New Year Ballet creates a buzz with “Still Life” at the Penguin Café

By Naomi Mori, 14 January 2021

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“no other ballerina in the company fits the title role more than Yui Yonezawa”

Reviewed at New National Theatre, Tokyo: Opera House, Tokyo on 11 January 2021

Paquita (Marius Petipa)

Contact (Yoshito Kinoshita)

Soirée de Ballet (Pas de deux) (Hideo Fukagawa)

Campanella (Tetsuo Kaikawa)

'Still Life' at the Penguin Café (David Bintley)

National Ballet of Japan

Misato Tomita, Conductor

Yui Yonezawa, Dancer

Takafumi Watanabe, Dancer

Shogo Hayami, Dancer

Saho Shibayama, Dancer

Risako Ikeda, Dancer

Yoshito Kinoshita, Dancer

Ayako Ono, Dancer

Masahiro Nakaya, Dancer

Yudai Fukuoka, Dancer

Shun Izawa, Dancer

Kosuke Okumura, Dancer

Miwa Motojima, Dancer

Tetsuo Kaikawa, Dancer

Aoi Hirose, Dancer

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

National Ballet of Japan’s Raymonda is a feast of excellent dancing

Naomi Mori, 25th April

National Ballet of Japan’s Raymonda is a gem in the repertoire, despite shortcomings in the plot. Lavish production designs, stunning classical choreography and excellent dancers makes this a ballet lover's heaven.

*****

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère: a night to remember in Oslo

Vikki Jane Vile, 17th April

Norwegian National Ballet gives a marvellous rendition of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Opening night in Oslo was a strong argument for its place in any season, displaying ballet escapism at its best.

****1

José Martínez unveils his latest Don Quichotte in Palermo

Vito Lentini, 29th March

José Martínez has envisioned a Don Quichotte that recalls the original 19th century choreography while also acknowledging some of the notable 20th century versions and it's splendid looking.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's reimagined La Bayadère triumphs

Mark Vicente, 26th March

Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

****1

American Ballet Theatre's double bill is short and sweet in New York

Ivy Lin, 15th March

American Ballet Theatre presents Balanchine's Raymonda: Grand Pas Hongrois and Ratmansky's Firebird which showcases the company well and provides a strong contrast.

****1

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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

National Ballet of Japan's New Year Ballet creates a buzz with “Still Life” at the Penguin Café