the performances I saw in 2003 / ballet last night ballet tomorrow night

Jan	9	Thu	Swan Lake	the Leningrad State Ballet	Svetlana GILEVA, Artem PYKHATCHOV	Izumiti 21	3	Gileva's debut in Japan was good Odette. Long and slender arms moved beautifully. Pukhatchov was a elegant prince.
Feb	1	Sat	Le Corsaire	the Leningrad State Ballet	PERREN, SHEMIUNOV, RUZIMATOV, KUTCHERUK, MIKHALEV	Orchard Hall	4	Enjoyed very much. Perren was glittering. Shemiunov was fresh. Kutcheruk was charming. Ruzimatov showed mature beauty.
Feb	2	Sun	Le Corsaire	the Leningrad State Ballet	SHESTAKOVA, PYKHATCHOV, RUZIMATOV, FOKINA, SALIMBAEV	Orchard Hall	4	Kuligin's enthusiastic performance (Birbanto) was very impressive. Pykhaycev was good. About Ruzimatov... I believe "Le Corsaire" is a ballet for him.
Feb	14	Fri	The First Graduation Recital of Young Talented Ballet Dancers	Young Ballet Dancers Training Programm, New National Theatre, Tokyo	ITO Yukiko, IMAMURA Megumi, UJIHARA Mai, KUZUOKA Emi, SAITO Miho, TANAKA Wakako, MOTOJIMA Miwa	New National Theatre, Tokyo (Playhouse)	-	"Con Brio" by Tomasson, "Le Corsaire" pas de duex, "Paquita" and two personal small pieces by young dancers.
Feb	15	Sat	La Muse de Ballet		Evseeva, Filipjeva, Hart, Khabibulina, Kutcheruk, Ledovskaya, Makhalina, Perren, Plisetskaya, Schaefer, Shestakova, Vishneva, Zakharova, Fadeev, Jude, Kolb, Kuznetsov, Matvienko, Roelandt, Ruzimatov	Orchard Hall	5	Vishneva in Tchaikovsky pas de deux was the best I have seen! Expressed the music perfectly with her splendid technic. "From Giselle 2nd Act" by Hart and Ruzimatov was a great performance. Hart danced very spiritually like the Holy Mother.
Feb	16	Sun	La Muse de Ballet			Orchard Hall	5
Feb	22	Sat	La Bayadere	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	SAKAI Hana, YAMAMOTO Ryuji, MATADA Kumiko	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Matada(Gamzatti) in 1st act was beautiful. Sakai showed her maturity as a ballerina.
Feb	23	Sun	La Bayadere	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	Svetlana ZAKHAROVA, Igor ZELENSKY, NISHIKAWA Takako	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Zakharova was beatiful and emotional. Zelensky cut off most of lifts, so I thought he hadn't recovered enough. But he danced beautifully enough.
Mar	1	Sat	La Bayadere	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	SHIGA Misae, MORITA Kentaro, SHIBATA Yuki	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Shiga danced very musically with stable technic. In particular, in 3rd act, very lylical. Shibata was good.
Mar	2	Sun	La Bayadere	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	MIYAUCHI Mariko, KOJIMA Naoya, NISHIYAMA Yuko	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Miyauchi was very good. Beautiful and spirited dance. Kojima was not a good paetner, but showed his progress in acting.
Mar	9	Sun	Swan Lake	Adventures in Motion Pictures	Jesus PASTOR, Tom WARD	Orchard Hall	3	Enjoyed. In particular, the 4th act impressed me very much. But I did not accept the relationship between the mother and the son (The Queen and The Prince).
Mar	23	Sun	Jewels	Ballet de l'Opera National de Paris	Maurin, Romoli, Osta, Paquette / Abbagnato, Belingard, Romberg / Letestu, Martinez	Tokyo Bunka Kaikan	3	Enjoyed beautiful ballets. I felt the cleaness of Letestu's movement in Diamonds was suitable for Balanchine. Male dancers in main roles made me a little disappointed.
Mar	29	Sat	Giselle	Mikako Yasuda Ballet	YASUDA Mikako, KOJIMA Naoya	Aichi-ken geizyutsu gekizyo	3	Kojima danced very beautifully and acted persuasively. The company was good.
Apr	12	Sat	Grand Gala Roland Petit		Abbagnato, Belingard, Bonino, Legris, Liepa, Murru, Tsiskaridze, Ueno	Akasaka ACT Theater	4	Fragments from "La dame de Pique" was splendid ! We could see the world premiere of "Variations sur Carmen" by Legris.
Apr	27	Sun	51th School Performance	Tachibana Ballet School	UDAGAWA Michiyo, SHAO Zhi Jun / ITO Yukiko, KOJIMA Naoya	Mielparque Hall	-	Udagawa danced from "La Sylphide" 2nd Act. Ito danced "Swan Lake" 2nd act. They graduated the school with this performance.
