Choreographer Ishida still on his toes, 50 years on
By Mieko Sasaki for The Daily Yomiuri

Taneo Ishida, one of Japan's leading dancer-choreographers, will commemorate his 50-year career in ballet with a special performance with the Tokyo City Ballet at the New National Theatre's playhouse in Hatsudai, Tokyo, on April 2-3.

Looking back on his extraordinary career, the 73-year-old, who first encountered ballet as a student at Keio University in 1950, recalled, "I was so interested in drama that I took ballet lessons from Mikiko Matsuyama simply because I was told that dance training was essential for drama."

Ishida joined the Matsuyama Ballet Company in 1954 after graduating from school, mainly because "I couldn't find a job at any other company," he laughed.

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I'm making an assumption here that Tokyo City Ballet is the same as Tokyo Ballet. If that is not the case, please let us know.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra/ Tokyo Ballet Bunka Kaikan Hall, Tokyo
By Andrew Patner for The Financial Times


Even the backstage passes at Bunka Kaikan Hall read "Miracle Combination Performance" when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its music director Daniel Barenboim made their debut as a pit band for the Tokyo Ballet and guest solo dance star Syvlie Guillem - luxury casting, or at least luxury accompaniment. But isn't this how it should be? If a bill contains three 20th-century orchestral masterworks, in this case Stravinsky'sLe sacre du printemps and his Firebird Suite and Ravel's Bolero, why shouldn't the music be provided by a top orchestra and conductor?

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