SUNMI PARK PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL DANCER AT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

 

Susan Jaffe, SunMi Park, and Thomas Forster at the curtain call of Swan Lake. Photo: Natalia Sánchez.

 

 

NEW YORK, NY (July 15, 2026) - American Ballet Theatre dancer SunMi Park has been promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer, effective September 1, 2026. The promotion was announced today by ABT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House following the evening performance of Swan Lake, in which Park performed the lead role of Odette/Odile.

 

SunMi Park was born in Seongnam, South Korea and began studying ballet at age ten. She trained at Sun-hwa Middle and High School of the Arts from 2012 to 2016 and at Korea National Institute of Gifted Arts from 2014 to 2016, building the rigorous classical foundation that would carry her to the world stage. In 2017, she was awarded First Prize at Moscow International Ballet Tournament, followed by a gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2018. She graduated from Korea National University of Arts in August 2019 and joined ABT Studio Company that same month.

 

 

 

Park became an apprentice with the main Company in November 2021 and joined the corps de ballet in February 2022. She was promoted to Soloist in September 2022, just seven months later.

 

Park’s repertoire reveals a dancer of exceptional versatility. She has danced Myrta, the peasant pas de deux, and Moyna in Giselle, Tita in Like Water for Chocolate, Grand Pas Classique, the pas de deux from Great Galloping Gottschalk, and leading roles in Bach Partita, Serenade after Plato's Symposium, Night Falls, and Sextet. She has danced Clara, the Princess in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Natalia in On the Dnipro, and Rezia and “Becomings” in Woolf Works, among many others. Park created the role of Sonya in Crime and Punishment, leading roles in La Boutique and Children's Songs Dance, and a featured role in Wrecka Stow.

 

“SunMi is an artist of real depth,” said Susan Jaffe. “She commands the stage in a way that is completely her own, and brings a quiet power to everything she dances. She has consistently risen to meet every challenge we have put before her. The speed of her growth has been remarkable, and we are so proud to recognize that with this promotion.”

 

 

ABOUT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

American Ballet Theatre is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a national treasure since its founding season in 1940, its mission is to create, present, preserve, and extend the great repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide. ABT’s repertoire includes full-length classics from the nineteenth century, the finest works from the early twentieth century, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces. In 2006, by an act of Congress, ABT was designated America's National Ballet Company.  

 

 

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*서희 풀 인터뷰 Interview (2012. 4, 23 중앙일보) 

*안주원, ABT 최초의 한인 수석무용수, 2020

*ABT 데뷔 성공한 김기민 인터뷰

*서희, 김기민 ABT 사상 최초 남녀 주연 '라 바야데르' 공연 

*마린스키 발레 김기민씨 ABT 데뷔 

*ABT 2014 가을 시즌 

*서희와 즐거운 파리의 아가씨 

*발레계의 신데렐라 미스티 코플랜드 ABT 수석무용수 카운트다운, 2014

*2015 TIME 100에 ABT 미스티 코플랜드 선정

*발레리나 다이어트: 미스티 코플랜드, 서희와 ABT 키친

 

 

 

 

한류를 이해하는 33가지 코드

#16 음주가무-춤추고 

'피겨 여왕' 김연아(Yuna Kim, *TIME 100-2010)은 춤꾼의 DNA를 갖고 있다'. 마린스키 발레(러시아)와 아메리칸발레시어터의 유일한 아시안 수석 무용수들은 한인들(김기민, 서희, 안주원)이며, 국제 발레 콩쿠르와 브레이크 댄스 대회(Battle of the Year)에서도 한인들이 수상을 휩쓸고 있다. 또한, K-Pop 스타들에게 춤은 필수요소다. 

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Focus&document_srl=4079703 

 

 

 

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