The National Ballet of Japan 2023/24 Season

Artistic Director Yoshida Miyako has announced the upcoming season featuring much loved ballet classics, work by celebrated Japanese choreographer Moriyama Kaiji, a young dancer gala and a new educational project.

Don Quixote (c) Takeshi Shikama

A season highlight is the revival of Don Quixote, brimming with fun and vitality. Choreographed by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, and directed by Alexei Fadeyechev, Don Quixote was introduced to the company in 1999, and will be performed by leading soloists and the acclaimed and beautiful corps de ballet.

Tales of Hoffmann (c) Takeshi Shikama

Tales of Hoffmann, the renowned British choreographer Peter Darrell‘s masterpiece is an intense human drama that sees Hoffmann in various life stages from youth to the onset of old age, three women who steal Hoffmann’s heart, and the devil who appears in a multitude of roles under different guises.

La Bayadere, directed and revised by Maki Asami in 2000, returns with its beauty of classical ballet, with spectacular and speedy stage transitions and a rich stage design.

NINJA (c) Takeshi Shikama

NINJA is a work by one of Japan’s leading dancers and choreographers, Moriyama Kaiji, which was performed to great acclaim in 2019 and returns to the stage with the scaled-up new 2022 version.

Aladdin (c) Takeshi Shikama

Aladdin, the tale of love and adventure choreographed for the company by its former Artistic Director, Sir David Bintley MBE in 2008, is a perfect blend of entertainment and artistry and is internationally acclaimed as Bintley’s signature work and an overwhelmingly popular repertoire for the company.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (c) Hidemi Seto

The season also sees the return of the beloved The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by Wayne Eagling, giving audiences an unforgettable festive season.

Audiences will have the chance to watch young company artists in DANCE to the Future: Young NBJ GALA, as they perform classical pas de deux and Nacho Duato’s Duende.

Swan Lake (c) Takeshi Shikama

The company’s educational programme for children and first-time ballet viewers provides an awareness and appreciation for ballet. Participants will look at Sir Peter Wright’s Swan Lake through narrative explanations about the mime used to tell the tragic tale of love, as well as story development, giving a deeper understanding of this wonderful classic.

For more information, dates and tickets visit: The National Ballet of Japan