EunWon Lee

EunWon Lee
Born Seoul, South Korea
Education Korea National University of Arts
Occupation Ballet dancer
Years active 2010 – Present
Current group The Washington Ballet
Former groups Korea National Ballet
Korean name
Hangul 이은원
Revised Romanization I Eunwon
McCune–Reischauer Yi Ŭnwŏn
Website https://www.eunwon-lee.com

EunWon Lee is a South Korean ballet dancer. She was a former principal dancer with the Korea National Ballet and currently dances with The Washington Ballet.

Early life and education

Lee was born and raised in South Korea. She discovered ballet at the age of seven, after attending a performance of The Nutcracker with her parents.[1] She enrolled in ballet classes and later became a student at the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, a competitive arts middle school, and at Ye Won Art School. She skipped high school and entered university at the age of sixteen. Lee received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Korea National University of Arts in Seoul.[2]

Career

Lee joined the Korea National Ballet as an apprentice in 2010.[2] She injured her knee when she was eighteen years old and had to take time off from the company.[3][4] She was promoted to principal dancer at the age of twenty-one in 2012, making her the youngest principal dancer at the Korea National Ballet. She was a principal dancer for six years.[5] As a principal, Lee became a celebrity in South Korea, even throwing the first pitch at a professional base ball game.[6] She danced the role of Katherina in John Cranko's Taming of the Shrew as her last performance with Korea National Ballet.[2] In 2016 she moved to the United States and joined The Washington Ballet under the new artistic leadership of Julie Kent.[2][7] Her debut with The Washington Ballet was the ballet Giselle.[1]

She has danced the leading roles in Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Giselle, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Spartacus, Raymonda, L'Arlésienne, The Nutcracker, The Seventh Symphony, The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Ho Dong, Holberg Pas de deux, Tchaicovsky and Poise.[8][9][10][3][11][12]

Awards

  • Prima Ballerina Award – Korean Ballet Association (2014, South Korea)[8][9]
  • New Artist Award – Korean Ballet Association (2013, South Korea)[13]
  • Senior Silver Medal & Prima Ballerina Award – Korean Ballet Association (2011, South Korea)[13]
  • Junior Bronze Medal – Varna Ballet Competition (2008, Bulgaria)[13]
  • Junior Silver Medal – Shanghai Ballet Competition (2007, China)[13]
  • Grand Prix, Junior Gold Medal – Seoul International Ballet Competition (2006, South Korea)[13]
  • Elegance Award – Vaganova Prix International Competition (2006, Russia)[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lee Eun-won's new adventure on pointed toes". 3 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Don't Let Your Floor Become a Slippery Slope!". 6 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 koreaportal (7 October 2017). "EunWon Lee: Latest Ballet Exploits Of South Korea's Former Ballerina In Newfound US Home".
  4. ↑ "Lee Eun-won's new adventure on pointed toes". 3 July 2016.
  5. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/sarahlkaufmanwriter. "She was South Korea's superstar ballerina. Now, she's given it up to try to make it in America". Washington Post.
  6. ↑ "Ballerina Lee Eun-won's First Pitch". MLB.com.
  7. ↑ "About EunWon Lee". EunWon Lee.
  8. 1 2 "EUNWON". 13 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 https://www.facebook.com/sarahlkaufmanwriter. "Washington Ballet hires Korean National Ballet principal". Washington Post.
  10. ↑ "Star-crossed Lovers - Fjord Review". 20 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "The Washington Ballet: John Cranko's Romeo & Juliet - CriticalDance". criticaldance.org.
  12. ↑ "Washington Ballet – Les Sylphides, Le Corsaire pdd, Bolero, Prodigal Son – Washington". 12 October 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About EunWon Lee". EunWon Lee. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.