Ballet

Living with COVID-19 and Supporting Ukraine
Urawa Makoto

Pandemic Hits Small- and Medium-Sized Companies Hard
In 2022 we entered the third year of the pandemic, and we now understand more
about the virus. As the vaccine take-up improved and people became moreresistant to the virus, fewer and fewer people became gravely ill. Some of thestrict COVID-19 restrictions were lifted during the second half of the year.
Although COVID-19 cases hit a record high in the summer, people were beginning to embrace life with COVID-19.
The shortening of the quarantine period and the easing of close contacts093

rules had a huge positive impact on the ballet world and on society as a whole.
On the other hand, the number of COVID-19 cases reached a total of twenty-nine million nationwide by the end of the year. It was common for balletdancers to get COVID-19, but most performances were not cancelled.
The overall number of productions is now getting close to pre-COVID-19
times, especially in metropolitan areas. Producers revised their COVID-19
measures for the second half of the year. More and more companies stopped
asking audience members for their names and addresses. But almost all of themcontinued to ask people to take their temperatures, sanitize their hands andwear masks. Audiences were also requested to leave venues in orderly groups
after shows.
Despite the easing of restrictions, organizers still had to pay for the extra
staff members and materials necessary for COVID-19 measures. This hit smalland medium-sized companies hard, financially. They had to put up with strict
regulations for over two years, and some lost students along the way. They have
not yet recovered from this huge blow. Established companies are more likely to
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Theatre Yearbook 2023

BALLETget public support from government bodies, such as the Agency for Cultural
Affairs and the new COVID-19 scheme AFF (Arts for the future!) 2. However,small- and medium-sized companies are less likely to get this kind of support,
and many of them are having problems organizing showcases for their students.

Japanese Ballet World Shows Support for Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February was one of the most shocking
events of last year. For most of the 20th century, Ukraine was part of the Soviet
Union, and Kyiv Ballet was very popular in Japan. Moreover, many Russian andUkrainian ballet dancers visited Japan to perform as guest dancers, and someeven stayed to make Japan their home. Also, many Japanese dancers trained inballet schools in Russia. Japan has always had a strong connection with balletdancers in Donetsk as well as Kyiv. The Russian and Ukrainian dancers whoare currently in Japan must be feeling uneasy, but they are continuing toperform as usual.
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I wonder how Japanese ballet companies have reacted to this war.
Japanese ballet dancers made no distinction between Ukrainian and Russian
dancers before the war broke out. But the mayhem caused by the invasion ofUkraine by Russia has had a huge impact and created confusion in the Japaneseballet world. Male Ukrainian ballet dancers are fighting in the war (and I haveheard that some have died), and female dancers have been forced to flee the war
zones. Many Japanese dancers showed their support for these Ukrainian dancers
in various ways.
For example, Kusakari Tamiyo, the former principal dancer at Asami Maki
Ballet Tokyo and who is now more active in theatre, hosted a charity concert. Shehad been a frequent guest performer for Ukrainian ballet companies in the past.
As the artistic director, she gathered top-class Japanese ballet dancers frominside and outside Japan for her charity concert entitled “BALLET GALA inTOKYO.” Some companies have supported and collaborated with Ukrainian
dancers who have fled to Japan. Okamoto Rumiko asked a Ukrainian dancer andrefugee to perform in her charity concert for Ukraine and invited her to talkabout her still raw experiences of events in her country. In Osaka, ballet dancer

Hariyama Emi produced a charity concert entitled “One Heart 2022.” Thesecharity concerts were held all over the country.
The Kyiv Ballet (National Opera of Ukraine) which was in limbo due to thewar was able to perform in Japan thanks to Terada Nobuhiro’s great efforts.
Terada is originally from Kyoto and danced with the company over many years.
Dancers who managed to get out of Ukraine toured Japan from July to Augustwith “Kyiv Ballet Gala 2022.” Terada, who was assistant artistic director of thecompany at that time, became artistic director in December, succeeding Elena
Filipieva, who is well known in Japan. The company changed its name to The
Ukrainian National Ballet and came back to Japan to do a full production of Don
Quixote in December.

