Arts Companies at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after completing their first full-length ballet performances in leading roles. Na, who stands 182 centimeters tall, and Kim, at 190 centimeters, are striking figures even before they begin to dance. “My recent health checkup put my height at 191.1 centimeters,” Kim said with a laugh. “I wonder if I’m still growing little by little, but I just round it down to 190 centimeters when I tell people.”

Korea National Ballet member Na Dae-han dances the role of Albrecht in "Giselle." / Courtesy of Korea National Ballet

The two brought markedly different interpretations and expressions to the role of Albrecht.

Na could hardly believe his name had appeared on the list of principal-role cast members for an entire week. The previous year, he had been named an understudy but had not been sufficiently prepared to demonstrate his full abilities. Determined not to repeat that experience, he prepared meticulously this time.

“Even during rehearsals, I kept thinking, ‘They’re probably just letting me try it out. Surely I won’t actually go onstage,’” he said. “When I realized I really was going to perform, I was overwhelmed with emotion.” He added that he had been happy throughout the preparation process and had become more serious and composed than before.

Na began studying ballet in his second year of high school and graduated from the Korea National University of Arts’ School of Dance. He later danced with Tulsa Ballet in the United States and the National Ballet of Canada. At a time when he was questioning whether he could continue dancing as his stamina declined, the role of Albrecht helped him rediscover the joy of performing.

“Once I actually took on the challenge, I realized how much fun dancing was, and my physical condition improved, too,” he said. “It became a turning point that made me feel I could still develop my dancing.”

Kim followed in the footsteps of his older sister, Kim Byeol, 23, who dances with the Vienna State Ballet in Austria, learning ballet through homeschooling. He joined the Korea National Ballet in July 2024 at age 17, becoming its youngest-ever member, but he did not always feel confident about his decision.

For about a year, he struggled to adjust to life in the company, wondering whether he should have gone to university or joined a different ballet company. Until recently, his stage appearances had included playing a soldier of Magdantos in "Le Corsaire" and dancing in the waltz during the coming-of-age celebration for the prince in "Swan Lake."

“I was simply happy to be given a leading role,” Kim said. “But it wasn’t until the performance date got closer that it really sank in, and I became very nervous.” Afterward, he recalled, “It was the first time I had ever received such big applause and cheers. It felt strange, but wonderful.”

Korea National Ballet dancers Kim Yoon, member of corps de ballet, and principal Park Seul-gi execute a pas de deux in "Giselle." Courtesy of Korea National Ballet

Preparing for the production also forced both dancers to confront their own challenges. Na took the stage while still dealing with the effects of Achilles tendinitis. When his left leg was troubling him, his right leg sometimes cramped as well. He realized that passion alone was not enough to carry a full performance as a principal dancer to its conclusion. He learned the importance of paying close attention to hydration and physical conditioning, as well as conserving his energy rather than expending too much of it early in the performance.

For Kim, the challenges were managing his nerves and developing his acting. “I was so nervous in Act 1 that I had trouble concentrating, and I think I danced a little worse than usual,” he said. Act 2, when he had settled down and was able to focus, remains a particularly happy memory.

Having studied ballet since age 9, Kim considers the clarity of his movements and his solid technical foundation among his strengths. Still, he wants to take his dancing a step further. “I feel like I hold myself back too much when I dance, so I want to dance a little more freely,” he said.

The two also found lessons in watching each other perform. Kim described Na’s Albrecht as having “a more mature and seasoned feel.” Na, meanwhile, was impressed by his younger colleague’s acting and emotional expression.

“When I was his age, I danced like a robot, without any expression at all,” Na said. “But with Yoon, I can see him gradually thinking things through and finding his own way of expressing them. That makes me proud of him, and I think he’s wonderful.”

For both dancers, Albrecht has become a milestone opening up new possibilities as principal performers. Na said he wanted to take on every leading role. Having once questioned whether he could continue dancing and experienced an unexpected hiatus, he now prefers to look ahead rather than dwell on the past.

