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A Continuing Celebration of Ballet: Classic Busan Opens the “2026 Busan Ballet Season”

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Classic Busan announced that the “2026 Busan Ballet Season (Busan Ballet Season)” will be held from April 2 to November 28. The 2026 Busan Ballet Season will take place at Busan Concert Hall.

The season will open with Dear Ballerina on April 2–3. Following this, a newly created work jointly planned with Busan Cultural Center will be presented from October 30–31. Later in the year, the season will conclude at Busan Concert Hall with HELLO Ballet in concert ballet format and The Nutcracker on November 27–28. A notable feature of this year’s ballet season is that all performances will be accompanied by live orchestral music performed by the Classic Busan Orchestra.

Dear Ballerina, which opens the ballet season, portrays the stories of ballerinas behind the scenes in the rehearsal studio before they take the stage, offering audiences an honest glimpse into their lives. The performance begins with the beautiful corps de ballet of the Waltz of the Flowers, depicting scenes from a ballet company rehearsal studio. By exploring the daily routines and rehearsal processes dancers undergo before appearing on stage, the work conveys the intense training, passion for the stage, and life of a ballerina. Last year, the production received great acclaim with all seats sold out at Baekyang Cultural and Arts Center.

This year’s performance will be conducted by Music Director Kim Gwang-hyeon at Busan Concert Hall with orchestral accompaniment, and rehearsals have been in full swing since February.

The newly created work, currently untitled, is jointly planned by Classic Busan and Busan Cultural Center and is already drawing strong anticipation.

The production will feature direction by Artistic Director Kim Ju-won, choreography by Yu Hoe-woong (Artistic Director of Yu Hoe-woong Liberty Hall), visual direction by Park Hoon-gyu, and conducting by Music Director Kim Gwang-hyeon, presenting a new performance tailored specifically to the stage of the Busan Cultural Center’s Medium Theater.

In the second half of the year, HELLO Ballet will be presented in a concert ballet format, followed by The Nutcracker to celebrate the year’s end with Busan citizens. HELLO Ballet, which was introduced as a concert ballet at Busan Concert Hall last year, deeply moved many citizens and recorded a seat occupancy rate of 93.5 percent.

The final work of the season, The Nutcracker, will present carefully selected highlights from Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet score, including representative pas de deux and national dances. Both productions will feature a full orchestral arrangement, adding rich music and beautiful choreography to enhance the festive year-end atmosphere.

Members of the Busan Opera House Ballet Company participating in the 2026 season will collaborate closely with the production team. Experts in stage design, video production, and costume design will contribute to enhance the overall quality of this year’s works.

Following the selection of season members last month, principal dancer Kim Hee-hyun, guest dancers Hong Ju-yeon and Jang Yu-mi, and season members Kim Dong-hyeon, Kim So-eun, Kim Ji-woo, Noh In-hye, Park Jeong-mi, Yang Ji-hee, Lee So-yeon, Jo Seong-yun, and Shin Seung-woo will work together in Busan over several months.

The season will also feature prominent ballet and dance professionals, including choreographer Yu Hoe-woong for Dear Ballerina, choreographers Jeong Seong-bok and Lee Ju-ho, Music Director and conductor Kim Gwang-hyeon, Production Stage Director Song Ju-gwan, Visual Director Park Hoon-gyu, and Costume Designer Jeong Han-a.

Ticket reservations are available through the Busan Concert Hall website (https://classicbusan.busan.go.kr) and NOL Interpark Ticket. For further inquiries, contact the Classic Busan Performance Planning Team at 051-640-8824.

Kim Ju-won, Artistic Director, stated that through the works of the 2026 Busan Ballet Season, audiences will be able to share the dancers’ dedication and artistic inspiration while witnessing the growth of the Busan Opera House Ballet Company dancers on stage.

Park Min-jeong, CEO of Classic Busan, said that this year’s Busan Ballet Season will present high-quality performances through collaboration between the ballet company and orchestra operated by Classic Busan, adding that efforts will continue to strengthen and foster the local arts foundation in the future.