Korean children comprise about 30 percent of our elementary school’s student population, and quite a few of them study English as an additional language with me. They were excited to hear that Tony and I will travel to Korea for Christmas this year, and one little girl even made a one-page Korean phrasebook for me. At a parent-teacher conference for one of my students last week, I received a ticket to the Korean National Ballet’s Gala in India.
To celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and India, Korea sent its most famous orchestra, ballet and martial art troupes to tour India this year. What a treat to see the ballet with my friend Nancy and new friend Elizabeth.
At the Siri Fort Auditorium Sunday night, a cranky Korean lady stormed down the aisle shouting, “This section for LG employee only! If you don’t LG employee, please move your seat!” Some people sheepishly got up, but we stayed put. We had been told to sit there by an usher, and by then, the auditorium had filled. We didn’t get to the venue an hour early for nothing! Approached again by the seat police, Elizabeth brazenly uttered, “Embassy,” and that was it. We were cool. (Elizabeth’s husband works for the Embassy of Denmark, so it wasn’t a total lie.)
Dancers performed scenes from “Prince Hodong,” a Korean legend about nation, war, love, betrayal and death; “Don Quixote,” in which the ballerina coyly waved her fan and turned 32 times; “La Bayadere,” a story of love and betrayal set in an Indian temple; and “Giselle” with its “willis” – “mysterious creatures, conveyers of the ideal; the illusion of their immateriality is accentuated by the ethereal tutus, the slow fluid gestures and the use of points.”
(Full disclosure from pathetically uninformed ballet plebes: Nancy and I couldn’t figure out what the emcee was saying when she referred to the “willis.” We thought she was having language-interference pronunciation issues. When a dancer emerged holding an armful of flowers, I leaned over to Nancy and said, “Ohhhh… LILIES!” and we barely stifled our snickers. It wasn’t until I read the program later that night that I realized the ghostly characters were called “willis.”)
Although the emcee encouraged people to cheer and whistle for impressive dance moves, I still found the performances beautiful and evocative. I also appreciated how many Korean families brought their children – girls and boys – to see the show. Sitting in the LG section, I shouldn’t have been surprised at how many people filmed and photographed the gala (despite the emcee’s stern order to turn off our phones). I finally decided, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. But I only snapped a few shots during the curtain call.
May these events galvanize the spirit of friendship between our two peoples, helping our two countries become each other’s best friend in the days to come.” – Korean Ambassador Joon-gyu Lee
