Hee Seo

Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theatre/Alumni 2008

Hee Seo (born 13 March 1986) is a South Korean ballet dancer who is a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. She became the company's first Korean ballerina to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history. She is also one of the youngest dancers in ABT history to be promoted to principal at the age of twenty-six. The New York Times has described her style and dancing to "exude an unhurried purity that sums up all that is lovely about ballet" and by Vogue as "unspeakably lissome". Several critics have noted her style as "lyrical and open" and she has been critically acclaimed for her "humility" and "unique feminine strength".

Seo began training in Russian ballet at the age of twelve; a relatively late start for a ballet dancer. Seo has stated on numerous occasions that she did not have aspirations of becoming a professional ballet dancer. Her teachers identified her skills and talents early on and within a short period of time she was offered full scholarships to study abroad at prestigious ballet schools. She gained further notice by winning a scholarship at the 2003 Prix de Lausanne as well as the Grand Prix at the 2003 Youth America Grand Prix.

She was rapidly promoted from the ABT Studio Company and joined the full company in May 2005. She was again quickly promoted into the corps de ballet in March 2006 and then to soloist in August 2010 before finally being named as principal dancer in July 2012 by Kevin McKenzie, the artistic director of ABT. During her time at ABT, she has performed numerous lead roles in classical and contemporary ballet.

Education

• Sunhwa Arts School
• Kirov Academy of Ballet
• John Cranko Schule
• American Ballet Theatre Studio Company