It is not easy to decide to go down the road less taken, putting all else aside.
In this ‘Finding a person’ feature, I met someone who passed all these steps and walked a different but similar way like Billy did in the movie Billy Elliott. Woo, Man-je who was a b-boy, is at Kookmin University majoring in performing arts in a class of twelve.

Q. B-boys and ballerinos have something in common: ‘dance’. You look like have a talent for dance. What caused you to start dancing?
A. There was no special reason. You might know , the comic book; it’s like a beginner’s book for dancers. I often read comics but Hip-hop was novel because it deals with ‘dance’ as a subject for the first time. It was like a new world, as they say and I was in 5th grade at that time. Some things came into my mind. “Can I do that?”, and “I want to dance.” Above all, the main character engaged the whole body and with only one hand captured my mind. Isn’t it cool? That was the moment I fell in love with dance. It was natural that I entered the world of dance. We made a crew who wanted to actualize in the real world and I started b-boying in that group.

Q. What was the best moment when you were a b-boy?
A. Not only winning a prize in a contest was a great moment, but also spending time with a crew who loved dance was precious in itself. However, I faced the reality that I have to stop b-boying if I want to continue the dancing I love. Starting ballet might be the start of my destiny. A challenging spirit made me start ballet. B-boying and ballet were at opposite extremes like the north and south poles. B-boying is rough and powerful, breaking the body with strength. The music is also very different with ballet. Ballet is mainly composed of delicate and elegant motion with the fingertips and tiptoes. It is not too much say that I started ballet because these two dances were totally different.

Q. Most people still think ballet is a woman’s field in this society. So, I assume there was a lot of opposition when you started ballet. How was it?
A. It was not easy to get my parent’s permission. I sincerely spoke my mind to my parents. The first time, my mother was opposed but my father was positive towards my desire. He told me that he would respect my idea because it was a decision that I would have to make in the end. He told me that all things would depend on my effort. So, my mother approved my opinion and gave me her support more after that. My friends and crew also supported me along the way.

Q. As I said before, ballet and b-boying is in the same category of ‘dance’, but the characteristics are totally different. You know the differences because you have experienced both. What do you think about the differences between the two?
A. B-boying has no form. You can make your own style through practice. It is, so to speak, autonomously filed. However, it is a dance of much risk because it’s hard to preserve your own body. On the other hand, a ballerino has to pay attention to ‘line’. You should show your body more than in b-boying. It relates to moderation but is elegant. You keeping turn with the toe, and jump with a straight posture. It is important to work on your techniques because you should give expression through straight lines and curves. For example, you can split your legs turning in the air and make 3 turns. In short, in b-boying you make your own style and in ballet you make your own technique.

Q. I heard athletes exercise several hours a day to maintain their posture. How long do you exercise a day?
A. It is important to maintain posture because ballet also uses the body. So I practice every day. A pas de deux is the dance for a man and woman together. It needs not only harmony but also strength, and slimness. I build muscles, too. I don’t have a fixed schedule, but I usually practice 6~7 hours a day. On the weekend, there is no practice but I focus on maintaining my posture.

Q. When is the moment you think it is well worth it?
A. Honestly, it is hard to use the whole body, but there are many people in the world who cannot do whatever they want. I know how happy I am in that I have found what I want to do, so I try to enjoy the difficulty. Actually, I love dance, so the struggle is also to me a sublimated pleasure. I get to forget about the difficulty. I find my life worth living every moment. The more I practice, the better my skill becomes. It becomes a joy even though it is only like a 1 cm improvement. Seeing the outcome is a stimulant, but I don’t practice for the feeling. I do practice for ballet itself.

Q. There are various works of art in ballet. Which are the ones you want to perform?
A. I want to perform Ali for and Don Quixote for . Both works require high-level techniques, but I am short on techniques. I will practice hard to make up for my deficiency so that I can be on stage as Ali or Don Quixote.

Q. What is your ultimate goal as a ballerino?
A. I never want to stop as a ballerino. If I am going to be the best, I must keep my word: “I still have a long way to go.” People commonly say that ballet is like a swan. Somebody who sees a swan on a lake says it’s beautiful, but we know the swan is swimming endlessly using her flippers below the water. Ballet is the same as that swan. People who do ballet sweat blood to present their best performance to the fans. But I will endure all the hardship for the best brilliant moment on the stage.
I want people to remember me as a swan or Don Quixote; whichever ballet works I take part in. I want to be stamped on people’s mind as a ballerino.

After this interview, I felt his passion and affection towards ballet and I drew a picture of his future. He wants to be an unsatisfied ballerino, always striving to improve. It is the foundation for his firm values and his attitude.

Billy just loved dance in . In the National Ballet School interview, the interviewer asked: “Billy, what does if feel like when you’re dancing?” “Don’t know. Sort of feels good. It’s sort of stiff and that, but once I get goin’, then I like, forget everything. And sort of…disappear. Sort of disappear. Like I feel a change in my whole body. Like there’s fire in my body. I’m just there flyin’, like a bird. Like electricity.” During the interview, Wu, Man-je seems to talk to himself like Billy.