Quickfire Questions With May/June Digital Cover Star Ji Young Chae

May 1, 2025

To get to know Ji Young Chae a little bit better, we asked her a series of quickfire questions. Read on to hear more about the Boston Ballet principal’s favorite ballet, her go-to snack, her pointe shoe specs, and more.    

What is your favorite step?

Grand jeté.

Favorite spot at the barre?

I like the portable barre.

Favorite spot in the center?

I always go to the center in front.

What pointe shoes do you wear?

Freed Y maker.

Leather or canvas ballet slippers?

Canvas.

A ballerina has just finished spinning around herself, finishing in tendu derriere with her arms in first arabesque. She lokos out towards the audience with a bright smile. She wears a black-bodeiced costume with white sleeves and a knee-length black tutu, which swirls around her.
Chae in Balanchine’s Mozartiana. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor, courtesy Boston Ballet.

Coffee order?

Soy latte.

Go-to snack?

Peanut butter M&Ms.

Favorite kind of music?

K-pop.

Favorite theater to dance in?

Bolshoi Theatre.

You can only dance one ballet ever again, what do you choose?

Don Quixote.