Ballet from Georgia to Japan
Georgia boasts a long history of ballet. Yet in Japan it was, until not so long ago, considered the “art of the enemy” and even today it is seen by many as a hobby, not a career choice. The new generation are hoping to change that view.
Next week a number of the Georgian State Ballet Company’s top ballet soloists will be travelling to Fukuoka, Japan to put the final touches to the first Fukuoka International Ballet Festival, having spent the past two years planning it.
GEORGIA TODAY spoke to the lead organizers, Frank van Tongeren from the Netherlands and Machi Muto, from Fukuoka, prior to the Festival.
How did you come up with the idea of the festival? Why did you decide to do it in Japan and why in Fukuoka?
Frank: Machi is originally from Fukuoka, which is the capital of the southern island Kyushu. Over the past eight years I’ve often travelled to Fukuoka. The city has a lot of ballet schools, several great theaters, and whenever there’s a ballet performance by either a ballet company from abroad or a gala concert that tours Japan, it generates a lot of interest with the local people. Over my time as a student and professional dancer I met many dancers that are originally from Fukuoka or its surroundings and who now work in well-known ballet companies around the world. To me it was strange that these dancers were unable to share their art form at home through their own festival. In February 2014 I got the idea to organize a performance that would bring the ‘Fukuoka born’ dancers together (at home) in which they would share the stage with their colleagues and friends from the international dance scene. Machi and I took on the challenge and spent a lot of time talking to people in the area, looking at the theaters and consulting dancers and organizers with experience of such event-planning.
We realized we should present not only classical or already known works but something new, created especially for the Festival. We have three choreographers that have created new work that will premiere at the Fukuoka International Ballet Festival Gala Concert. One of them, Yuka Kawazu, is originally from Fukuoka and is now working in Germany. Then we have Kaloyan Boyadjiev from the Norwegian National Ballet and Peter Leung from the Dutch National Ballet.
Who is working with you on the project?
Two ballet schools, technicians and an experienced architect in Fukuoka, a web designer in Tokyo and the Japanese dancers at the State Ballet of Georgia, Karin Washio, Yuma Sumi and Yonen Takano. Will Pratt is also helping with administration.
How will the Georgian 'team' be involved?
Karin has been helping promote the event on the web. He will also travel with us to Fukuoka to act as a translator between the Japanese team and the foreign dancers that will participate. Yuma has been providing Japanese and English subtitles for the promotion videos. Yonen Takano and Nutsa Chekurashvili will perform at the Gala Concert and we’ve done a photo shoot with them which we’ve used for posters, flyers and the web. Yonen is also trying to get some ballet critics interested in reviewing the event.
What challenges have you faced?
As a dancer each day is very physical so it’s challenging to come home after rehearsals or a performance and start replying to e-mails, create promotional material, write letters to get financial support, etc. We’ve been working until 2 or 3am most nights!
We don’t aim to make a profit from this event, but we want to cover our costs from the ticket income and the few sponsors helping us with the finances… it’s not easy, especially since we are dancers ourselves and we want to treat the Festival dancers how we would want to be treated. We are going to lay a special dance floor (sprung floor) in the theaters there, like we have here at the Opera House in Tbilisi. You can still perform on linoleum, but it’s very uncomfortable when you land from jumps because the surface under the linoleum is very hard, increasing the chances of injuries and bringing the level of the performance down. We will rent the floor from Japan Arts in Tokyo.
What are your expectations for the festival?
We believe that we have a very unique program and something truly special to offer the audience. We’ll also be offering workshops with great teachers that can inspire students to pursue a career as a ballet dancer.
What are your plans for the future?
We hope to organize this festival once every two years. We really hope that this first time will have a great impact on the audience and the students at the workshops and that we can increase our support for the second edition of the festival. Of course, we want to keep inviting members of the State Ballet of Georgia and who knows, Nina Ananiashvili could be with us next time in Fukuoka as well!
What have you learned from the preparatory stage?
We learned how much organization you need to create one performance! This event has totally changed our view and we now understand every single aspect that comes with this beautiful art form! I’m sure that most people underestimate what it takes when they watch a performance...
The Fukuoka International Ballet Festival will take place on July 27 at the Fukuoka City Acros Fukuoka Symphony Hall and on July 28 in Kitakyushu (Fukuoka State) at the Kitakyushu Performing Arts Center. The workshops will be held in Fukuoka from July 30 to August 1 and in Kyoto on August 3rd and 4th.
Machi Muto has been dancing ballet since she was nine, inspired by friends. Frank van Tongeren says he was following in his elder sister’s footsteps when he chose ballet. At age 11 he joined the professional ballet academy in Amsterdam.
Katie Ruth Davies