[OffStage: Ballet in Nature] Houston Ballet Soo Youn Cho 'Sketches for a Toiling Heart'

Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Soo Youn Cho graces U.S. Capital landmarks in the latest OffStage: Ballet in Nature short film

[WHAT] Sketches for a Toiling Heart, an original dance and music short film
[WHO]  Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Soo Youn Cho
[WHEN] Video release: Thursday, September 30 at 6:00 p.m.
[WHERE] KCCDC social media on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram: @KoreaCultureDC
https://www.youtube.com/user/KoreaCultureDC

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly presents the latest episode of OffStage: Ballet in Nature, the hit series of cinematic outdoor dance short films launched in 2020, featuring Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Soo Youn Cho as she makes the U.S. Capital a grand stage in Sketches for a Toiling Heart.

The stone monuments and lush greenery of the National Mall serve as a serene backdrop for this original music, dance, and cinematic work filmed in Washington, D.C. and the nearby Korean Bell Garden located in Virginia’s Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Amid the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, these iconic settings’ significance as a stage for dance is two-fold: they symbolize a nation still in need of heaing as well as Cho’s own life journey as a Korean immigrant, struggling to acclimate to American life and thrive as a professional dancer.

Through positive energy and powerful movements, Cho strives to send a message of healing through her artistry, rooted in communion with the natural environment. The resulting scenes are a profound and mysterious transcendence of time and space, layering visual and cultural elements of both Korea and the U.S.

[Production Credits]
Project Director | Hyemee Baik
Managerial Director | David Tauler
Cinematographer, Editor, Colorist | Zhibo Lai
Camera Persons | Koichi Take, Brad Baerwald
Choreographer | Connor Walsh
Dancer | Soo Youn Cho
Photographer | Anthony Lyon
Costume Designers | Alison Miller, Serge Ovechko
Makeup and Hair Artist | Sara Shakir
Music | Etude Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat major by Frederic Chopin
Locations | Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

[About the Series]
OffStage: Ballet in Nature introduces leading and principal Korean dancers from renowned ballet companies across the United States as they perform original works in novel, outdoor settings where nature itself becomes the stage. Each video is presented in a short film format for Washingtonians and the broader public to view online free of charge. At a time when face-to-face interactions and formal performances remain limited, the KCCDC encourages global audiences to take time to relax and heal through the enjoyment of creative, nontraditional performances.

[About the Dancer]
Soo Youn Cho is a Principal Dancer with Houston Ballet. She was born in the city of Incheon in the Republic of Korea and trained at Sun Hwa Arts School in Korea, Canada National Ballet School (with a full scholarship from the 2002 Prix de Lausanne), and John-Cranko Ballet School in Stuttgart, Germany. Ms. Cho has earned numerous recognitions, including a gold medal at the 2001 Korea Ballet Competition, winner of the Prix de Lausanne in 2002, a bronze medal at the 2002 Varna Competition in Bulgaria, and a gold medal at the Tanzolymp in Berlin in 2005. She danced professionally with Leipziger Ballet in Germany before joining Tulsa Ballet in 2007, where she was promoted to principal in 2010. Ms. Cho joined Houston Ballet as a demi soloist in 2012 and was promoted to soloist in 2014, first soloist in 2016, and principal dancer in 2018.

Some of Ms. Cho's featured roles include Hanna in Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow, Swanhilda in Ben Stevenson's Coppelia, Sugar Plum Fairy in Stanton Welch's The Nutcracker, Kitri in Ben Stevenson's Don Quixote, Countess Marie Larisch in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling, Gamzatti in Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère, Suzuki in Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly, roles in George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Myrtha in Stanton Welch’s Giselle, Waltz girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade,  Aurora, Lilac Fairy, and Carabosse in Ben Stevenson's The Sleeping Beauty, Mistress in Sir Kenneth MacMillian's Manon, and Katherine in John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew. Ms. Cho was also featured in the premiere of Oliver Halkowich’s Following for the Company’s 50th anniversary season in 2019.

Others Details

Category: Arts | Performing Arts | Dance Time: 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm