Culture & Art Interview
A first ‘Giselle,’ shaped one detail at a time
Demi-soloist Lee Eun-seo makes her first full-length ballet lead in Korean National Ballet’s Giselle, coached by a partner she has known for a decade.
When Giselle discovers Albrecht’s deception, the collapse arrives through details: an emptied gaze, a hand reaching for a thought that has gone missing, a leap that ends against his body. In a rehearsal observed by The Korea Herald, Lee Eun-seo worked through those fragments with Lee Jae-woo, the principal dancing Albrecht opposite her on Oct. 15. For Lee, this is her first lead in a full-length ballet, a large assignment for a dancer still listed by Korean National Ballet as a demi-soloist.
Their partnership has its own company history. Korean National Ballet paired them in the Don Quixote grand pas de deux for its 2016 Rising Stars 2 Gala, when Lee Eun-seo was introduced as the company’s youngest member. A decade later, the seniority gap is unmistakable: Lee Jae-woo joined the company in 2011 and is now a principal; Lee Eun-seo entered in 2016. Yet the rehearsal dynamic described by The Korea Herald is practical and close, with the experienced partner helping to find the timing and emotional logic inside minute gestures.
That emphasis suits Patrice Bart’s Giselle, first mounted by Korean National Ballet in 2011. Contemporary coverage by Yonhap News Agency described the production’s French Romantic atmosphere, mime and narrative flow, qualities that make the ballet an acting test as much as a display of classical command. Lee Jae-woo told The Korea Herald that its central challenge lies in character, atmosphere and unspoken communication. His Albrecht can love Giselle while still treating her feelings carelessly, an ambiguity that gives Lee Eun-seo more to play than grief alone.
The production also signals a wider opening under Kim Joo-won, who became Korean National Ballet’s general and artistic director on Aug. 6. The company’s casting announcement gives each of the seven performances a different Giselle and Albrecht. Lee Eun-seo is among four dancers making their Giselle debuts, alongside Eom Nayun, Lee Hayeon and An Suyeon. Reports have differed over how many dancers are receiving first full-length leads, though several accounts identify six across both principal roles. The clearer fact is the breadth of the experiment: a repertory staple is giving dancers below principal rank an unusually visible chance to define themselves.
For visitors, Korean National Ballet’s 211th subscription production runs Oct. 13 to 18, 2026, at the Opera House of Seoul Arts Center, 2406 Nambusunhwan-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Korean National Ballet lists seven performances, with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Philip Ellis. The ballet runs about 120 minutes across two acts. Lee Eun-seo and Lee Jae-woo are scheduled for Oct. 15. The company credits Bart’s choreography, Viviane Descoutures as répétitrice, Luisa Spinatelli’s designs and Marion Hewlett’s lighting.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from Tuesday through Friday, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are listed at 10,000 won to 100,000 won and can be reserved through Seoul Arts Center ticketing and Interpark, with cast subject to change. Details were checked Aug. 20, 2026, against Korean National Ballet’s performance listing and its casting notice. On Oct. 15, the test will be visible in Giselle’s smallest movement: a hand extended toward a memory she can no longer hold.
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