In only 20 years, Seoul’s Universal Ballet has become a company with which to reckon. “Many people still associate the company with its founder, Rev. Moon Sun Myung of Unification Church. But over the years, UBC has substantially shed the image of its ties to the religious group through its quality performances and contribution to Korea’s ballet development. ‘Year after year, we put on repertoires that were deemed above our capacity, which speeded up our growth. We also had a lot of influence from our series of foreign teachers, not only with dance but the whole production, including stage arts, lighting and costume design, because ballet is a composite art’.”