Choi Tae-ji, new president and artistic director of the Korea Ballet Festival Organizing Committee [Korea Ballet Festival]
Choi Tae-ji, new president and artistic director of the Korea Ballet Festival Organizing Committee [Korea Ballet Festival]

Choi Tae-ji, former artistic director of the National Ballet of Korea, has been appointed president and artistic director of the Korea Ballet Festival, the organizing committee announced Tuesday. The three-year term runs through Aug. 31, 2029.

The Korea Ballet Festival Organizing Committee named Choi after her predecessor, Kim Ju-won, left in August to become artistic director of the National Ballet of Korea. The board approved the appointment.

Choi is widely credited with bringing ballet to broader Korean audiences. A former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Korea, she served two terms as the company's artistic director — from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2008 to 2013. During that time she developed programs such as "Ballet with Commentary" and "Ballet Comes to You," dramatically lowering the barrier to the art form.

Her international profile is equally distinguished. She became the first Korean to serve on the jury of both the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland and the Benois de la Danse, raising the standing of Korean ballet on the world stage. As artistic director of the Gwangju City Ballet, she helped drive the development of regional performing arts through a varied repertoire.

Choi was particularly instrumental in founding the Korea Ballet Festival in 2011 — the country's first ballet festival built on public-private cooperation. She served on the organizing committee from 2021 until recently, and in 2025 she took the stage herself in "Connection: Choi Tae-ji and Moon Hoon-sook," a special performance marking the festival's 15th anniversary that highlighted the growth of Korean ballet.

The organizing committee said it expects Choi's deep familiarity with the festival — from its founding through its growth — to drive a new leap forward and bring fresh momentum to the organization's current challenges.


shee@heraldcorp.com