If Western lore has Dracula, Korea has the Gumiho: M Ballet's new fantasy ballet tours nationwide
Creatrip Team
a month ago
M Ballet's original fantasy ballet "Gumiho"—based on a Korean folktale about the nine-tailed fox—is selected for the 2026 performing arts distribution program and will tour Naju, Sancheong, Seoul and Hwaseong starting July. The piece, first premiered in 2025, blends classical ballet, live music and video; this revival adds flying techniques and enhanced video choreography to deepen stage dimensionality, including scenes set on Fox Mountain and the Jeongwol Daeboreum night fox bead festival (Jeongwol Daeboreum: the first full moon festival in the lunar new year). The story recasts the gumiho not as a malicious spirit but as a guardian of nature and human life, centering on the relationships among Sohwa (born carrying a ghost), Aeho (a gumiho who loves him) and themes of love, curse, fate and choice. Principal dancers from the premiere reprise roles across venues. M Ballet’s artistic director Yang Young-eun emphasized that the work draws on Korean legend and emotion to tell a universally moving love story and argued that native motifs like the gumiho can gain international interest and competitiveness. The tour dates: July 11 (Naju), July 16 (Sancheong), July 25 (Seoul), and Aug 1 (Hwaseong).
