This weekend past I went to my second ballet - I saw 'The Nutcracker' for the very first time. A while ago I wrote about seeing 'Swan Lake' in Seoul and this was my first experience with the ballet, I'm not a huge fan but wanted to see it one time just so I could say that I had. 'Swan Lake was OK, it was a bit boring for me and I did almost fall asleep at one stage in the second act and while I certainly did not hate it I was glad it was over when it was. I thought that if I ever went to another ballet it would probably only be 'The Nutcracker' again for the experience and to say that I've seen it at least once.
With Christmas almost here 'The Nutcracker' is currently being performed in Seoul this December and a few of my friends decided to go. We manged to get some cheap tickets 24, 000 won each (discount of 20% for Expats and Tourists) and we saw the Universal Ballet performance at the Universal Arts Center.
It was very well done, the scenery and lights were awesome, I really liked the winter scenes and it really looked like it was snowing. The costumes were also great, very beautiful and lots of sparkle. All in all it was a beautiful production and my friends and I really enjoyed it. As someone who knows nothing about ballet I can't comment on the dancing except it looked great, the two principle dancers were beautiful and graceful and the children dancers were really cute and talented.
We did find the theater really hot, we were right up the back at the top (the cheap seats) but the view was great because we could see the whole stage. At intermission we really needed some water but the line for the cafe was huge and there was no water in the vending machines, I think that is one thing that really needs to be addressed. There needed to be some better way to cater to the crowds.
I just watched a video that is being shown on the Bus TV here in Korea. Was simply amazed by this artist so looked it up when I got home.
His name is Riusuke Fukahori and he paints fish using a layered resin technique that makes them look 3D.
Check out the video on YouTube below and also for some more pictures of this amazing artwork check out this article.
Some of you might be interested in the upcoming Rock Festival in Goyang City - Ilsan. This will run over three days starting on Friday 30th August and going through to Sunday 1st of September. You can purchase tickets for all or various days and it will be showcasing a lot of Korean talent. The line up includes bands such as Kingston Rudicska, SpeakOut, AXIZ, Gate Flowers and Crying Nut.
You can find more information for line up, venue etc. here.
Last weekend a friend and I braved the winter chill and went out to see the last night of the 2012 Seoul Lantern Festival.
The festival ran from the 2nd of November to through to the 18th of November. It takes place on the Cheonggyecheon Stream stretching 1.5km from Cheonggye Plaza all the way down to Seungyo Bridge. There were over three thousand lanterns and the theme for this year's festival was “Roots of Seoul, A Day in the Life of Our Ancestors”.
The lanterns were amazing, there were so many to see and they were all constructed with such care, it was truly beautiful. The lanterns were lined down the river, to view them you walked along the side of the stream, there are walkways on both sides. Sometimes the trees obstructed the views a bit but overall it was very well executed. A lot of the lanterns showed the history of Korea from the Joseon dynasty but it also moved into the future and they had lanterns depicting popular cartoon characters like Pororo. Something for everyone!
We went on the last day, it was also a Sunday and of course the weekend is always busy at these kind of events, add to that being the last day and you can imagine how crowded it was. It took ages just to get to the start of the lanterns but it was well worth it and I'm glad I got the chance to go.
For more information and photos you can check out the website Visit Seoul.
Photos courtesy of worldsafari.
On Saturday I attended my first ever ballet. I saw 'Swan Lake' performed by the Korean National Ballet Company. A friend of mine likes this sort of thing and invited me, I was not sure if I would like it but I figured you have to try everything once.
It actually was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, it kept my interest most of the way through. There was a bit in the second act where all the swans were dancing to some very soothing music that I found my eyelids drooping a bit. After talking with the rest of the group afterwards however, I found I was not the only one - even the more enthusiastic ballet watchers had thought that part was very lulling.
I also thought the end was a bit weird as I was under the impression that the main characters die. It did not seem like that unless I was misinterpreting (which could easily be that case as its all interpretation) - it just seemed a lot happier at the end than I was expecting. Not a bad thing but when it ended I was a bit confused.
It was nice to get out and do something a bit different, I don't think it's something I would do on a regular basis but I would be open to seeing something like 'The Nutcracker' perhaps at another time.
The ballet was in the Opera House of the Seongnam Arts Center which was very easy to get to for me. From Ingye-dong in Suwon you can take the red 4000 bus. This bus takes you right to the Arts Center and it only took about an hour to get there.
