Park Sae-eun already rose to the top of the Paris Opera Ballet’s (POB) rank when she was promoted to principal dancer, or “star dancer” in French, last month.

But the 31-year-old South Korean is aiming higher: she wants to be the brightest star in the French ballet scene.

“I think I reached the highest position on my CV,” she said at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. “I want to focus on the things that I can and have to do, so I became the top star among the other dancers of the star in France.”

She is the first Asian to become a star in the troupe’s more than 350 years of history. Currently there are 16 star dancers, including Park at the POB.

She said she has always been in a good mood since the promotion as she needs to familiarize herself with many of the privileges granted to a principal dancer at POB. She now has her own locker room and assistant and has received loads of congratulatory messages from friends.

“I’m still a little excited,” she said. “I think I’ll realize that fact when I play ‘Defile’ in September.”

Before starting a new season in September, the POB will organize a gala concert, and all 200 members of the company, from students of its academy to dancers of the star, will take the stage in “Defile”, a parade. in English.

She said she will be introduced to the French public as the new star at this year’s gala concert.

It took only 10 years for Park to clinch the top spot at the POB.

Since joining the POB in 2011, Park has received a lot of attention for her exceptionally quick promotion. She landed the position of soloist two years later and was promoted to the current rank of “first dancer”, second rank in the Parisian ballet, in 2016.

In 2018, she won the award for best dancer at the Benois de la Danse, one of the most coveted awards in the ballet world. She is the fourth Korean to win a Benois de la Danse award after Kang Sue-jin (1999), Kim Joo-won (2006) and Kim Ki-min (2016).

But Park said she needed more to become the brightest star at POB, where few Asian dancers have made their presence felt in centuries.

“I have so much to do because there are a lot of directories that I haven’t tried yet,” she said. “The art director pointed out my strengths and weaknesses. I want to try harder to develop my good points.” (Yonhap)