Twenty-four K-Arts Students Win in the 19^th Seoul International Dance Competition in Ballet, Contemporary and Ethnic Dance

At the 19th Seoul International Dance Competition (SIDC), from 2 June to 17 July, the 24 current students of the School of Dance or the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts (KNIGA) demonstrated their excellence in ballet (10 wins), contemporary dance (7 wins), ethnic dance (6 wins), and choreography (1 win).

 In ballet, for the senior female, Kim Minjoo (19 years old) placed first. Lee So-jung (20 years old) took the second, and Kim Jimin (20 years old) the third. For the senior male, Kang Gyeong-ho (21 years old) placed second, and Kwon Do-hyun (19 years old) third.

In contemporary dance, for the senior male, Choi Ho-jeong (26 years old) was crowned the first, and Jung Jiwan (21 years old) earned the second. For the senior female, Jeong Chae-rin (21 years old) won the first, and Kim Riha (21 years old) ranked second. Also, Hong Sung-hyun (22 years old) seized the Artistic Director’s Prize for senior male. In the meantime, Ha Yeonju (20 years old) acquired the Executive Director’s Prize, and Kim Chae-hee (22 years old) the President of Jury’s Prize for the senior female.

In ethnic creative dance, Jo Yusik (21 years old), Park Jun-woo (20 years old), and Lim Kyunghyun (20 years old) placed first, second, and third for the senior male, respectively. For the senior female, Kim Soyeon (21 years old) and Lee Sarang (20 years old) each took the first and second. In ethnic traditional dance, Jeon Hyejeong (21 years old) won the first in senior female.

Kim Iyeon (22 years old) seized the Artistic Director’s Prize in choreography.

Furthermore, the accomplishments of current students who major in ballet at the KNIGA Seoul campus stood out in the competition. For the pre-junior, I, Jung Ah-ra (12 years old) won the first and President of Jury’s Prize in the female, and Joo Minho (11 years old) attained the first in the male. For the pre-junior II, Jeon Ji-yul (14 years old) and Park Youn-jae (13 years old) took second in the female and male categories, respectively. .Sung Jae-seung (16 years old) placed second for the junior male. 

With their wins, Choi Ho-jeong and Kang Gyeong-ho received an exemption from military duty. The SIDC, the largest dance competition in Asia, has introduced young prospective dancers to the world since 2004, providing an opportunity for talented dancers from all over the world to pursue an international career.