Leverence: Revised Edition

"Oh Su-hyeon, before you show us your dance, could you explain the piece first?"

"Yes. The music is Saint-Saëns’s ‘The Swan,’ and I reinterpreted ‘The Dying Swan.’"

"It’s ‘The Dying Swan,’ but you’re not wearing pointe shoes... And your costume isn’t a tutu either?"

Dong-ha has seen many dancers audition for the ballet company, but this is the first time he has seen a contestant choose this piece for a survival show. And the first time he has seen someone take on the piece barefoot, too. Whether it’s on broadcast or in a ballet company audition, the common sense is to choose the piece you do best and are most confident in, so he becomes curious what Oh Su-hyeon is thinking by choosing this one.

"Oh Su-hyeon, I saw it well. Your port de bras was beautiful, and overall your upper-body movement was excellent. You were a beautiful swan. But I still don’t understand why you didn’t wear pointe shoes. Could you explain whether that was a strategy for the audition?"

"Um, I thought an audition is still meant to be a challenge, so it’s a place where you can do what you can’t do in an actual performance."

It was an odd feeling. The more calmly Su-hyeon answered, the more on edge he became. He had been cornering the woman with questions, telling her to answer him, but the more he asked, the more it felt like he was the one being cornered, not her.

"Please choose Oh Su-hyeon. She’s a participant our program absolutely needs. Oh Su-hyeon."

"For someone who’s a prizewinner at the Rosanne Competition and a Vaganova alumna, she isn’t in a ballet company, nor did she go to university... If Oh Su-hyeon is at the amusement park, that means she’s talented enough to be there."

"So what if she dances well? Do the reporters know that? Do the viewers know that? A girl from a prestigious ballet school dancing at an amusement park — that’s storytelling already. There’s no hotter topic than that early on. Why would we be crazy enough to cut someone who’s good material as a maker of buzz?"

Su-hyeon studied ballet but, due to difficult circumstances, works as a parade dancer at an amusement park.

Dong-ha also studied ballet, but turned to contemporary dance while dreaming of freer movement.

The two meet as a contestant and a master on the dancer survival audition program All That Dance. The winner of the audition receives the privilege of joining the dance company they want.

"Master, I heard you dislike ballet."

"I hate the fact that ballet is beautiful."

Su-hyeon widened her eyes and looked up at Dong-ha. She couldn’t understand what he had just said. He had clearly said he hated the fact that ballet is beautiful. Why? How?

A woman who loved ballet, a man who loved that woman.

The story of two people’s love, dance, and stage begins now.

‘Reverence’ means respect or worship, and refers to the bow made at curtain call after a ballet performance.