May	3	Hol	Giselle	Matsuyama Ballet	MORISHITA Yoko, SHIMIZU Tetsutaro, KANETA Kazuhiro, KURATA Hiroko	Orchard Hall	4	Morishita was great. She danced very quietly and could convey Giselle's sorrow and tenderness and... everything to tell. Shimizu was very noble.
May	24	Sat	Swan Lake	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	NISHIKAWA Takako, HENMI Tomohiko	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	The lack of love between Odette and siegfried was regrettable for me. Barinov (Jester) was very very very charming.
May	25	Sun	Swan Lake	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	MIYAUCHI Mariko, KOJIMA Naoya	New National Theatre, Tokyo	4	Miyauchi was very ephemeral Odette. Kojima was noble and heroic. Love and victory in the last Act impressed me very much.
Jun	14	Sat	Trois Histoires d'Amoures	Sylvie Guillem Produce	Guillem, Murru, Dowell / Saito, Shuto / Guillem, Cope, Dowell	Green Hall Sagami-Ohno	3	"Winter Dreams" impressed me very much. Guillem and Dowell were splendid. In "Marguerite and Armemad", the partnership between Guillem and cope was great.
Jun	15	Sun	Swan Lake	K-Ballet Company	Viviana DURANTE, Greta HODGKINSON, KUMAKAWA Tetsuya	Orchard Hall	3	Good production. Easy to understand the story and suitable for the ability (not so high) of the company.
Jun	28	Sat	La Sylphide / Paquita	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	SHIGA Misae, KOJIMA Naoya / Diana VISHNEVA, Igor KOLB	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Enjoyed "la Sylphide" very much. Kirov stars in "Paquita" were not so impressive. In bad condition ?
Jul	20	Sun	Nureyev Festival	Charles Jude Produce	Loudieres, Moussin, Perren, Kutcheruk, Grizot, Roublot, Fokina, Lavisse, Franciosi, Jude, Ruzimatov, Hilaire, Galimulin, Paquette, Mikhalev, Rinchinborj	Bunkyo Civic Hall	3	We could see Nyreyev's choreography. Don Quixote, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet. And his repertories. Le Corsire, Aureole, Apollo, the Moor's Pavane.
Jul	21	Hol	Nureyev Festival	Charles Jude Produce		Bunkyo Civic Hall	4
Jul	23	Wed	Don Quixote	the Leningrad State Ballet	Natalia LEDOVSKAYA, Farukh RUZIMATOV, Charles JUDE (Quixote)	Bunkyo Civic Hall	4	Enjoyed very good performance. Ledovskaya was elegant and vivid. Ruzimatov was stylish and beautiful. Corps de Ballet and soloists were very good.
Jul	25	Fri	Gala Concert 2003 in Niigata	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	Saito, Maeda, Endo, Shiga, Sakai, Kojima, Kaikawa, Tleoubaev, Yamamoto	Niigata Kenmin Kaikan	3	Tchaikovsky pas de deux by Shiga and Kojima was the best in the night. Sakai in Paquita was glittering. Endo's Odiel was good. Le Corsaire by Maeda and Kaikawa was romantic.
Aug	2	Sat	10th World Ballet Festival Program A		Alexandrova, Amatriain, Azzoni, Cojocaru, Dupont, Ferri, Guillem, Hodgkinson, Kohoutkova, Letestu, Rojo, Stepanenko, Vishneva, Barankiewicz, Bolle, Carreno, Corella, Filin, Gomes, Legris, Le Riche, Malakhov, Martinez, Riabko, Roman, Urlezaga, Uvarov, Vogel	Tokyo Bunka Kaikan	3	Neumeier's "Sylvia" by Dupont and Legris was very beautiful and impressive. Kylian's "Doux Mensonges" by Gillem and Le Riche and Vishneva's Manon were very good, too.
Aug	9	Sat (M)	10th World Ballet Festival Program B			Tokyo Bunka Kaikan	3	Neumeier's Bedroom scene from "Romeo and Juliet " by Azzoni and Riabko was the best for me. "Petite Mort" by Dupont and Legris impressed me again after 3 years.
Aug	23	Sat (M)	Notre-Dame de Paris	Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo	Jeremie BELINGARD, UENO Mizuka, KOJIMA Naoya, Altankhuyag DUGARAI	Orchard Hall	3	Corps de ballet lacks the feeling of energy and violrnce. Belingard (Quasimodo) and Dugarai (Phoebus) looked a little tired. Kojima's Frollo satisfied me very much.
