Why ABT Principal Hee Seo Loves the Art of Giving Back
What are you proudest of in your career?
That I learned how to work in the studio. I always loved being onstage, but now I love the process of getting there. I used to want to be perfect in a role from day 1. Now I work to where I want to be.
Is there a role you haven’t danced yet that you’re excited to do?
I can’t wait to learn Manon—I am dancing it with American Ballet Theatre this season. Usually ballet characters are straightforward—shy peasant girl or flirt—but Manon is complicated.
Seo in Giselle
Courtesy ABT
What is one of your best memories onstage?
When I danced Giselle recently with Ballet Nacional de Cuba. It was difficult—it was hard to communicate with people, the theater floor was different, the bathroom didn’t have a door. But their knowledge of and enthusiasm for the ballet made it fascinating. It made my appreciation for old-world, traditional ballet even greater.
You work with Youth America Grand Prix to help Korean dance students. Why did you get involved with that?
I grew up with dance scholarships, so giving back was something I always wanted to do. I talked to Larissa Saveliev, and the idea popped up that I start YAGP in Korea. To do something like that there, you have to create a nonprofit foundation, so I started the Hee Seo Foundation four years ago. We give grants to 10 dance students and work with YAGP to help them go to company-affiliated schools.
What else does your foundation do?
It helps organize free master classes, which I give for students all over Korea who are not pre-professional, who don’t have a chance to get master classes elsewhere. I’m so proud of that and absolutely love doing it. We’ve taught almost 1,000 students.
What’s the least glamorous part of being a ballerina?
We’re bag ladies. We have a lot of stuff we carry everywhere we go. You should see me at the airport: I’m lugging my costumes, my makeup case—anything but glamorous.
What do you miss most about Korea?
My family. They come once or twice a year to New York, but as I get older, I miss them more.
How do you treat yourself?
It depends how much indulgence I think I deserve. After an ABT season at the Met, I’ll get a head-to-toe spa treatment. If it was an especially good rehearsal, I will get an expensive manicure.
What do you like to cook?
I prefer one-pot recipes. I cook jambalaya, beef bourguignon. I can’t say I’m a great chef, but I like shopping for the ingredients, preparing, a candlelit dinner. I just don’t like doing the dishes.