Stand-Out Trends of 2022
I would like to look at the Japanese ballet scene as a whole. As I mentioned previously, the ballet industry is slowly getting back on its feet, thanks to the great
efforts of all the ballet companies and dancers. I have already pointed out a095

number of times in this column that Japanese ballet companies are based in andmainly perform in densely populated areas, such as Kansai, Chubu and especially Tokyo. This tendency has become even stronger since the pandemic. We
can now see a widening resource gap between large and small companies, both
inside and outside these regions.
Particular trends became apparent in 2022.
First, there were more performances in concert or gala form with fewer
dancers that contained short pieces, such as solos and pas de deux. We used tohave festivals featuring top dancers in the past, but now we have more variety.
This is because it has become difficult for a foreign company to put on a full production due to the pandemic. That is why a few main dancers were chosen tocome to Japan and dance short pieces. Second, more and more Japanese dancers
have become prominent overseas, and they would gather during the off season
and give performances in Japan in not only Tokyo but throughout the country.
This type of production must have a strong theme or a clear objective. Thecharity concert for Ukraine was one good example. “Special Gala; Scenes duTheatre in Japan

Theatre Yearbook 2023

BALLET

Ballet (Ballet no jokei)” attracted a lot of attention. This was a tribute to maestro
Fukuda Kazuo, who turned 90 this year and has established his status as a ballet
conductor in Japan. Various ballet companies that have worked with him contributed to the production. And “Ballet Espoir,” produced by the ballet dancer
Kyoto Yuichiro, focused on a new generation of dancers living in Japan. The
visual imagery accompanying the dance performance left a strong impression.
Some companies presented ballet pieces by deceased choreographers. This isvery rare in Japan. This year we had Theatre de Ballet Company, based in Nagoya
and led by Tsukamoto Yoko, present the Fukagawa Hideo version of Don
Quixote, which had a distinct atmosphere of its own. Tani Momoko Ballet presented Les Misérables. It was choreographed and directed by Mochizuki
Norihiko, the former artistic director of the company. Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo
revived ASUKA, the last piece conceived by the late Maki Asami. K Ballet Studio,
based in Osaka, presented Yagami Keiko’s renowned contemporary ballet piecetwo years in a row. But these companies were simply repeating repertoire that096

they had already been done in the past. It would be ideal to have a system thatenables other companies to present classic pieces simply by following some necessary procedures.
More and more theatres around the nation are being rebuilt or refurbished
due to aging or to make them earthquake resistant. This year, Mielparque Hall
(formerly Tokyo Yubin Chokin Kaikan), the much-loved concert hall where
many ballet productions and competitions were held, closed its doors. Most
ballet companies do not have their own venues, and it has now become more difficult to find a space to perform.
Since the pandemic, ballet companies have been streaming their performances in various ways. We will have to wait a bit longer to see whether thistrend continues.

A Busy Year for The Tokyo Ballet anda Fresh Start for Asami Maki Ballet TokyoNow I would like to mention some ballet companies that stood out this year.
It was Yoshida Miyako’s third year as artistic director of New National

Theatre, Tokyo. The theatre marked its 25th anniversary this year and premiereda new version of Giselle directed by Yoshida Miyako to kick off the 2022/2023
season. This piece was meticulously structured as well as being orthodox. The
gorgeous set design suited the National Theatre well. The theatre is attracting good audiences and is trying to increase the number of performances
for both classic and contemporary pieces. However, this might require somereorganization.
The Tokyo Ballet was one of the most active companies during COVID-19.
Its principal dancer, Ueno Mizuka, has transformed the concept of a ballerina inJapan with her dynamic style. In 2022, she played the lead roles in the classics
Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and La Bayadère and showed off her everlasting talent.
This was her last performance in classical repertoire. The company premiered
Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by John Cranko, and also presented Béjart
Gala, marking forty years since the company first performed his piece Bolero.
K-Ballet Company led by Kumakawa Tetsuya revived Carmen and Cleopatrawith a fresh cast, both pieces choreographed by Kumakawa. It also kicked off a097

