Twenty-five dancers, 70 minutes, 11 frantically energetic scenes and no intermission: “Rage” truly turns classic ballet on its head and gives the poetic dance form a modern, fury-provoking twist.

Seoul Ballet Theater’s latest production is not what the general public might expect from a night at the ballet. Unlike a traditional performance, “Rage” is action-packed, nonstop adrenaline with dancers running across and around the stage in a constant state of unrest.

The choreography was the brainchild of famed ballerino and SBT founder and artistic director James Jeon, who said the dance’s heated nature stemmed from his own personal anger toward the political state of the country. 

“I became so angry. I was angry about the system here in Korea, I was angry about the government and how they use their funding,” Jeon said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

Three years in the making, “Rage” was the director’s expressive outlet to vent the frustrations that had been piling up for more than a decade as he was trying to keep SBT from going under.

“I have been running a nonprofit company for 15 years, and I just got tired,” he explained. “I try so hard (to keep his company afloat).”

In the course of the show, Jeon’s past feelings of upheaval become undeniably present as the audience gets a firsthand look at what an organized and emotionally choreographed ballet boot camp might look like. Sweat pours down the dancers’ bodies as they pant heavily and at times desperately gasp for air.

As part of Jeon’s creative mission, he has vowed to offer viewers a more creative theater-going experience than those of other ballet companies, which tend to solely stage productions of ballet classics.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love classical ballet, it is important to know classical ballet. … But I just want to do something different,” he said. “With classical ballet, there’s nothing new. I believe if (French ballet master) Marius Petipa was alive today, he would also strive to do something new.”

With the curtains rising for its premiere Thursday, “Rage” kicks off the company’s 2015 program, which marks SBT’s 20th anniversary.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)