A last-minute understudy finds her moment in 'Lady of the Camellias'

Love sometimes comes tumbling toward us, like Armand speeding to Marguerite's side. At other times, it arrives so tenderly that we barely notice, like Marguerite’s delicate gesture, fluttering in the air.

It is a moment in which two lovers hold nothing back, surrendering themselves completely to each other. No words are needed; their love speaks through every movement.

On Wednesday night, Korean National Ballet dancers Jung Eun-ji and Byun Seong-wan brought Marguerite and Armand's tender love to life onstage in the intimate white pas de deux from John Neumeier's "Lady of the Camellias."

To the lyrical strains of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, they moved through sweeping turns, passionate embraces and delicate extensions.

One of Neumeier's signature works, "Lady of the Camellias" tells the tragic love story of Marguerite, a courtesan in Parisian high society, and Armand, a young man who falls deeply in love with her.

"Marguerite has two sides to her. She leads a very glamorous life, but she is in tremendous pain. She is so ill and vulnerable that she could die at any moment without someone there to support her. My first thought was how to portray both sides of her convincingly," Jung said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.

At 173 centimeters, Jung has the long, elegant lines and commanding stage presence of a ballerina. From her first entrance, she captured Marguerite's allure with ease.

"From the moment Marguerite appears, she has to look stunning and captivate everyone in the room. I gave a lot of thought to how to make that first impression — how to use my eyes, what expressions to wear and how to carry myself to bring out her beauty and charm," she said.

But in a dramatic ballet like this, physical allure is only part of the challenge. Jung, who joined the company in 2021, is taking on an emotional depth she has not had to explore on this scale before. Unlike her previous roles, including one in "The Nutcracker," Marguerite is her first title role in a full-length ballet.

"These days, I find myself thinking about Marguerite all the time," Jung said. "Sometimes I even start to feel a little sick myself. It's almost as if, when you think you're coming down with something, you start to feel sick for real."

She also imagines how she would react if she were in Marguerite's position.

"If someone opposed my relationship or told me I couldn't marry the person I loved, what would I feel? Those scenes are easier to imagine because they're situations that could actually happen to me," she said. "I also let my thoughts wander to what I would say if I were close to death and went to see Armand. How would I begin that conversation?"

Jung's casting came unexpectedly. She was not among the three dancers originally cast as Marguerite. But when one of them was injured, Janusz Mazon, a rehearsal director from Hamburg Ballet, saw potential in Jung and filmed her rehearsals to send to Neumeier in Germany. Jung had joined rehearsals just two days after finishing the company's run of "Giselle," while the original cast had been preparing since September. Neumeier approved her for the role, and the official announcement came in late October, just 10 days after she joined rehearsals.

Jung noted that Neumeier's choreography emphasizes natural gestures over carefully shaped positions.

"The choreography places a lot of emphasis on raw, natural expression. The gestures should come naturally from the situation, rather than being arranged to look polished. I think the key is to make the movements feel natural."

"When they filmed me, I had a really bad cold. I was so unwell that I was even having trouble breathing," Jung recalled. "I looked pale, and when I reached the scene where Marguerite coughs, I actually started coughing. The way I was gasping for breath was real. I think it happened to fit perfectly with the character."

Jung said she had studied recordings of previous performances of different dancers, analyzing the choreography, adapting and refining it to suit her body and interpretation.

"Honestly, I find so much joy in dancing onstage," she said. "This is the first time I've had the chance to take on such a major role on such a big stage, so I've been preparing especially hard. I hope audiences will find something special in the performance and discover the magic of ballet."

"Lady of the Camellias" runs through Sunday, with Jung scheduled to perform again on Saturday afternoon.