K-ballet is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 company. The company started in 1999 and has since held approximately 50 annual performances. K-Ballet's activity was first recognised internationally in July 2004, when the ballet group was invited to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's Metropolitan Opera House

Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)

The Metropolitan Opera House is an opera house located on Broadway at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the theater opened in 1966. It replaced the former Metropolitan Opera House at Broadway and 39th St...

 with The Royal Ballet, one of the World's leading ballet companies. The honorary president is currently renowned ballet dancer, Sir Anthony Dowell.

Company Members

There are currently almost 70 dancers and artists involved in K-ballet's productions. The most notable include Artistic Director Tetsuya Kumakawa, Principal Dancer Yuko Arai and Guest Principal Dancer, Viviana Durante

Viviana Durante

Viviana Durante is an Italian-born English prima ballerina who is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest and most dramatic ballerinas of her time. She was formerly a Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet. She has performed internationally as a Guest Principal, since 2003 predominantly in Japan...

 (as of May 2010).

Principals

• Yuko Arai
• Shiori Asakawa
• Stuart Cassidy

• Yasuko Higashino
• Tetsuta Kumakawa
• Rie Matsuoka

• Kenta Shimizu
• Kazue Yasumura

Guest Principals

• Viviana Durante
  Viviana Durante
  Viviana Durante is an Italian-born English prima ballerina who is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest and most dramatic ballerinas of her time. She was formerly a Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet. She has performed internationally as a Guest Principal, since 2003 predominantly in Japan...
  
  

• Shoko Nakamura

First Soloists

• Naoki Hashimoto
• Yuri Higuchi

• Shuntaro Miyao

• Yusuke Osozawa

Soloists

• Yoshikazu Asada
• Byambaa Batbold
• Fuzuki Isaka

• Rina Kambe
• Ikumi Nakajima
• Hayato Nishino

• Ayumi Shiraishi
• Satomi Soi
• Nikolay Vyuzhanin