new project K-BALLET Opto with a show “Petit Petit Petit” featuring three shortcontemporary pieces, including one choreographed by Mori Yuki.
As mentioned, Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo, which lost its founder last year,
presented ASUKA as well as Notre Dame de Paris choreographed by Roland
Petit, a new beginning for the company. Matsuyama Ballet Company featured
Morishita Yoko, who is in her mid-70s, as the lead dancer, as usual. Her extraordinary charisma shined through as she played the lead role in all of its fulllength productions.
Kawaguchi Yuriko, from Ballet Chambre Ouest, danced Tatyana for the lasttime; it was a very moving experience. Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre commemorated its 50th anniversary. Companies such as the already mentioned Tani
Momoko Ballet, The Inoue Ballet Foundation, Tokyo City Ballet, Star Dancers
Ballet, and NBA Ballet Company were all very active and presented new works
and new interpretations.
Yamato City Ballet led by Sasaki Mika is attracting a lot of attention thesedays. She produced an anthology series featuring various choreographers as well
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BALLETas The Glass Slipper, choreographed by Homan Naoya, which is a contemporaryinterpretation of Cinderella and set in the contemporary apparel industry. Itcreated a major buzz.
Japan Ballet Association, which serves the Japanese ballet scene, presented
the Japanese premiere of La Esmeralda in March. It was choreographed by YuriBurlaka, who mainly used Zoom to communicate with the dancers. The association uses Zoom for various purposes as a COVID-19 measure.

Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet Stands Out in Kansai and Chubu
Ballet companies based in the Kansai and the Chubu regions are gradually
getting back on their feet. The one that stood out the most this year was
Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet, based in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. It presented a fullversion of the classic, Copélia, Creative Dance Recital 33, The World of Ballets
Russes (Ballets Russes no sekai) as well as a contemporary version of their muchloved signature show The Nutcracker. The company, which is very progressive,098

commissioned a young outside choreographer to re-interpret the piece. Ballet
Company West Japan, which marked its fifth anniversary this year, is also
making itself known on the ballet scene.
In Osaka, Jinushi Kaoru Ballet Company presented a double bill featuring
two full-length classical productions with young as well as veteran dancers, justlike the previous year. This year, its Cinderella was full of fresh new ideas, and itsGiselle featured the ballet dancers Ono Ayako and Okumura Kosuke fromNational Ballet of Japan. It was a return for Okumura Kosuke who started hiscareer with Jinushi Kaoru Ballet Company. Homura Tomoi Ballet Company,
with its long history, is still progressing steadily, commissioning Shinohara
Seiichi to choreograph Cleopatra. Noma Ballet Company, Kitayama Onishi Ballet
Company, Company Deco Boco, and Michiko Sasaki Ballet Studio are all busy
while taking necessary COVID-19 measures.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is preparing to relocate to Kyoto (scheduled
to be finalized in March 2023), but most ballet companies in Kyoto have not fully
recovered from COVID-19. Ryuko Arima Ballet, which managed to stay afloat,presented Romeo and Juliet.

The two major companies in the Nagoya region, Ochi International Balletand Matsuoka Reiko Ballet, simply did their annual showcases and did not takeon any large-scale productions. However, Sumina Okada Ballet School andSetsuko Kawaguchi Ballet continued to present new works, as usual. Theatre deBallet Company, which marked its 40th anniversary this year, presented“Autumn Ballet Gala Concert 2022,” combining a contemporary piece with shortclassic pieces, as well as Don Quixote choreographed by the late Fukagawa Hideo.
Tokoiriya, based in Okinawa and led by Midorima Ryoki, presented a piece
inspired by old Okinawan traditions at Naha Cultural Arts Theater NAHArt inFebruary. It also performed in Tokyo in spring and autumn, as it did the previous year.
It was still difficult to invite foreign artists to do a full production in the firsthalf of the year. Nevertheless, dancers from The Stuttgart Ballet came to Japan inMarch and from The Royal Ballet in July. But these were both galas featuring afew top dancers. From autumn, things got slightly better; The Houston Balletpresented Swan Lake; Les Ballets du Monte Carlo presented The Taming of the099

Shrew; and as previously mentioned, The Ukrainian National Ballet presented afull ballet production.
While ballet competitions are coming back to life all over the country, somehave cancelled or simplified the award ceremonies in order to survive thepandemic.
Urawa, Makoto
His real name is Ichikawa Akira. He is a former professor of the faculty of Business
Administration and Corporate Culture at Shoin University and a former advisor for the dance
sector of The Association of Public Theaters and Halls in Japan. He has contributed to various
newspapers and magazines as a dance critic. He is a long-time committee member for theAgency for Cultural Affairs as well as other bodies. He has also been on the judging panelsof various dance competitions and awards.
(Translation: Ishikawa Mai and Donncha Crowley)

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