November performance “Ballet Muses – Ballet Graces 2025” will be held soon! To commemorate the event’s opening in Aichi, a special conversation will be held between the artistic director of the Aichi Arts Center and Haruka Sasa of the Berlin State Ballet.
Koransha Co., Ltd. Press Release: October 17, 2025 November performance “Ballet “Muses – Ballet Graces 2025” will be held soon! To commemorate the Aichi opening, a special conversation will be held between the artistic director of the Aichi Arts Theater and Haruka Sasa of the Berlin State Ballet.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-7636a99da7ba7c2f371bfa2cd2422ef4-1500×1000.jpg Haruka Sasa, David Soares (C)Admill-Kuyler “Ballet Muses -Ballet Beauty 2025-” Official website https://www.koransha.com/ballet/muses/ ■Performance Dates October 31st (Friday) 7:00 PM, November 1st (Saturday) 1:00 PM/5:00 PM Tokyo International Forum (Yurakucho) Hall C November 3rd (Monday, National Holiday) 2:00 PM Higashiosaka Cultural Creation Center Dream House Main Hall Wednesday, November 5th, 7:00 PM, Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater, Main Hall ■Ticket Prices SS Seats: ¥22,000 – C Seats: ¥8,000 ■Inquiries Koransha Ticket Center 050-3776-6184 (12:00-15:00 / Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) ■Scheduled Performers A. Kovaleva, E. Kokoreva, E. Gerashchenko, D. Potaptsev, M. Mikhalkin (Bolshoi Ballet) T. Askerov, M. Ilyushkina, M. Khoreva (Mariinsky Ballet) Haruka Sasa, D. Soares (Berlin State Ballet) V. Lebedev, Y. Lukianenko (Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet) ■Scheduled Programme Excerpts from “Don Quixote,” “Jewels,” “Swan Lake,” “Carmen Suite,” “Nocturne,” “The Legend of Love,” “Without Words,” “Giselle,” “The Corsair,” and more ■Other – Preschool children not allowed. – Specially recorded music will be used. – Performers are subject to change. Thank you for your understanding. – Discounted set tickets with bonus items are available. Please visit the Koransha website for details. Haruka Sasa (Berlin State Ballet/Principal) x Eri Karatsu (Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater/Artistic Director) Special Conversation ■Differences in ballet and dance performances and repertoire between Japan and overseas Karatsu: You dance with various companies overseas. What do you think about the differences between ballet and dance in Japan and overseas, as well as the differences in repertoire and how works are received? Sasa: In Berlin, where I’m currently based, about 60% of the performances are contemporary and about 40% are classical ballet. However, the repertoire is quite diverse, and just when you think they’ve danced a classical piece, they’ll dance a contemporary piece. The audience is also quite diverse, with some people having been coming for decades, and pieces that involve dancing to up-tempo music are popular with younger people as well. I get the impression that most people come to see what they want to see, whether it’s classical or contemporary. Karatsu What was it like at the Royal Swedish Ballet (where you belonged before joining the Berlin State Ballet)? Sasa The company’s contemporary influence grew during the time of director Johannes Ohmann, and the company continued to perform a variety of contemporary works under the next director, Nicolas Le Riche. From what I felt onstage, audiences responded more strongly to classical ballet, but I think contemporary work was also well-received. In Sweden and Norway, performances are done in blocks, with “Giselle” followed by a contemporary piece, and then “Swan Lake” after that, but in Germany, several works are performed simultaneously, with “Swan Lake” being performed alongside a performance of Ohad Naharin (a world-famous contemporary choreographer and his works). With a block format, once you’ve done “Giselle,” your body is in that state, so you can dance “Giselle” at any time in between, but when you perform a variety of works at the same time, as in Berlin, the amount of rehearsal inevitably increases, and the body is put through a variety of choreographic styles simultaneously, which can put a greater strain on the body.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-2199677e06588ae48d16190ecf471d0b-1500×1000.jpg Haruka Sasa, David Soares “Giselle” (C)Admill-Kuyler Karatsu When I look at the repertoires of overseas companies, I get the sense that classical, neoclassical, and contemporary dance are all on equal footing, and that dancers are always required to employ a variety of techniques and expressions. The dancers perform both classical and cutting-edge contemporary repertoire, with precise physical control, and audiences come to see such a wide range of repertoire. I think this is a little different from Japan. Japanese ballet companies tend to focus on the classics, and while the classics are certainly wonderful, I feel they are still a little weak when it comes to challenging themselves with new things. Sasa: Berlin audiences have a tendency to accept new things, even things they don’t understand. Japanese audiences are serious and love ballet, so many of them pursue the meaning of a work and tend to be concerned about not understanding it. However, I think it would be better if they could enjoy it in a more frank manner. Choreographers don’t expect audiences to figure out the meaning, but rather take it as they please. Karatsu I sometimes wonder if the tolerance for a work and the purpose of coming to the theater are slightly different between Japan and overseas. At the Aichi Arts Center, we often hear from audiences that they “didn’t understand the meaning,” “I wish the work was easier to understand,” or “I want to understand it better.” It’s precisely because Japanese audiences are serious and try to watch carefully, but if they could just relax a little and enjoy the show, I hope they’ll think of the theater as a place where they can make new discoveries and notice new things that are completely different from what they normally do. There can be a gradation in how people watch a show, from watching classic works that you’re already familiar with, or watching a new work and trying to understand it, to simply experiencing a world they’ve never seen before. ■Rehearsals with famous choreographers and former star dancers