“Instead of thinking about the past, which I can’t change, I want to focus only on how I can do better from now on,” he said. He also hopes to be remembered as “a dancer with a strong musical sensibility.”

Kim, meanwhile, showed no hesitation when asked which roles he hoped to dance next.

“I want to dance Siegfried in 'Swan Lake' and Prince Désiré in 'The Sleeping Beauty,'” he said enthusiastically. “My ideal image is a prince.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

10月13日至18日，韩国国立芭蕾舞团在首尔艺术中心上演了芭蕾舞剧《吉赛尔》，群舞演员罗大汉和金允在剧中饰演阿尔布雷希特一角。这是金柱元担任艺术总监以来，该团的首部正式演出。两位舞者首次担纲主演，并以截然不同的诠释演绎了这个角色。罗大汉表示，由于体力下降和跟腱炎的困扰，这个角色让他重新燃起了对舞蹈的热情；金允则将演出结束后观众的掌声描述为一次全新的体验。两人都表示，此次演出为他们作为首席舞者开辟了新的发展道路。

罗从高中二年级开始学习芭蕾舞，毕业于韩国国立艺术大学舞蹈学院，后来曾与塔尔萨芭蕾舞团和加拿大国家芭蕾舞团一起跳舞。

金在 2024 年 7 月加入韩国国家芭蕾舞团，当时 17 岁，成为该团有史以来最年轻的成员，她花了大约一年时间才适应舞团生活。

Na表示，他学会了如何在跟腱炎的影响下进行比赛的同时，管理水分、身体状况和能量保存。

金说他在第一幕演出时很紧张，难以集中注意力，但在第二幕演出中，他平静下来后，感觉那是一次愉快的经历。

金表示，他希望能在《天鹅湖》中扮演齐格弗里德，在《睡美人》中扮演德西雷王子。

发布于2026年10月22日下午12:40（韩国标准时间）

韩国国立芭蕾舞团群舞演员在新导演的带领下迎来毕生难忘的舞台。

韩国国立芭蕾舞团舞蹈演员罗大汉（左）和金允周二在首尔艺术中心合影。图片由韩国国立芭蕾舞团提供。

一次出色的主演表现可以重新点燃一位舞者心中逐渐熄灭的梦想之火，并给予另一位舞者发现自身潜力的信心。

自金柱元接任艺术总监以来，韩国国立芭蕾舞团的首场常规版《吉赛尔》演出于10月13日至18日举行，因启用众多新面孔担任主角而备受赞誉。其中，34岁的群舞演员罗大汉和19岁的金允对吉赛尔的爱人阿尔布雷希特的诠释尤为突出。他们的表演给观众留下了深刻的印象，以至于一些观众表示，他们观看了多场演出，只为欣赏两位男舞者的独特风格。

周二，两位舞蹈演员在首尔瑞草区首尔艺术中心国立艺术团排练厅见面。此前，她们刚刚完成了各自首部担任主角的完整芭蕾舞剧演出。身高182厘米的罗和身高190厘米的金，即使在开始跳舞之前，也都是引人注目的身材。“我最近体检时身高是191.1厘米，”金笑着说，“我不知道自己是不是还在慢慢长高，不过跟别人说的时候，我就都说190厘米了。”

韩国国立芭蕾舞团成员罗大汉在《吉赛尔》中饰演阿尔布雷希特。/ 图片由韩国国立芭蕾舞团提供

两人对阿尔布雷希特这个角色进行了截然不同的诠释和演绎。

纳简直不敢相信自己的名字竟然出现在主要角色演员名单上整整一周了。去年他被列为替补演员，但准备不足，没能充分展现自己的实力。为了避免重蹈覆辙，他这次做了充分的准备。

“即使在彩排的时候，我也一直在想，‘他们可能只是让我试试，我肯定不会真的上台，’”他说。“当我意识到自己真的要表演的时候，我激动得不知所措。”他还补充说，整个准备过程他都很开心，而且比以前更加认真沉稳了。

罗志祥高中二年级开始学习芭蕾舞，毕业于韩国国立艺术大学舞蹈系。之后，他先后在美国塔尔萨芭蕾舞团和加拿大国家芭蕾舞团担任舞者。在他体力逐渐衰退，开始怀疑自己是否还能继续跳舞的时候，阿尔布雷希特这个角色帮助他重新发现了表演的乐趣。

“当我真正接受挑战后，我意识到跳舞是多么有趣，我的身体状况也得到了改善，”他说。“这成为了一个转折点，让我觉得我的舞蹈水平还可以继续提高。”

金星子追随姐姐金星子的脚步，姐姐金星子现年23岁，是奥地利维也纳国家芭蕾舞团的舞蹈演员，他通过家庭教育学习芭蕾舞。2024年7月，17岁的金星子加入韩国国家芭蕾舞团，成为该团有史以来最年轻的成员，但他并非一直对自己的决定充满信心。

大约一年时间里，他都在努力适应公司的生活，不断思考自己是否应该去上大学或者加入其他芭蕾舞团。直到最近，他的舞台演出经历还包括在《海盗》中扮演马格丹托斯的士兵，以及在《天鹅湖》中王子成年礼的华尔兹舞。

“能出演主角我就已经很开心了，”金说。“但直到演出日期临近，我才真正意识到这一点，也变得非常紧张。”演出结束后，他回忆道：“那是我第一次收到如此热烈的掌声和欢呼声。感觉很奇妙，也很美妙。”

韩国国立芭蕾舞团群舞演员金允和首席舞者朴瑟琪在《吉赛尔》中表演双人舞。图片由韩国国立芭蕾舞团提供。

为演出做准备也迫使两位舞者直面各自的挑战。纳在跟腱炎的困扰下登台演出。当他的左腿疼痛难忍时，右腿有时也会抽筋。他意识到，仅凭热情不足以支撑他作为首席舞者完成整场演出。他明白了重视补水和体能训练的重要性，以及在演出初期就保存体力、避免过度消耗能量的重要性。

对金来说，挑战在于控制紧张情绪和提升演技。“第一幕我太紧张了，难以集中注意力，我觉得我的舞蹈也比平时跳得差一些，”他说。第二幕，当他平静下来并能够集中精力时，那场演出至今仍是他一段特别美好的回忆。

金自9岁起学习芭蕾舞，他认为自己的优势在于动作清晰流畅，技术基础扎实。但他仍然渴望在舞蹈方面更进一步。“我觉得自己跳舞时太拘谨了，所以我想跳得更自由一些。”他说。

两人还从彼此的表演中获益匪浅。金形容罗饰演的阿尔布雷希特“更加成熟老练”。而罗则对这位年轻同事的演技和情感表达印象深刻。

“我像他这么大的时候，跳舞就像个机器人，一点表情都没有，”娜说。“但是尹，我能看到他逐渐开始思考，并找到自己表达的方式。这让我为他感到骄傲，我觉得他很棒。”

对于两位舞者而言，阿尔布雷希特剧院的演出已成为他们职业生涯的里程碑，为他们开启了作为首席舞者的新篇章。纳表示，他渴望承担所有主角的角色。他曾一度怀疑自己是否还能继续跳舞，也经历过一段意想不到的演出中断期，如今他更愿意展望未来，而不是沉湎于过去。

他说：“与其纠结于无法改变的过去，我更想专注于如何从现在开始做得更好。” 他还希望人们记住他是一位“具有强烈音乐感悟的舞者”。

与此同时，当被问及他希望接下来扮演哪些角色时，金毫不犹豫地回答道。

“我想在《天鹅湖》里扮演齐格弗里德，在《睡美人》里扮演德西雷王子，”他热情地说。“我的理想形象就是一位王子。”

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。