Tokyo’s on-again, off-again pandemic seasons
By Naomi Mori
Japan has done quite well since the start of the COVD-19 pandemic, being one of the few countries that continued to have performances with audiences, except for two periods of shutdown due to a State of Emergency. In Tokyo, I have been able to see quite a few shows in 2020 and into 2021.
A highlight from 2020 was the National Ballet of Japan’s new ballet for children, Ryuuguu — The Turtle Princess, based on a Japanese folk tale. Choreographed by a contemporary dance artist, Kaiji Moriyama, this ballet was a great showcase for Japanese culture, with traditional motifs woven into classical choreography, and was highly enjoyable for adults as well. The show marked the company’s return to performances in late July; seating occupancy was 50 percent and the New National Theatre followed strict safety measures. The last two performances were cancelled due to staff getting the virus, but Ryuuguu toured successfully outside Tokyo afterward. The work will be revived this summer.
Another 2020 highlight was the annual Kiyosato Field Ballet presented by Ballet Chambre Ouest, which took place in the mountains of Kiyosato, a resort two hours from Tokyo. The luxury of seeing a full-length Swan Lake outdoors in the forest was such bliss, and I was lucky enough to see a performance led by Ayako Ono and Yudai Fukuoka, principals with the National Ballet of Japan.
In September, full-length ballet was back onstage, with live orchestra: Tokyo Ballet’s Don Quixote (Vladimir Vasiliev’s version) and Maurice Béjart’s M; Asami Maki Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty; K-Ballet Company’s Le Corsaire; and the National Ballet of Japan’s Don Quixote (by Alexei Fadeyechev). Some performances had almost full-capacity audiences as regulations loosened. Nutcracker season happened throughout the nation.
In December, although almost all visiting company tours were cancelled, French artists François Chaignaud and Nino Laisné, with baroque musicians, brought a beautiful epic work for dance and voice, Romances inciertos — un autre Orlando. The story of an aristocrat changing gender, loosely based on Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, also followed the history of dance in Spain, spanning centuries.
Since April, Japan has been in its third State of Emergency, set to expire on June 20. The situation became critical after travel restrictions were loosened, when more infectious strains caused cases of COVID-19 to increase rapidly, resulting in a shortage of medical services. The vaccination rate is low compared to other countries. Although no cases of infection were reported in theatres and cinemas, the government closed them down during Golden Week, an annual Japanese spring holiday.
That was when presenting organization NBS (Japan Performing Arts Foundation) and Tokyo Ballet planned to have a Ballet Holiday special event, but the performances, workshops and talks aimed for family audiences, in collaboration with other ballet companies, had to be cancelled. Some events went online, along with streaming of previously recorded performances.
In July, Tokyo Ballet will tour nationally with a gala performance, Hope Japan. The gala commemorates Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident, and also brings hope during the COVID-19 crisis.
The National Ballet of Japan performed Roland Petit’s Coppélia without audiences, livestreaming four shows, featuring all four casts, for free. The company had already successfully livestreamed a gala in January. This time, the streaming was more than successful, with each performance gaining 40,000-plus viewers worldwide. Petit’s Coppélia was a good choice as it is easy to follow for ballet beginners, and many newcomers enjoyed ballet for the first time through this accessible opportunity.
One of the first venues to resume performances after the first State of Emergency was Karas Apparatus in Tokyo, home to Saburo Teshigawara’s company, Karas. A contemporary giant with a career spanning over 40 years, Teshigawara is the only Japanese choreographer to create works for Paris Opera Ballet, and is well known to European audiences by touring frequently and choreographing for European opera houses. Recently, he was appointed artistic director of Aichi Prefectural Arts Theatre in Nagoya.
Despite not being able to tour overseas, Teshigawara has been busy since the start of the pandemic. With his artistic collaborator Rihoko Sato, he created an impressive 13 new works at Karas, performed in front of small audiences. He also created works for other theatres in Japan, including Night on the Galactic Railway, an emotional, lyrical work based on a novel by Kenji Miyazawa, for Theatre X, and Pélleas et Mélisande for Aichi Prefectural Arts Theatre. Teshigawara will premiere Rashomon, based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s novel and well known as an Akira Kurosawa film, in August.
February featured a world premiere of Cinderella by NBA Ballet, choreographed by Danish Johan Kobborg. Kobborg managed to enter Japan just before border entry was tightened, and created the work with Akane Takada of London’s Royal Ballet, who had returned to her native country during the UK lockdown. In Kobborg’s version, the title role is an aspiring dancer in a ballet school where her stepmother is the pianist. Instead of falling in love with the Prince at the ball, Cinderella discovers her passion to become a prima ballerina. There were plenty of dazzling dance sequences showing how much Cinderella loves to dance, where Takada displayed her beautiful lines and dramatic ability.
As theatre restrictions loosened on May 12, live ballet performances resumed again. Star Dancers Ballet expected to perform Peter Wright’s Coppélia a few days later, but because of the shipping blockage at Suez Canal, the stage sets did not arrive in time and the show was postponed to June.
Tetsuya Kumakawa’s K-Ballet Company performed Kumakawa’s Don Quixote in May, with two newly hired ballerinas taking the role of Kitri. Sena Hidaka, a former principal of Tulsa Ballet, and Nozomi Iijima, a former principal at Houston Ballet, were both sensational. Quite a few dancers have returned home and joined Japanese companies, strengthening the roster of dancers by bringing their experience from overseas. K-Ballet’s Don Quixote was also streamed worldwide, as part of the company’s strategy to gain international recognition.
The Olympics are supposed to begin in Tokyo at the end of July, when border control rules might change, but no one is sure the event will take place. Also in Tokyo, World Ballet Festival, held every three years, is scheduled for August with several international stars. We can only hope the pandemic situation will improve so these important summer gatherings can happen.
