Ballerino Kim Ki-min will not perform at the staging of “La Bayadere” in Seoul in April, as the organizer said on Wednesday he was not granted an exemption from a mandatory two-week, self-quarantine in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kim, the principal dancer of the prestigious Mariinsky Ballet in Russia, was to perform in the Korea National Ballet’s “La Bayadere“ scheduled for next month, along with Olga Smirnova, a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Ballet.

The KNB on Wednesday announced a cancellation of the castings after the pair failed to get exemptions from the two-week quarantine.

”The COVID-19 situation has been prolonged across the world and the two dancers’ self-quarantine was unavoidable, causing setback to the practice schedule and the show. The invitation had to be canceled,” the announcement read.

KNB principal dancers Shin Seung-won and Huh Seo-myeong will replace Kim and Smirnova on April 29 for the lead roles of Solor and Nikiya, respectively. Kim Li-hoe and Park Jong-seok will perform on May 1. The four will be performing an extra show each than initially scheduled.

The upcoming performance would have marked Kim’s return to the Korean stage in two years. His most recent performance in Korea wasthe “Don Quixote” in November 2018.

Kim was the first Asian ballerino to join Mariinsky, one of the world’s top ballet companies, in 2011. Two months after joining the company, he danced for a lead role and was named the company’s principal dancer in 2015.

Kim was also the first Korean ballerino to win the prestigious ballet award Benois de la Danse in 2016 for his role as Solor in the Paris Opera Ballet’s “La Bayadere de Rudolf Noureev.”

The Korea National Ballet will perform ”La Bayadere” at the Seoul Arts Center from April 27 to May 2. Tickets are priced from 5,000 won to 80,000 won.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)