Kim Bo-kyung, better known as idol star Chunmoo Stephanie, will return to her ballerina roots.
She spent 10 years practising her passion before joining Cheon Sang Ji Hee The Grace. She spent two years in rehab after a critical injury before a performance in Japan. She will now return to the stage as part of the LA Ballet Team.
The accident.
The nightmare began in winter 2008 at a studio near Tokyo. After a debut in Japan, four girls practice for the big concert ahead when suddenly one of them has a back injury bringing everything to a halt. In the blink of an eye, the dream towards the Asian market vanished. The pressure of the first failure was more painful than the physical pain. Dance was her world and being unable to do that, she spent everyday in tears. After a long discussion, she chose to fly back to her family in America.
Girl who loved ballet.
Kim (Stephanie) wore her first ballet shoes when she was only 5 years old and pursued her passion until she reached 16 years of age and joined SM Entertainment. As a young girl, she just loved dancing and often danced along with celebrities on television or practised on her own, finding out about ballet, her destiny. In 1999, she followed her family to San Diego where she had structured ballet lessons. It was at San Diego's Black Mountain Dance Center, where she built her skills. Just 12 years old, she won the major trophy in Ballet Concours held by the World Association for Art and Exchange and even performed as a soloist. Her talent attracted media and greater fame. During the early summer of 2000, having performed in One Midnight Summer, Coppelia and more, she was complimented by the San Diego Union Tribune. She was even scouted by the Boston Ballet School in 2003. "It is because I inherited my mom's talent in opera," says Kim and adds, "Because my mom was interested in singing and dancing, naturally I had a great opportunity. Being thankful to my parents and purely enjoying stage performances brought about great opportunities."
From Ballerina to idol star.
Her destiny changed completely when in 2004 she received a major trophy at SM Entertainment's Orange County youth singing competition. As a student of San Diego Bernardo High School, she coincidentally entered the competition and had suddenly won an award, followed by an invitation to a singing career. After considering which path to take, in order to achieve an even bigger dream back at home, she put the ballerina dream on hold. She tells us today that if she was given the same question now, her answer would remain the same.
With her talent in singing and dancing, she made her debut stage after only a year of preparation. She had been chosen as a member of CSJH, girl group to enter the Asian market. The stage name, "Chunmoo Stephanie", was given to her because she was in charge of choreography. This name is a combination of her English name, Stephanie, and Chummoo, meaning sky's dance. Despite being the only member with no experience in media, she says, "Everything in Korea was a new experience but thanks to my knowledge in ballet, I was not nervous. I was good on stage. The memories back in Korea are still unforgettable." Especially through her performances on entertainment programs where she choreographed her own dance, it was only a matter of time before she became a hot commodity in the media. Soon her fan base grew and a successful debut in the Asian market followed.
Injury, rehab and ballet.
After the debut in Japan, Cheon Sang Ji Hee The Grace threw several concerts and gained fame which led to their first solo concert. Kim tells us that "after spending 3 years in Japan, scrubbing from the very bottom, we built our way towards the concert." She adds, "We were full of passion and knew that after all that effort, our dream was coming true, so we even cut down on sleep to practice more." Unfortunately whether it was overloaded passion or she was overworked, her back could not take it any longer. "Since I have been involved in physical training from an early age, my back was in bad condition which led to injury by overwork. Despite resting, things did not improve so I had to return to my family in America." However, her life in America has been anything but smooth. She could not step out from the house with her snapping back pain. She could not dance nor even move. Unstoppable tears led to depression until her hope, ballet, came along.
"In order to be able to move again, I entered rehab, then revisited the old ballet school. It had been years since my last visit but everything was the same," says Kim. Thanks to her trainer's recommendation, she wore ballet shoes once again. She also followed the advice to achieve a teaching license in case her pain was too unbearable to dance herself. "When I returned to ballet, it was like coming back home. I worked my way though rehab and ballet. After 2 years, rehab was successful and now I can dance again." With her improved condition came confidence. In order to gain more knowledge on dancing, she joined Korea's mixed art university to take dance courses last year. Then taking a gap year, she returned to America and has been accepted into the LA Ballet Team as the only Korean member. "I aim to become a ballerina who tries her best whatever her role might be. I will return all the support I had while I was on stage. After finishing off performances around the end of this year, I will return as a singer next year for new challenges."
Kim, whose dream is to be a ballet teacher, says, "I hope to be an inspiration to Koreans who try hard to achieve their dreams even in difficult conditions. Please become a witness as I stand on my feet again."
