"Love that started with a kiss on the back of the hand" The daily life of a Ukrainian couple performing in theme park parades

For performers who captivate audiences under the brilliant parade lights of a theme park, there exists a fierce daily life that is entirely different from their appearance on stage. According to a video from KBS HUMAN, the daily lives of Kim Katrina, a dancer from Ukraine belonging to a theme park performance team, and her younger husband Kim Jae-hyeok, have been revealed.

The intense preparation process behind the stage splendor

The two are active together as members of a theme park performance team. Ms. Katrina is a senior who joined the company before her husband, and in the video, she can be seen instructing colleagues in choreography. Their workplace is not a typical office, but a 'waiting room' where they apply makeup and wait. To perform, they apply makeup themselves every day and put great effort into preparing makeup and costumes to show a perfect image to the audience on stage. The waiting room in the video is described as a space where they apply makeup and spend their break time, as well as a place where they wait for the performance.

Their daily life ahead of a performance is a continuous series of constant practice. Ms. Katrina has deep roots in dance, having learned rhythm since the age of 5, and is a veteran who has been active in earnest since the age of 15. In the video, she manages her body through yoga and stretching, striving to maintain the flexibility and muscle movement she will show on stage. In particular, she shared her concerns about her muscles loosening quickly as she ages, saying, "I can't do it like I used to." Her husband, Kim Jae-hyeok, also prepares for performances by managing his body together under his wife's guidance. Ms. Katrina showed her capability as a coach by instructing yoga movements and advising, "You must lower your waist."

The 'kiss on the back of the hand' that created the couple's connection

The two met at work. Ms. Katrina described her husband as the 'second case of falling in love,' citing the moment when she lightly kissed the back of his hand when he was wearing a bandage after seriously injuring his arm while practicing dance. The excitement of that moment led to their current married life. Currently, the couple is in their 4th year of marriage (in actual life, it is the 5th year), working together at the same workplace and supporting each other's careers.

Kim Jae-hyeok revealed that he did not start as a professional dancer from the beginning. Having majored in art, he initially started working as a part-time job, but gradually became interested in dance and began walking the path of a dancer in earnest after meeting his wife. In the video, he praised his wife's dancing skills as "the top one," and jokingly gave her a score of around 70 to 80 points.

Thorough self-management to maintain stage quality

For performers with high activity levels, physical strength management is directly linked to professional survival. Ms. Katrina sometimes feels stressed due to the responsibility of always having to show the best quality on stage, but to overcome this, she carries out thorough dietary management. In the video, she was shown making efforts to manage her health, such as eating black garlic, broccoli, cabbage, and apple mixes, and consuming collagen powder every day before going to sleep. She added that such a diet is not the original way from Ukraine, but a habit learned after coming to Korea.

In particular, Ms. Katrina emphasized that "a stage person must unconditionally have good quality," stating that physical management and nutritional intake are essential to dance for a long time. The charismatic gaze in the brilliant parades and the various dance lines, including flamenco, are the results of such invisible efforts and thorough self-management.