Kang to receive German order of merit

Kang Sue-jin, the Korea National Ballet (KNB) director, will be honored by the state of Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany on May 3rd for her contributions to art and culture, according to KNB on Monday.

Kang is widely regarded as the greatest Korean ballerina of her generation. She has been with the Stuttgart Ballet Company, in the state capital of Baden-Wurttemberg, since she was 18. She also serves as the head of the KNB since February.

The 46-year-old will be the first Korean to receive the Baden-Wurttemberg Order of Merit, established in 1974 as the state’s highest award for accomplishments in politics, society, economics and cultural contributions.

Previous winners include German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Wolfgang Ketterle, former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, American illustrator and writer Eric Carle and football great Jurgen Klinsmann.

“Barden-Wurttemberg , Germany’s third-largest state, chose Kang as this year’s Merit of Order winner for her accomplishments as the prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet Company and her excellence as a ‘ Kammertanzerin’ (chamber dancer),” the KNB said.

When she joined the Stuttgart Ballet, Kang was the youngest member in the history of the company and the first Asian to join. She is one of eight female principals at the company.

She was also the first Asian laureate of the Prix de Lausanne. Among her many honors and achievements she was named “Kammertanzerin” or chamber dancer, the highest recognition the German government bestows on a dancer.

Her interpretation of the tragic role of Marguerite Gautier, a Parisian courtesan in the 19th century, in “The Lady of the Camellias” earned her the prestigious “Prix Benois de la Danse” in 1999.

She is an inspiration to young Korean ballerinas and dancers like Seo Hee and Kim Ki-min who have followed in her footsteps by taking top prizes at international competitions and joining iconic companies like the American Ballet Theatre and the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Kang accepted the KNB job on the condition that she would be able to continue dancing. By Baek Byung-yeul The korea times