Korean ballerino to hold recital at Mariinsky Theater

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 recital at the dance troupe, following a 2019 recital.

Kim became the first Asian ballerino to join Mariinsky in 2011 and in 2015, he was as named the company’s principal dancer. Kim was also the first Korean ballerino to win the prestigious ballet award Benois de la Danse in 2016.

Kim will perform pas de deux from the ballet “Le Parc” with principal dancer Viktoria Tereshkina; Act 2 of the ballet “La Bayadere” with which he won the Benois de la Danse award, joined by Principal Dancer Olesya Novikova; and Act 3 of the ballet “The Legend of Love” and more.

Kim will also perform a solo piece, “Sadness,” by Korean choreographer Shin Young-jun.

The Korean ballerino was to perform at the Korea National Ballet‘s “La Bayadere” in Seoul in April. He could not join the production, however, as he was not granted an exemption from the mandatory two-week, self-quarantine for inbound travelers aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)