Aug	23	Sat (S)	Notre-Dame de Paris	Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo	Jeremie BELINGARD, Lucia LACARRA, Benjamin PECH, Altankhuyag DUGARAI	Orchard Hall	3	Lacarra was very beatiful and coquetish, but not affectionate to Quasimodo. Pech showed the churchman's agony by wrong and strong love.
Aug	24	Sun	Notre-Dame de Paris	Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo	Jeremie BELINGARD, UENO Mizuka, KOJIMA Naoya, Altankhuyag DUGARAI	Orchard Hall	3	Enjoyed Kojima's evil and ominous Frollo again. I felt Belingard and Dugarai danced in better condition. Ueno was charming.
Aug	31	Sun	Duke Ellington Ballet	Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo	Lacarra, Kusakari, Ueno, Bonino, Belingard, Pech, Dugarai	Orchard Hall	3	"Sophisticated Lady" by Lacarra was the best. Enjoyed "Take the 'A' Tran" very much. Dugarai was very attractive. But Kojima's cancellation was a big disappoinment for me.
Oct	3	Fri	Ballet Gala "THE CHIC"	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	Sakai, Tleoubaev, Shiga, Okuda, Endo, Tomikawa, Nishikawa, Chen / Saito, Kojima / Matada(3,5), Yukawa(4), Yamamoto / Takahashi(3,5), Nishiyama(4), Yoshimoto(3,5), Tleoubaev(4) / Shiga, Matvienko / Atsugi, Yukawa, Terashima(3,4), Endo(5), Kaikawa, Shiraishi, Yamamoto	New National Theatre, Tokyo (Playhouse)	2	"Symphony in C" was not bad. Shiga in 2nd Movement and Endo in 3rd was very good. Saito, one of first graduates from Training Programm, NNTT, made debut as a soloist in "Giselle" pas de deux. The Balcony pas de deux from "Romeo and Juliet" by Shiga and Matvienko was good. Duato's "Jardi Tancat" (premier in NNTT) was not impressive for me.
Oct	4	Sat	Ballet Gala "THE CHIC"	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo		New National Theatre, Tokyo (Playhouse)	2
Oct	5	Sun	Ballet Gala "THE CHIC"	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo		New National Theatre, Tokyo (Playhouse)	3
Oct	12	Sun	The Sleeping Beauty	Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo	HIRATSUKA Yukiko, HENMI Tomohiko, SAKANISHI Mami	U-Port Kan'i Hoken Hall	3	Hiratsuka's debut in Aurora was a success. Sakanishi's Lilac Fairy was the best I have seen in Japanese companies.
Nov	1	Sat	Manon	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	SAKAI Hana, Dominic WALSH, Robert TEWSLEY	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Just immediately before the premiere, Hilaire (POB) cancelled dancing Des Grieux and go back to France. Why???
Nov	2	Sun	Manon	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	Clairemarie OSTA, Denis MATVIENKO, KOJIMA Naoya	New National Theatre, Tokyo	4	Manon by Osta loves Des Grieux but chose luxurious living. Matovienko's debut in Des Grieux was very impressive. Young and Single-minded... Kojima's pathetic Lescaut moved me very much.
Nov	3	Hol	Manon	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	Clairemarie OSTA, Denis MATVIENKO, KOJIMA Naoya	New National Theatre, Tokyo	5
Nov	19	Wed	Coppelia	the Novosibirsk State Academic Ballet	Elene LYTKINA, Denis BORDIYAN	Izumiti 21	3	Vikharev revived Petipa's 1894 production. I felt costumes were too gaudy. The level of company was not so high but not bad.
Nov	23	Sun	Scenes de Ballet / les Patineues / Paquita	Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre	Yoshida, Armond / Yamato, Nanba, Koide, Takahashi, Nakao, Omori, Kusumoto / Shimazoe, Armond	U-Port Kan'i Hoken Hall	3	Yoshida (Royal) came to dance Ashton. I Saw "les Patineues" first and enjoyed very much. Shimazoe in Paquita was feminene.
Nov	24	Hol	Cinderella	the Mariinnsky Ballet (Kirov)	Natalia SOLOGUB, Andrey MERCURIEV	Kanagawa Kenmin Hall	3	New production choreographed by Ratmansky. Enjoyed. Sologub was beatiful, Mercuriev was not bad.
Dec	13	Sat	Cinderella (by Ashton)	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	TAKAHASHI Ari, KOJIMA Naoya	New National Theatre, Tokyo	4	Takahashi's debut in the role. A little weak in technic, but acting was very good. Kojima showed his skill in Prince role.
Dec	23	Hol	la Chauve-Souris (by Petit)	New National Theatre Ballet, Tokyo	YUKAWA Mamiko, YAMAMOTO Ryuji, YOSHIMOTO Yasuhisa	New National Theatre, Tokyo	3	Yukawa was glittering very brightly. Kojima didn't dance Urlich, so I was a little depressed.