
Matsuyama Ballet
Matsuyama Ballet has been the most representative ballet company and ballet school in Japan for more than seventy years since it was founded in 1948(Showa 23)by expresident Masao Shimizu and current Honorary Artistic Director Juko Matsuyama. The company has been active under the founding principle “Creation is life.”So far, it has performed overseas for many times such as in Europe, the United States, and especially China(notably for 17 times)
Currently, it conduct activities with General Representative Tetsutaro Shimizu and Director Yoko Morishita at its core. Tetsutaro Shimizu is widely acclaimed for his original stage direction and choreography. With a dance career spanning 73 years, Yoko Morishita is a pioneer in the Japanese ballet world, having won the Gold Medal at the 1974 Varna International Ballet Competition for the first time as a Japanese, in addition to many other awards such as the Japan Art Academy Prize and the Laurence Olivier Awards in the UK. The Matsuyama Ballet has a rich repertoire of dramatic full-act ballets, including a new version of swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella and holds more than 40 performances each year, devoting itself to the popularization and revitalization of the art of ballet. In addition, the Matsuyama Ballet School, with branches nationwide and over 2,000 students and graduate students, is highly regarded for its active ballet teaching.