Hailed as one of the U.K.’s most popular and successful choreographers and directors, Matthew Bourne will premiere his critically acclaimed “gothic romance” dance reinterpretation of the classic fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty,” at the LG Arts Center in Seoul next month. 　The ballet rendition of the fairy tale was first created by the legendary Marius Petipa in 1890 and the work has since become one of the most famous ballets in classical repertoire. Combining dance, cabaret and circus elements with

May 24, 2016

Cable music channel Mnet will host the “Special M Countdown in China” at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China on May 28, production company CJ E&M announced Tuesday.　The concert will bring together top Korean and Chinese artistes. Poster for “M Countdown in China” (Mnet)　Korean artistes who are performing include seven-member boy band BTOB, five-member rock band FT Island, six-member girl groups G-Friend and T-ara, Jun Jin of idol band Shinhwa, K-pop quartet Sistar, six-member boy band VIX

May 24, 2016

ROME (AFP) -- A major exhibition of Banksy’s works opens in Rome on Tuesday and, as ever with the secretive British street artist, there is mystery attached.　What will he make of a project he has not been involved in? Will he show up incognito? If he doesn’t approve, will he make his displeasure known on the walls of Rome?　The collection of more than 100 Banksy paintings, prints and sculptures sourced from private collections around the world is being billed by organizers as the first time such

May 24, 2016

Singer-songwriter Baek A-yeon swept domestic music charts Tuesday with her new single “So-so.”　“So-so,” which was released at midnight on Monday, has emerged top on eight music charts -- MelOn, Genie, Mnet, Naver Music, Olleh Music, Bugs, Soribada and Monkey3.　The new song, written and composed by Baek, is a neo-urban tune speaking for singles who don’t expect dramatic romance, but hope to fall in love with somebody. The music video for Baek A-yeon’s digital single “So-So” (JYP Entertainment)　Th

May 24, 2016

Madonna is dismissing critics of her tribute to Prince at the Billboard Music Awards with style.　A day after her performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U” and duet with Stevie Wonder on “Purple Rain,” the pop singer took to social media Monday and posted a picture of herself in a purple boa with a flower in her teeth.　She wrote that anyone who wants to do a tribute to Prince is welcome to, “whatever your age gender or skin color. If you loved him and he inspired you then show it!!! I love Prince 4 e

May 24, 2016

Madonna closed Sunday's Billboard Music Awards paying tribute to Prince with the help of Stevie Wonder, ending the night with “Purple Rain.”　Wearing a shiny purple suit, Madonna kicked off the tribute with a version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which Prince wrote and Sinead O’Connor recorded. She sat in a large purple chair and was teary-eyed as she sang the song, as videos and photos of Prince were projected behind her.　Wonder, who wore a purple scarf, later joined her for “Purple Rain” as the au

May 23, 2016

If a painting displayed in a gallery was not painted by the artist who signed it, what are viewers to make of it? 　Such is the controversy that currently surrounds celebrity singer and painter Cho Young-nam, who is in hot water over allegations he hired a ghost painter to create his works for about seven years. 　In face of mounting criticism, Cho canceled his concerts and a solo gallery exhibition scheduled to open last week. 　Last Monday, a 61-year-old painter surnamed Song claimed he had paint

May 23, 2016

Seolhyun’s image promoting 2016-2018 Visit Korea Year was taken down from Visit Korea Committee’s website and Facebook account.　Seolhyun, a member of K-pop girl group AOA, has promoted the Visit Korea Year along with actor Lee Min-ho as honorary ambassadors since last November.　The committee’s website and Facebook account previously displayed both Lee and Seolhyun’s images, but only Lee’s image is now shown. Seolhyun of K-pop girl group AOA (Visit Korea Committee)　Seolhyun and fellow bandmate Ji

May 23, 2016

ATHENS (AFP) - Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has opened a new show in one of Athens’ top archaeological museums, with Macedonian police tear gas canisters as one of the main exhibits.　The “Ai Weiwei at Cycladic” exhibition, which opened at the Museum of Cycladic Art on Friday, features a number of works inspired by Europe’s migrant crisis.　One of them, “Tear bottle/tear gas canister” -- a display of canisters alongside antique bottles used to collect the tears of mourners -- refers to an in

May 23, 2016

Jessica　“With Love, J”　(Coridel Entertainment)　Jessica’s album is warm and upbeat, singing of love and hope. It also takes less risks and plays it safe with familiar melodies and generic lyrics.　The former Girls’ Generation member, who left the group in 2014 to pursue her fashion business Blanc & Eclare, has returned to the K-pop scene with her first album, “With Love, J.” 　Title track “Fly” is a bright, moderately catchy pop track about aiming high and achieving your dreams. It adds a global vo

May 20, 2016

Tiffany　“I Just Wanna Dance”　(S.M. Entertainment)　In her first solo EP “I Just Wanna Dance,” Tiffany of famed girl group Girls’ Generation is stripped of her usual glitziness. The cover features her in a loose-fitting slip, while the album’s title is sprawled in minimal font against a pink background -- perhaps in a nod to the singer‘s famous fondness for the color. 　The sounds match the visuals, conveying that hazy old-school feeling trending these days.　The album comprises six soft, retro-pop

May 20, 2016

Darrell Scott　“Couchville Sessions” 　(Full Light Records)　Darrell Scott is one of those Nashville-based singer-songwriters who out-of-towners hear in some of the city’s smaller venues and wonder: “Why isn’t he more famous?”　He answers emphatically on the stellar “Couchville Sessions,” a new release of material recorded 15 years ago in his living room in rural Tennessee. In a spirited indictment of the music industry’s over-reliance on labels called “Down to the River,” Scott spells it out in the

May 20, 2016

MILAN (AP) -- La Scala’s 2016-17 season is a lot about healing old wounds.　It opens with a once-contested version of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” and continues with the long-awaited return of its former musical director who left abruptly in 2005 amid open hostility from opera house employees.　The program for the storied opera house announced Wednesday emphasizes the Italian repertoire to match the vision of principal conductor Riccardo Chailly, who will become musical director in January.　Nine o

May 19, 2016

Pil-dong, a small district filled with apartments and printing shops on the northwestern edge of Mount Namsan, is offering a variety of arts and cultural events from Thursday to Saturday. 　The advertisement agency Hands BTL which is headquartered in Pil-dong, and residents of the historic neighborhood are holding a street arts festival for the first time in the backstreets of Pil-dong, behind the bustling Chungmuro Station in Jung-gu, Seoul.  A street museum at a corner in an alley of Pil-dong (

May 18, 2016

Kim Ki-min has become the first Korean ballerino to win the world’s most prestigious ballet award, organizers said Wednesday.　The organizing committee of Benois de la Danse 2016 declared him the best dancer on Tuesday, local time, for his role as Solor in the Paris Opera Ballet’s “La Bayadere de Rudolf Noureev” staged in late 2015. Ballerino Kim Ki-min (Mariinsky Theater)　The 24-year-old is currently the principal dancer with Russia’s Mariinsky Ballet.　Previously, two other Korean ballerinos --

May 18, 2016

Korean boy band Big Bang will restart its tour of China next month followings its concerts there that drew tens of thousands of people earlier this year, the group’s agency said Wednesday.　In March, Big Bang met about 182,000 fans in “The 2016 BigBang MADE [V.I.P.] Tour” of eight Chinese cities. After China, the band started on a tour of four Japanese cities, which runs from April 22 to May 29.　The boys will resume the China tour in June in view of the enthusiastic support of their Chinese fans,

May 18, 2016