Pierre Rigal, a French choreographer supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation since 2008, hosted a dancing lesson with 10 orphans from Dong-myung Child Welfare Center and Hae Myeong Boyookwon at LG Art Center in Seoul on 29 August 2012.

Pierre is now in Korea rehearsing for his new production, “Theatre of Operations“, in September. Taking time off from their hectic schedules, he and his Korean dancers organised this training class which aims to inspire the children to discover their talents and to enhance their social integration skills.

Originally trained as a 400-meter hurdler, Pierre shared with the children, aged between 12 and 16, how he has made a turn in his career and became a dancer. “Finding what you really like is the most important thing. It can be a driving force to keep you stay focused and make your dreams come true. Just try everything once till you find where your real talent lies.”

All children were very excited about this brand new experience, and showed a strong desire to watch Pierre’s performance in September. One girl said, “I learned how to express my feelings through this unique training class!” Another boy said, “I felt like a free spirit during the class though some movements were physically hard to perform.  I cannot wait to see Pierre’s performance on stage!”

BNP Paribas Korea has long been supporting Dong-myung Child Welfare Center and Hae Myeong Boyookwon in a range of diverse programmes, such as vegetable garden building, friendship-building activities, and library renovation.

BNP Paribas Foundation and BNP Paribas Korea are also sponsors of Pierre Rigal’s “Theatre of Operations” which will be premiered on 14 September at the LG Arts Center in Seoul.  A four-month tour will be followed around Europe starting November 2012.