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-c90d721322c107eb7abf7815e5e818ad-1500×1000.jpg From left: Le Riche, Makarova, Sasa, Kupinski Karatsu: Ms. Sasa has danced in a variety of pieces, and of course they are all wonderful pieces, but her contemporary dance in particular stands out because she dances with a precise grasp of the choreographer’s intentions. Sasa: Whenever a choreographer asks me to do something, I always try it. You can’t know how your body will feel when you actually perform the movements until you try them. I often receive direct instruction from the choreographers themselves, so in that sense I feel very fortunate. William Forsythe himself comes to teach, and I get to work with Alexander Ekman himself… those are very special times. There are many assistants to choreographers, but the words spoken by the choreographer himself and the information I receive through the assistants are not exactly the same. Karatsu When you create a piece together with a choreographer, you think about various things in detail, such as why a certain movement is necessary or why you’re raising your hand in this direction. I think it’s clear to the audience that you’re creating a variety of elements that go beyond movement alone. Recently, I’ve been copying choreography from video, but I think it’s sometimes difficult to understand the detailed nuances of the movements. So, for the audience, it’s a very valuable experience to be able to see a piece performed by dancers who have received direct instruction from a choreographer. Sasa: When rehearsing with the choreographer themselves, they sometimes change the choreography depending on the dancers. Dancers have different physiques and strengths, so I feel like many choreographers feel that forcing other dancers to do the choreography of other cast members won’t improve their own work. In that sense, too, the experience of working directly with the choreographer is valuable. It’s interesting to watch the rehearsal process, and it really makes us dancers feel like the choreographer is really paying attention to us. Karatsu: I imagine you often receive coaching not only from choreographers but also from great dancers. Who has left the biggest impression on you? Sasa I’ve been taught by people like Nicolas Le Riche, Natalia Makarova, Massimo Mulle, Charles Judot, and Julio Bocca. It’s a very valuable time for me to share the information and experiences they’ve gained from coaching me as a dancer. I’ve been working with Nicolas, who was the artistic director of the Royal Swedish Ballet, for many years, and every rehearsal is always fresh. He always gave me advice on partnering and dancing, as well as new collections.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-5433f15c51addad922b44a52d2022c68-1500×1000.jpg Rehearsal with Nicolas Le Riche (Artistic Director of the Royal Swedish Ballet) ■About Spuck, the currently garnering attention as artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet (who just took office from the 2023/2024 season) Karatsu I have the impression that Christine Spuck directs in a very modern style, creating works that blend modern opera with modern, spectacular ballet. It’s a unique, modern stage production unlike any other, and within it you treat all elements of dance, music, and drama equally, creating a sense of unity. The costumes, lighting, and stage design are also very innovative, and their beauty of form matches the shape of the body perfectly. I’ve been paying attention to this choreographer for a while, so I really hope to see him in Berlin. Sasaki-san, you will be dancing Spuck’s “Nocturne” in the upcoming “Ballet Graces,” and I’m really looking forward to it. What kind of piece is it? Sasa It’s a very simple, monochromatic piece that Christian choreographed for dancers in Zurich for the Prix Benois awards gala performance. There’s no particular story, and it’s a gentle dance set to Chopin’s music. I always think that the impression of a piece changes completely depending on the dancer, and this is my first time dancing this piece with my partner, David (Soares), so I’m looking forward to seeing what we’ll create together. I don’t think Christian’s works are danced very often in Japan, so I hope to be able to convey the essence that Karatsu-san mentioned. This gala performance features many Russian dancers, so I chose this piece because I wanted to show something with a European flavor, something that is typical of Berlin dancers.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-f98478a6721adb2e48d43edf27cc56bf-1500×1000.jpg “Nocturne” choreography by Spuck (C)Leszek-Januszewski Karatsu For dancers active overseas, performing in Japan is a special experience. I’ve heard that this will be Sasaki’s first time performing at the Aichi Arts Center, so this will be a valuable opportunity for audiences in Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture to see her dance in Spuk’s work. By seeing a diverse range of works, audiences’ perspectives will be broadened, and I believe that one of the roles of a public theater is to create encounters between audiences and works by presenting a wide variety of works. I hope that this gala performance will be an opportunity for new encounters for the audience. Written by Mika Moriyama (Ballet Critic)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-de4d7e7f52bb7a7384a70aeba7823cce-400×600.jpg (C)Tobias Regell Haruka Sassa
Area. https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/en/company/persons-detail/peid/haruka-sassa/2000510.html
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/14480/86/14480-86-767b4b0c6919d0cfd35fb4ac3702b7f0-400×600.jpg (C)Tatsuo Nambu Eri Karatsu < Artistic Director, Aichi Prefectural Arts Theatre> Graduated from the Department of Dance Education, Faculty of Letters and Education, Ochanomizu University, and completed her graduate studies at the Graduate School of Humanities at the same university. After a career in theater, she began working at the Aichi Arts Center in 1993 as Japan’s first dance curator. She served as curator of the Aichi Triennale (Performing Arts) from 2010 to 2016. After working as a theater producer, he assumed his current position in April 2012. He has planned over 200 stage productions and projects, from large-scale international co-productions of ballet and dance to experimental performances. He has also served as the artistic director of Dance Base Yokohama since 2021, and through public-private collaboration with the Aichi Arts Theater, he aims to improve Japan’s stage environment. In particular, he coined the term “fair creation,” which borrows from the idea of fair trade, and is working to improve the creative environment. He is the recipient of the 73rd Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize (Arts Promotion Division) in 2022. His books include “Body Intelligence.” 「Ballet Muses -バレエの美神 2025-」
https://www.koransha.com/ballet/muses/
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