IN THE SPOTLIGHT

I have the privilege of interviewing different participants of the MOVES – Ballett Theater Basel & Seoul Ballet Theatre Cultural exchange Project. „Snip Shot“ by Richard Wherlock and „Voice in the Wind“ by James Jeon, two works created for two unique occasions: the 20th anniversary of Seoul Ballet Theatre in 2015 and the 15th anniversary of Richard Wherlock at the helm of Ballett Basel in 2016. James Jeon, after a career in the United States, became a founding member, along with his spouse In-hee Kim, of a cutting edge Korean Ballet company in Seoul in 1995. On the other-side, Richard Wherlock, with a sophisticated, prolific and international career is directing Ballett Theater Basel for 15 years. The project began with the desire to enrich their company’s artistic experiences and to provide valuable cultural input. Since 2012, after several educational exchanges and development, this relationship has expanded into an exciting choreographic production that was performed last September in Seoul and recently in Basel.

I present to you DÉVI AZÉLIA SELLY, a dancer with Ballett Theater Basel.

Before arriving to Korea, and knowing you will go, what were your thoughts?

I did not know so much about Korea. Except I went to those famous Barbecue’s restaurant in Holland.

What are some of the benefits of a cultural exchange like MOVES?

The benefit is even with the “barrier of language” a cultural exchange can happen , and you can be really touched by the people and feel good in the country.

Many of the typical foods were excellent… even though I don’t remember the names! I did appreciate one of their most typical dishes, called Kimchi.

Shopping! The dancers brought us to many different shopping areas. We went to a typical Korean market and then a really fancy shopping mall.

My surprise was to see all the attention that the dancers gave to us. In their free time, they always wanted to spend time with us and help us discover their country and their culture. That was really nice and sweet of them.

I don’t have only one! What I remember the most, is all the moments spent with the Korean dancers.

The weather and the food!

When I travel I don’t like to do tourist stuff. I prefer to be part of the peoples everyday life. I like to discover and realize the differences and the culture by human exchange. So this exchange with Korea was just AMAZING! Thanks a lot to the dancers from Seoul Ballet Theater.