Interest
The Tokyo Ballet Releases Video of Dancers Training to Dance Dance Danseur Manga From Home
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The dance halls may be closed, but the show must go on. The Tokyo Ballet performing company has collaborated with George Asakura's Dance Dance Danseur manga to release a video showing the dancers' training routines under COVID-19.
The Tokyo Ballet commented as follows: "The Tokyo Ballet has suspended its planned performances due to coronavirus. For the past month-and-a-half, our dancers have not even been able to rehearse to their satisfaction. There must surely be many people related to the stage who share these frustrated feelings, as well as people who have been denied access to the art and wish for their hearts to be soothed. During this time, we have endeavored to maintain our connection to our audiences and to the public through online video and social media ... We hope that this video of our dancers striving for the future with hope in their hearts alongside the protagonists who challenge the never-ending art of ballet can touch your hearts in some way."
15 young dancers appeared in the video, and Ryūnosuke Ubukata was the representative dancer. Ubukata commented that he has been maintaining his shape by doing training and stretches from home. "When you're inside home all day, it's easy to feel stifled. However, because this rest period was so unprecedented, it's given me to time to reevaluate myself. Outside of training at home, I've been purposefully distancing myself from ballet; I've been reading books I was never able to read before, and as I've been looking back on who I've been until now, I feel like this has been an extremely valuable experience for me because it's made me able to once again think about the 'me' I want to be in the future," he commented.
George Asakura launched the Dance Dance Danseur manga in Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comics magazine in 2015. The manga tells the story of Junpei Murao, who wants to become a professional dancer. The 17th compiled volume shipped on Thursday.
Source: Comic Natalie
