Ballerino Kim Ki-min, a principal dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet in Russia, will hold a recital celebrating the 10th anniversary of his joining the renowned Russian ballet troupe. Kim‘s recital, titled “An Artistic Evening with Kimin Kim,” at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, will be the closing performance of the theater’s XXIX Music Festival Stars of the White Nights, according to the Mariinsky Ballet website. It will mark Kim’s second r

Actor Cha Ji-yeon is to return to the musical stage after a positive test for COVID-19 forced her into quarantine. “Cha tested negative for the virus on Wednesday and checked out of the residential treatment center,” her agency, C- JeS Entertainment, announced Thursday. “She will carry on with the schedules for musicals ‘Red Book’ and ‘Gwanghwamun Sonata,’ while complying with the government’s social distancing rules.” The veteran actor w

Though the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been threatening the local performing arts scene, the National Theater of Korea is gearing up for a new beginning with its 2021-22 season. The theater announced the 2021-22 season program, which includes a total of 56 works slated to run from Sept. 1 to June 30. Most of the works will be presented at the newly renovated Haeoreum Grand Theater, which is to officially open in September. The season will kick off with the National Orchestra of

“The Devil,” an original Korean musical, has made its way onto the Chinese musical scene as a licensed production. According to co-producers of the musical, Page1 and R&D Works, “The Devil” -- known by the title “Rock Faust” in China -- is set for a 10-city tour across China starting July 23. The musical will be staged in Beijing, Ningbo and Suzhou, among others. The musical had its Chinese premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from May 24-31, with s

After some hiccups, the curtain has finally been raised on the Seoul-run of the licensed musical “Beetlejuice.” The Korean-language musical opened Tuesday at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. The 150-minute musical was initially set to open June 18, but was twice delayed due to “technical issues.” Even on the opening day, the show started 15 minutes later than scheduled due to a ticketing system malfunction. On stage, however,

The musical “Red Book” has canceled its performances for two weeks, after lead actor Cha Ji-yeon was confirmed to have COVID-19. Atheod, the production company behind the musical, announced through social media on Monday that all performances from Tuesday to July 17 have been canceled. A day before the announcement was made, actor Cha tested positive for the virus. According to Atheod’s announcement, all cast and staff members for the show have been tested. Several cast me

The ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival, a performing arts festival for children and teenagers, will be held around the country for the first time this year. The 23-day event will run July 17-Aug. 8 in major cities, including Seoul, Daegu, Gwangju and Incheon both in-person and virtually. “Quality performances for children are concentrated in the metropolitan area,” Bang Ji-young, chairperson of ASSITEJ Korea, said during a press conference held at Dream Art Center in Seoul

Actor Cha Ji-yeon, 39, has been tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, although the rest of the cast on the musical she was starring in tested negative. Cha’s agency C-JeS Entertainment announced Sunday that Cha -- who has been starring in musical “Red Book,” while preparing for upcoming musical show “Gwanghwamun Sonata” and an upcoming Netflix series “The Bride of Black” -- was confirmed with COVID-19. “Cha was being tested for COVID-1

After a yearlong postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korea National Opera went onstage Thursday for the Korean premiere of Puccini’s 1910 opera “La Fanciulla del West.” After the Italian production team completed a two-week, mandatory self-quarantine, the national opera troupe took to the stage Thursday at the Seoul Arts Center. Every other seat at the theater was left empty due to coronavirus restrictions. “La Fanciulla del West” was written by Itali

The summer edition of the 2021 Chuncheon International Mime Festival will open Monday, under the title “Summer:Movement.” The summer festival held in the city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province will kick off with its Mime Fringe program from Monday to Wednesday. The program was launched in 2018 to support young mime artists. This year it has been expanded to also include artists who have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 13 acts, the organizers will award one act with prize

The South Korean performing arts scene posted a 19 percent on-year rise in its revenue for the first half, showing clear signs of a recovery from the yearlong pandemic, data showed Friday. The combined revenue of theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 116.9 billion won ($103.1 million) in the first six months of this year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). It marked a 19 percent increase from 98 bill

The Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra is to present its new original musical, “Geumak,” Aug. 18 to 29 at the Gyeonggi Arts Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The fantasy period musical is set in the Joseon era (1392-1910). A mysterious event surrounding a forbidden music score from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) unfolds at Jangagwon, the institution in charge of court music and dance. The orchestra’s Artistic Director Won Il directs the production. Won was the music director fo

The Korea National Opera is set for the Korean premiere of Puccini’s 1910 opera “La Fanciulla del West.” The upcoming performance, set to run from Thursday at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, features sopranos Karine Babajanyan and Lilla Lee, tenors Marco Berti and Oliver Kook. Puccini wrote the opera after watching the play “The Girl of the Golden West,” written by the American author David Belasco, in New York. The opera is set in a mining camp in Calif

National Dance Company of Korea presents tradition-inspired dance show ‘Sanjo’

Cho Seung-woo is to return as the iconic rock star character Hedwig in the rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” According to production company Shownote, Cho, Oh Man-seok, Lee Kyu-hyeong, Ko Eun-sung and Ren from boy band Newest will take the title role in the 13th run of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in South Korea. The musical, written by Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell, tells the story of a genderqueer rock singer from East Germany. The singer, Hedwig, lea