Fauns and Nymphs shows diversity of Japanese contemporary dance

By Naomi Mori, 31 March 2021

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“although a short piece of 15 minutes, it feels an epic, large scale work”

Reviewed at New National Theatre, Tokyo: The Pit, Tokyo on 26 March 2021

Danae (Tetsuo Kaikawa)

Kasokeshi (Yasutake Shimaji)

Butterfly (Motoko Hirayama, Satoshi Nakagawa)

Polar Sky (Kaori Kagaya, Yuya Yoshizaki)

Let's Do It! (Un Yamada, Llon Kawai)

A Picture of You Falling (excerpt) (Crystal Pite)

National Ballet of Japan

Yuri Kimura, Dancer

Takafumi Watanabe, Dancer

Hana Sakai, Dancer

Mirai Moriyama, Dancer

Risako Ikeda, Dancer

Kosuke Okumura, Dancer

Haruka Soutome, Dancer

Takuro Watanabe, Dancer

Kaori Kagaya, Dancer

Yuya Yoshizaki, Dancer

Un Yamada, Dancer

Kenta Kojiri, Dancer

Ema Yuasa, Dancer

Llon Kawai, Dancer

English National Ballet’s Body and Soul: a very mixed bag

Deborah Weiss, 19th March

English National Ballet presents a double bill of contrasts at Sadler’s Wells with startlingly mixed results, not all positive.

***11

Strength to strength: NDT 1’s Resonance feels like a victory lap

Mark Vicente, 10th December

A triumphant evening showcasing the breadth and depth of NDT’s artistic intellect, and their dazzling versatility across various choreographic landscapes.

*****

NDT1 in Figures in Extinction: cerebral and physical excellence

Deborah Weiss, 5th November

An extraordinary evening of dance theatre of the highest quality, Figures in Extinction for Nederlands Dans Theater 1 is a thought provoking experience worth repeating.

*****

Figures in Extinction: a thrilling evening with NDT 1

Kathy Elgin, 22nd August

An evening focused on the separation of humanity from the natural world and the destruction of that world, either because of ignorance, greed or just not caring.

*****

Shadows and light: Ballet BC

Zoë Anderson, 20th May

Ballet BC’s double bill puts Crystal Pite’s marvellous, shadowy Frontier in conversation with the folk-tinged comedy of Johan Inger’s Passing.

****1

The Royal Ballet’s Light of Passage: mesmerisingly beautiful

Amanda Jennings, 20th February

Overall, Light of Passage is one of those glorious pieces where music, choreography and design meld together to make theatrical magic.

*****

More reviews...

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

Afternoon of Fauns and Nymphs shows diversity of Japanese contemporary dance