A group of Japanese ballet dancers making their mark around the world will gather in Yokohama on July 21 to perform at Yokohama Ballet Festival 2018.
Among the top-class dancers slated to grace the stage at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall will be Ako Kondo, a nominee for the prestigious Benois de la Danse award, and Yuma Matsuura, who took first place in the senior men's division at the Youth America Grand Prix, a competition regarded as a stepping-stone to success for young ballet dancers.
The 27-year-old Kondo joined the Australian Ballet in 2010. "I hate to lose, and adverse circumstances fire me up," Kondo said. This attitude spurred Kondo to double her efforts at the ballet company, where she was made a principal in 2015. She's gained a reputation for her vibrancy and rich artistic expressiveness. In 2017, Kondo's portrayal of the title character in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" earned her the nomination for the Benois de la Danse.
"People tell me that my cheerful, chatty character is similar to Alice's," Kondo said. "It was a difficult role that requires both technique and stamina, but I dedicated all my effort to it, which helped me progress as a dancer."
At the Benois de la Danse gala event held at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in June, Kondo performed a pas de deux from "Cinderella" by Alexei Ratmansky.
"It was a great honor to be nominated for the awards, which is known as ballet's version of the Academy Awards," Kondo said. "There's some disappointment that I didn't win, but I was overwhelmed with emotion at having the chance to perform with globally renowned ballet dancers."
At the Yokohama festival, she will perform a grand pas de deux from the "Flames of Paris" with Guo Chengwu, a fellow member of the Australian Ballet. "I look forward to performing before everyone in Japan. I want to put on a performance worthy of the nomination," Kondo said.
Matsuura, 15, lives in Tachikawa, Tokyo, and began ballet as a first-grade elementary school student. In April, he won first place at the Youth America Grand Prix, his very first international competition. Performing a solo from the classic "Don Quixote," Matsuura brought down the house with his towering jumps that utilize his long limbs and his high-speed spins.
"I was nervous, but I had fun performing by getting into the character. I was surprised because I didn't think I could place first," he said.
At the Yokohama festival, he will perform a grand pas de deux from "Don Quixote" with Yu Kurihara, who was the first-place winner in the senior women's division at the 2015 Youth America Grand Prix.
Matsuura plans to join the Royal Ballet School in Britain in September, so the Yokohama festival will be his last big event before leaving Japan. "I want the audience to closely watch my spins and lifts. My dream is to become a principal of the Royal Ballet," Matsuura said.
"I hope everyone enjoys the rich variety of dances performed by these skilled dancers," said Yasuyuki Endo, the festival's artistic director.
Other ballet dancers scheduled to participate in the festival include Madoka Sugai, Rina Kanehara and Haruo Niyama. The show starts at 3 p.m. For more information, call (0570) 015-415.
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