Jeon James

Born in Seoul, Korea, Jeon James emigrated with his family to the U.S. at the age of 12. Jeon studied at Menlo Park Dance Academy in California and the Julliard School in New York City, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1985. He danced with Maurice Béjart’s Ballet du XXème siècle (Ballet of the 20th century) in Brussels, and then with the Florida Ballet in Jacksonville. He joined the Universal Ballet Company on his return to Korea. He was also a solo dancer and choreographer with the Korea National Ballet. In 1995, Jeon and his wife In-hee Kim founded the Seoul Ballet Theatre. Under their common leadership the SBT has since maintained its pioneering, cutting edge role in the world of modern Korean ballet. As the SBT’s resident choreographer Jeon has created over 100 original works of ballet. Some of his major works include «BEING I» (1995), «BEING II» (1996), «Black and White» (1996), «BEING III» (1998), «Line of Life» (1999), «Rage» (2004), «Spring, Stream»(2005), and «Life is…» (2011). Together with Philippe Olza he created and performed the intercultural dance theatre project «GDEO» in Korea (2007) and in Switzerland (2008). His ballet «BEING» was voted best production by Momm Dance Magazine in 2012. Ae Ryung Moon, one of Korea’s foremost dance critics, said «… in the present there is a lack of choreographers who create new ballets with basic ballet techniques. The style of James Jeon’s choreography uses diverse elements and yet never loses a sense of humor while attracting dancers who crave new dance…». In 2013, Jeon led the SBT to tour South America. In 2014 and 2015, he worked with the Ballett Basel in Switzerland. Jeon served as a member of the Arts Council Korea (2012-2013). He is regularly involved with a variety of education projects, and has been on the faculty of the Korean National Sport University since 2003.

Speak on family point….. juilliard…. move to nyc

I started dancing in college. I was very late. I studied accounting. My brother was in that business and he was making good money… I was very good in math, so I said why not? I always wanted to be an actor actually. My acting professor told us that we also have to take dance as part of our training. I went to see the modern dance classes, they were going up and down to the floor so fast I thought “This is too hard for me”. I went to see the Jazz classes and they were twisting their hips and backs and I thought “Woah, this is too hard for me”. I went to see the ballet classes and they were so graceful dancing to classical music and I thought “Now this looks easy!”……. What a big mistake. The teacher said I had talent so I went with it. Of course I fell in love with ballet and it became my career.

Favorite things to eat…

Vegetables and sea food. Not so heavy or greasy food for me.

Favorite books…

Hemmingway but right now I am really into Bhudda.

Favorite movies…

Ben Hur. Gone with the wind. Lawrence of Arabia. Classics.

Favorite dance piece…

Agon by Balanchine, Bolero by Maurice Bejart, Les Noces by Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek’s Giselle. There are so many great choreographers in the world. Some people are lucky to get the chance to show their work. So people are just very fortunate.

I like dancers who…..

…who has an inner sensitivity. Feeling, not just technique. What you have inside is the most important thing. Spirit.

I am afraid of….

Getting old. Now I am realizing what my teachers used to tell me. Getting old is not easy. You have to accept it. Enjoy yourself when you’re young.

A dance piece should…..

I can not say what it should be… Entertain me.

Something you like to do other than teaching…

I like to travel. I like to cook. It has been a dream of mine to open a little cafe.

Happiest moments ….

When my wife said yes to marrying me.

Unusual or coolest/embarrassing moment…

I forgot the steps once on stage.. I had to improvise…that was pretty embarrassing.

Most influential person in your life…

My mentor Roy Tobias. He has passed away. He was American. I think he was the youngest member with ABT and then he joined New York City Ballet. He spoke 6 languages. He spent a lot of time in Japan and Korea. I still remember the things he would say to me. He is incredible. He showed me how to look at dance and art. He was like a father to me. He guided me….he was very spiritual. He worked with incredible people. Because of him I am here now.

Hardest thing about being a director….

Money, Money, Money. The never ending story of finding money for my company.

A piece of advice for young dancers…

Paul Tayor said this to us at Juilliard. He gave a little talk with the students after one of his company performances at the Juilliard Theater. One of the dancers said to him I really want to be a dancer and Paul looked at us and said “Don’t do it. It’s too hard”. Everyone in the room got his idea. If you want to be a dancer you really have to fight for it. There are no shortcuts. Be sure its what you want to do.