TODAY 55 YEARS AGO, the ballerina and ballet director Sue Jin Kang was born in the South Korean capital Seoul. After initial ballet lessons in her hometown, she continued her studies at the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo and won the Prix de Lausanne in 1985. In 1986 she joined the Stuttgart Ballet and was appointed Principal Dancer in 1997. She is best remembered for her outstanding interpretation of dramatic roles such as Tatiana in John Cranko's Onegin or Marguerite in John Neumeier's The Lady of the Camellias. For the latter she was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse in 1999. In 2007 she was also honoured with the highest German distinction for a dancer: the title “Kammertänzerin”. The list of further prizes and awards not only in Germany but also in Korea is long. In her home country, Kang took over the direction of the Korean National Ballet in 2014. After no less than 30 years she said her final goodbye to the Stuttgart Ballet two years later. We send our heartfelt congratulations to Seoul on the occasion of her 55th birthday!

Photo: Sue Jin Kang during the final applause of her farewell performance at the Stuttgart Ballet, © Roman Novitzky