K-Ballet Opto's A Dance Remembered in Tohno: thrilling mix of genres

K-Ballet Opto and Akaji Maro as The Dead Man in A Dance Remembered in Tohno

Kaiji Moriyama's A Dance Remembered in Tohno with Shoya Ishibashi as The Pilot

Kaiji Moriyama's A Dance Remembered in Tohno for K-Ballet Opto

Maholo Onoe as the Boy K in Kaiji Moriyama's A Dance Remembered in Tohno

Saya Okubo as The Fiancée and Shoya Ishibashi as The Pilot in A Dance Remembered in Tohno

Akaji Maro as The Dead Man in Kaiji Moriyama's A Dance Remembered in Tohno

By Naomi Mori, 09 January 2026

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“creating a mystical atmosphere of the district and the boundaries between life and death”

Reviewed at Tokyo Tatemono Brillia Hall, Tokyo on 26 December 2025

A Dance Remembered in Tohno (Kaiji Moriyama)

K-Ballet Opto

Takehiko Sanada, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Shoya Ishibashi, Dancer

Saya Okubo, Dancer

Ryuuguu: The Turtle Princess a showcase for Japanese culture

Naomi Mori, 24th July

The National Ballet of Japan's Ryuuguu: the Turtle Princess is a ballet aimed at family audiences but adults can also enjoy it as it is a great showcase for Japanese culture with Noh and Kabuki influences and philosophy.

*****

Japan's Architanz 2014

Naomi Mori, 11th February

Ballet studio Architanz held a gala with two world premieres and also a farewell performance to the beloved star Robert Tewsley.

***11

A Streetcar Named Desire: a gripping retelling at Ballett am Rhein

Vikki Jane Vile, 8th May

Ballet isn’t always pretty, there are plenty of examples in repertoires across the world. John Neumeier’s Streetcar Named Desire (Endstation Sehnsucht) is to reach another level of grim but gripping brutality told through dance.

****1

The Great Gatsby at Kansas City Ballet

Hilary Stroh, 8th May

Septime Webre’s dazzling, maximalist Great Gatsby for the Kansas City Ballet is instantly engaging.

*****

Royal Danish Ballet’s Lady Macbeth: Akram Khan works his magic again

Graham Watts, 7th May

An excellent extension to Akram Khan’s growing repertoire of contemporary ballet, Lady Macbeth, his first creation for Royal Danish Ballet, brought out powerful performances from the entire cast.

****1

The Trocks at Sadler’s Wells: uproariously entertaining

Graham Watts, 5th May

A very welcome and hilarious return to the UK from Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, this time at Sadler’s Wells, they offer familiar and new works.

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Naomi Mori

Naomi is a blogger living in Tokyo and travels frequently to see ballet. She is a law graduate of Waseda University and a former film publicist, film critic and IT business researcher/strategist. She blogs at La Dolce Vita in Japanese. She tweets about ballet as @naomip_86. and takes ballet class regularly

K-Ballet Opto's A Dance Remembered in Tohno: thrilling mix of Japanese folklore, ballet, butoh and kabuki