Ji-Young Kim
| Ji-young Kim (김지영) | |
|---|---|
Ji-young Kim in The Nutcracker
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| Born |
26 July 1978 Seoul, South Korea |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Ji-Young Kim | |
| Hangul | 김지영 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Gim Jiyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chiyǒng |
Ji-Young Kim (Hangul: 김지영; born July 26, 1978) is a South Korean prima ballerina and is currently a principal dancer with the Korea National Ballet (KNB) in Seoul, South Korea.
Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. She tried a number of hobbies while young, including Taekwondo and piano. She developed an interest in ballet and began taking ballet classes when she was ten years old.
In 1991, when Kim was thirteen years old, she began training professionally at the Yewon School, a specialist arts junior school in Seoul. During vacation she attended season sessions for ballet in New York City. Later the same year, she had a chance to train with professors of the Vaganova Academy and Kim decided to study at the Vaganova. In 1992, Kim went to Russia and she passed the entrance exam for the school. Kim entered the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. In 1996, Kim performed in Vaganova's graduation performance. While she planned to join the company in Russia after her graduation, Kim withdrew her plans and returned to Seoul when her mother died suddenly from a heart attack during Kim's graduation performance. Five month laters, Kim joined the Korea National Ballet (KNB) as the youngest principal dancer. She made her stage debut, dancing the role of Esmeralda in Notre Dame de Paris.
Kim has won awards in top ballet competitions: in 1998 she won the Bronze Medal in the 6th USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. In the same year, she won the First Prize in the 8th Paris International Dance Competition (Le Concours international de danse de Paris) in France, with her partner, Yong-geol Kim. In 1999, after winning the competition, the couple received the Order of Culture Merit: Hwagwan from The Republic of Korea; Kim was the youngest recipient. In 2001 she won the Silver Medal and best art prize in Kazan International Ballet Competition in Tatarstan, Russia and Prima Ballerina Award from Ballet Association in South Korea.
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