Although Vancouver Opera has recently developed and published an excellent series of Opera Manga, in the West the concept of opera and ballet in comic books still sounds very niche. But in Japan, Ballet Manga is very much part of the cultural mainstream. Publications like Kyoko Ariyoshi’s “Swan” or Ryoko Yamagishi’s “Arabesque” have been around [...]
From the monthly archives:
July 2010
Anything that is inspired by the amazing PJ Harvey is likely to strike a chord with us. In this latest blog entry the Ballerina Project’s Dane and dancer Alex take inspiration from the indie muse to create their own “Stories from the City”: This was the summer I rediscovered my obsession with one of my [...]
Polina Semionova, the 25 year-old Russian star at Staatsballett Berlin, is not only a very gifted dancer but also a social media phenomenon. Her appearance in Herbert Groenemeyer’s video Letzter Tag (Last Day) made her a big hit on YouTube and she has close to 40,000 fans in her Official Facebook page, which she personally [...]
The Japanese are well-known for their quirky and unique fashion sense. When in Tokyo, fashionista types head straight to the Harajuku area for inspiration, but in truth ideas for one’s lookbooks can be found anywhere in town, including ballet outings. At the Royal Opera House in London clothes typically range anywhere from the ultra formal [...]
Is print journalism dead? Where is dance writing headed? In twenty years from now, who will we honor for their words about dance? In an article entitled “A Step to the Left, a Jump to the Write” My Two Left Feet brainstorms about the future of dance criticism: Everyone seems to agree that dance writing [...]
With this current series of articles about ballet in Japan we have attempted to show the extent of ballet’s popularity in the East. Thanks to my lucky stars, I was able to witness it all first hand as I joined the Japanese fans in the Royal Ballet’s inaugural evening performance of La Fille Mal Gardée. [...]
