Tokyo Ballet

The Tokyo Ballet
The Tokyo Ballet
General information
Name	The Tokyo Ballet
Local name	東京バレエ団
Year founded	1964
Founder	Tadatsugu Sasaki
Principal venue	Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
Website	The Tokyo Ballet Official Website
Senior staff
Executive Director	Norio Takahashi
Director	Munetaka Iida
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	Yukari Saito
Ballet Mistress	Shiori Sano
Other
Associated schools	The Tokyo Ballet School
Formation	Principals; Soloists; Artists (Corps de Ballet)

The Tokyo Ballet is a classical ballet company, based in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1964.

It is one of the leading performing arts companies in Japan.^[1]

History

European classical ballet, heavily influenced by Russian methods, was introduced to Japan following the end of World War II. By 1959, there were at least 18 classical ballet schools found in Tokyo run by ballet companies, with perhaps 100 throughout Japan.^[2]

Tokyo Ballet was founded in 1964. It began as a performance company for graduates of one of Tokyo's first classical ballet schools, Tokyo Ballet Gakko. It was soon directed by Tadatsugu Sasaki. Sasaki envisioned a large company with well-trained ensemble dancers, and developed ties to the international ballet community. In 1966, the Company embarked on its first overseas tour to Moscow, Leningrad and Kazan, which led it to being awarded the title of “Tchaikovsky Memorial” from the Soviet Ministry of Culture.

The company's first European tour took place in 1970. International ballet companies were soon brought to perform in Tokyo, and Tokyo Ballet expanded its international touring. The cultural exchange included works by the international choreographers. The Tokyo Ballet currently has 21 works by Maurice Béjart in its repertory;^[3] Béjart bequeathed much of the performing rights of his works to Tokyo Ballet.

Repertoire

The Tokyo Ballet has a wide range of repertoire from classical full-length ballets to works of contemporary choreographers. In particular, the company has original works created by three choreographers representing the contemporary ballet scene: Maurice Béjart's The Kabuki (1986), Bugaku (1989) and M (1993), Jiří Kylián’s Perfect Conception (1994) and John Neumeier's Seven Haiku of the Moon (1989) and Seasons – The Colors of Time (2000).

The Company has also staged contemporary choreographers’ works, such as Vladimir Vasiliev’s Don Quixote (2001), Natalia Makarova’s La Bayadère (2009), Mats Ek’s Carmen (2013), John Neumeier’s Romeo and Juliet (2014), William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (2015), Anna-Marie Holmes' Le Corsaire (2019).

Tokyo Ballet's repertory of classics includes The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Swan Lake (Gorsky, V. Burmeister), La Sylphide (P. Lacotte), La Fille du Danube and Les Sylphides, Le Spectre de la Rose, Petrushka (Fokine), Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinsky). The company has also performed modern works, including Le Palais de Cristal, Theme and Variations, and Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 by George Balanchine. In 2010 the company premiered John Cranko’s Onegin and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia.^[4]

International Tours

In 2019, The Tokyo Ballet completed 775 performances on 34 overseas tours to mark a record in the history of Japanese performing arts. The company has been invited to theaters such as the Opéra national de Paris, the Teatro alla Scala di Milano, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, The Bolshoi Theatre and the Mariinsky Theatre, performing in over 155 cities across 32 countries. The Company performed for the first time in South America in 1998, playing to capacity crowds at the Teatro Colón, as well as at other opera houses in Argentina and Brazil.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ "沿革". 東京バレエ団. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
^ "Newman Wolsey Ltd., 1959". Ballet Today (Digitized). 12. Indiana University: Newman Wolsey Ltd.: 25 1959.
^ "東京バレエ団".
^ Linda (June 15, 2010). "The Tokyo Ballet in Rehearsal". The Ballet Bag. Retrieved March 10, 2012.

External links

Official website (in English and Japanese)

[1] "沿革". 東京バレエ団. Retrieved 2022-01-26.

[2] "Newman Wolsey Ltd., 1959". Ballet Today (Digitized). 12. Indiana University: Newman Wolsey Ltd.: 25 1959.

[3] "東京バレエ団".

[4] Linda (June 15, 2010). "The Tokyo Ballet in Rehearsal". The Ballet Bag. Retrieved March 10, 2012.

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v t e Ballet companies
Africa	Cairo Opera Ballet Company Cape Town City Ballet
Asia	Ballet Manila Ballet Philippines Guangzhou Ballet Gwangju City Ballet Hong Kong Ballet Iranian National Ballet Company Israel Ballet K-ballet Korea National Ballet National Ballet of China New National Theatre Tokyo Philippine Ballet Theatre Seoul Ballet Theatre Shanghai Ballet Company Singapore Dance Theatre State Ballet of Georgia Tokyo Ballet Universal Ballet
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North America	Alabama Ballet Alberta Ballet Company Alexandra Ballet Alonzo King LINES Ballet American Ballet Theatre American Midwest Ballet American Repertory Ballet Anaheim Ballet Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Festival Ballet Ballet Arizona Ballet Austin Ballet BC Ballet Des Moines Ballet Fantastique Ballet Hispanico Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Memphis BalletMet Ballet Minnesota Ballet Quad Cities Ballet San Jose Ballet Theatre of Maryland Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Ballet West Ballez Bay Pointe Ballet Boston Ballet Les Grands Ballets Canadiens California Riverside Ballet Carolina Ballet Charlotte Ballet Chicago Ballet Chicago Festival Ballet Cincinnati Ballet Cleveland Ballet (1935 · 1972 · 2014) Colorado Ballet Complexions Contemporary Ballet Cuban National Ballet Dance Theatre of Harlem Dayton Ballet Greensboro Ballet Houston Ballet Joffrey Ballet Kansas City Ballet Los Angeles Ballet Louisville Ballet Moscow Ballet (United States) National Ballet of Canada National Ballet Theater of Puerto Rico New Jersey Ballet New York City Ballet Oklahoma City Ballet Oregon Ballet Theatre Pacific Northwest Ballet Pennsylvania Ballet Pittsburgh Ballet Royal Winnipeg Ballet San Francisco Ballet The Washington Ballet Tulsa Ballet Wonderbound
Oceania	The Australian Ballet Ballet Theatre of Queensland Queensland Ballet Melbourne City Ballet Royal New Zealand Ballet West Australian Ballet
South America	Ballet Municipal de Lima Chilean National Ballet Colon Theater Ballet National Ballet of Uruguay

History

Repertoire

International Tours

See also

References

External links