Sue Jin Kang was born in Seoul, South Korea. After initial ballet lessons in her native country, she studied with Marika Besobrasova at the Académie de Danse classique Princess Grace in Monte Carlo. In 1985 she won the Prix de Lausanne.
In September 1986, Sue Jin Kang was taken into the Stuttgart Ballet’s Corps de ballet. 1994 Márcia Haydée promoted her to Soloist; three years later Reid Anderson promoted her to Principal Dancer. Her repertoire includes a wise range of leading roles full-length ballets, especially by John Cranko, as well as solo roles in other choreographies. Several renowned choreographers have created roles for Sue Jin Kang in their ballets.
Sue Jin Kang has toured with the Stuttgart Ballet all around the world. She successfully performed at the National Ballet of Korea, at the Universal Ballet in Seoul, Korea, as well as at the Art Festival in Istanbul and in Hanover where she danced Lise in La fille mal gardée (Heinz Spoerli). She has also danced at the Bavarian State Ballet Munich, the Dresden Ballet, the Ballet of the Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden, the Ballet of the Royal Czech National Theatre, the Leipzig Ballet, the Ballet du Capitole, Toulouse and the Vienna State Opera. In May 2007 she was invited by John Neumeier to dance the role of Marguerite Gautier in his ballet The Lady of the Camellias with the Hamburg Ballet and Marijn Rademaker in the role of Armand Duval.
Sue Jin Kang has received several honours and prices such as the Prix Benois de la Danse for her role as Marguerite in The Lady of the Camellias (John Neumeier) in 1999. In 2007 she was awarded the national title of “Kammertänzerin”. In the same year she received the John Cranko-Award from the John Cranko Association. In addition to that, she received diverse honours in her native country.
REPERTOIRE
Leading Roles with the Stuttgart Ballet - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Jean Christophe Blavier): Titania
- Afternoon of a Faun (Jerome Robbins)
- Bartók Piano Concerto No. 1 (Uwe Scholz)
- Carmen (John Cranko, new production: Reid Anderson and Georgette Tsinguirides): Carmen
- Chaconne (George Balanchine)
- Cinderella (Jean Christophe Blavier): Cinderella
- Corps (Hans van Manen)
- Dances at a Gathering (Jerome Robbins): Role in Pink, Role in Green
- Edward II (David Bintley): Queen Isabella
- Forgotten Land (Jiří Kylián)
- Fratres (John Neumeier): female leading role
- Giselle (Production: Reid Anderson, Valentina Savina): Giselle
- Giselle (Sir Peter Wright): Giselle
- Große Fuge (Hans van Manen)
- Herbst (John Cranko): Pas de deux
- Hommage à Bolshoi (John Cranko)
- In and Out (Hans van Manen)
- Initials R.B.M.E. (John Cranko): M.
- La Chambre (Renato Zanella)
- Las Hermanas (Sir Kenneth MacMillan): Angustias
- Legend (John Cranko): Pas de deux
- Les Sylphides (Michail Fokine): Prélude
- Love Songs (William Forsythe)
- Mata Hari (Renato Zanella): Mata Hari
- No More Play (Jiří Kylián)
- Nôtre Dame de Paris (Taneo Ishida): Esmeralda
- Now and Then (John Neumeier)
- Nuages (Jiří Kylián)
- Onegin (John Cranko): Tatjana
- Othello (John Neumeier): Emilia
- Poème de l’Extase (John Cranko): Diva
- Rassemblement (Nacho Duato)
- Requiem (Kenneth MacMillan): “leading role”
- Return to a stange Land (Jiří Kylián)
- Romeo and Juliet (John Cranko): Juliet
- Serenade (George Balanchine)
- Sinfonie in D (Jiří Kylián)
- Stravinsky Violin Concerto (George Balanchine)
- Symphony in C (George Balanchine): Third movement
- Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (George Balanchine)
- The Concert (Jerome Robbins)
- The four Temperaments (George Balanchine): Sanguinic
- The Lady and the Fool (John Cranko): Lady
- The Lady of the Camellias (John Neumeier): Marguerite Gautier
- The Magic Flute (Maurice Béjart): Pamina
- The Sleeping Beauty (Márcia Haydée after Marius Petipa): Aurora
- The Song of the Earth (Kenneth MacMillan)
- The Taming of the Shrew (John Cranko): Katharina
- The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (William Forsythe)
- Vers un Pays Sage (Jean Christophe Maillot)
- Voluntaries (Glen Tetley)
Specially created Roles- Avatar (Matjash Mrozewski)
- Black Angel (Renato Zanella)
- Delta Inserts (Kevin O’Day)
- dreamdeepdown (Kevin O’Day)
- Igor Poems (Kevin O’Day)
- Kazimir’s Colours (Mauro Bigonzetti)
- Krabat (Demis Volpi): Herr Gevatter
- Les Noces (Stephan Thoss)
- Nautilus (Wayne McGregor)
- Orfeas (Roberto de Oliveira)
- Orma (Mauro Bigonzetti)
- Quattro Danze per Nino (Mauro Bigonzetti)
- Songs (Christian Spuck)
- Stepping Stones (Jiří Kylián)
Specially created Roles at Noverre-Society: Young Choreographers - (______________?) (Thierry Michel)
- Dumsky? (Mark McClain)
- Fünf Etüden (Frédéric Gafner)
- Lange noch bei den Rosen (Bertrand Perreau)
- Mujeres sin Hombres (Mark McClain)
- Restaurant und Bar „Dumky“ (Mark McClain)
- Something Within Us (Mark McClain)
- Three waterdrops (Tunc Soekmen)