Yonggeol Kim

Choreograph

Yonggeol Kim, born in 1973, is a choreographer, ballet educator, and former internationally acclaimed soloist. He completed his dance studies at the School of Dance at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea. In 1998, he won first prize at the International Dance Competition in Paris, following a third-place award at the Moscow Ballet Competition in 1997.

After performing as a principal dancer with the Korean National Ballet from 1995 to 1999, he became the first Asian dancer to join the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet, where he danced as a Sujet from 2000 to 2009. During his career, he performed leading roles in works by renowned choreographers such as Roland Petit, Pina Bausch, Jean-Christophe Maillot, and Yuri Grigorovich, as well as in classical ballets like "Giselle", "The Nutcracker", "Carmen", "Don Quixote", and "La Bayadère".

Since 2010, Yonggeol Kim has been active as a choreographer. His repertoire includes full-length ballets such as "The Nutcracker", "Le Sacre du Printemps", and "Orpheus et Eurydice", as well as contemporary pieces like "Inside of Life", "La Lumière", "Le Silence et…", and "Une Promenade". His choreographic work has earned him multiple accolades, including the Korean Ballet Association Prize, the Best Choreographer Award from MOMM magazine, and the EDAILY Cultural Award.

He is a regular guest choreographer at the Paris Conservatoire (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021) and serves as a member of the Presidential Committee for Cultural Promotion and the Korean National Ballet Committee. In addition, he has taught as a lecturer at the School of Dance at the Korea National University of Arts.