Online Videos: Check this out!

[Victoria Leigh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-SnbGvmJLI

[Skittl1321]

The comments lead me to believe it is Tetsuya Kumakawa, who upon googling is a ballet dancer, however, I do not know for sure.

 

What a fun video- that must have taken awhile with some video editing software! Thanks for posting this Ms. Leigh.

[Mel Johnson]

Yes, that's Teddy! He was with Royal Ballet, and then went back to Japan to found his own company, T-Ballet. His following are very like rock fans! A good thing.

[ami1436]

It's actually the K-Ballet, Mr. Johnson! Knowing you, I'm guessing that was a typo! I had the opportunity to see Teddy and Durante perform Rhapsody (Ashton's) at the Ashton Festival in NYC a few years back, and he was happily invited back to the RB (long tumultuous story) to perform during... I believe it was a Nureyev tribute bill also a few years back. Am very glad I took the opportunity!

[Mel Johnson]

Gomenasai! I was writing in haste, and an old joke came to the surface. While he was founding K-Ballet, some of us said it should have been T-Ballet, because he was T.-Rex (Teddy Rex!)

[ami1436]

Heeeee.... Well, I know many people, including dancers, who refer to it as 'Teddy's Company'......

[Clara 76]

UGH! I HATE the lightsaber effect.....

But....WOW.

[Dance_Scholar_London]

Has anybody found a better quality of the video?

[ami1436]

Your wish is my command:

 

 

No light sabre in this one - so you can really see his double saut de basques (which are astonishing, imo), and double cabrioles.

 

What I find even more remarkable is the seemingly little prepartion he needs for those jumps...what do you guys call them? 530s? on the diagonal, and whatever the heck that jump was at the end.

 

Mr. Johnson or Hans - is the pirouette section of this solo usually slowed down? When watching this, it struck me that the pirouette section here is taken a bit faster than I usually see the Kirov or Bolshoi do it.... but it might just be the recording in this vid?

 

And for comparison, same variation (with different choices) when he was 16, at Lausanne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGVljGywn_E

 

There's also a version when he's 19, performing at a Lausanne gala - simply search 'Kumakawa' and '19'... an interesting lesson in what he chooses, changes, improves overtime!

[Hans]

Oh, people take all kinds of liberties with the tempo of this variation--speeding it up, slowing it down, whatever it takes so they can fit their most vulgar "trick" into it.

 

Kumakawa, though, is very musical in this rendition, and his technique is quite impressive. I think the last diagonal is over the top--too athletic for my taste--but overall he is excellent.

[ami1436]

I thought as much... this must be one of the few times when I've seen/heard the music as it 'should' be? I'm so used to that section being slower, that initially when I watched this it sounded 'wrong'!

 

Just as the liberties one takes with language, I guess..........!

[Clara 76]

Ah....without the lightsabers it looks as though he doesn't quite use his feet as well as he did at 16, but I agree with you Hans- musicality isn't bad at all!! I detest it when dancers throw in tricks and there is no consideration for the music! He's still something to watch though!!