Ballet for Children 2024 "Story of a Little Mermaid"

In order to provide the next generation of children with the opportunity to come into contact with the wonderful art form of ballet, the New National Theatre Tokyo has been running the "Ballet for Children" series since 2009. In the summer of 2024, we will be performing the world premiere of a new ballet based on the universally beloved Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale,The Little Mermaid.

This work is directed and choreographed by Kaikawa Tetsuo, ex- First Soloist / Principal Character Artist of the National Ballet of Japan who left the company in 2022 to pursue his career as professional choreographer after his 22 years as a company dancer. Kaikawa participated in the initial launch of the "NBJ Choreographic Group", a project to train choreographers from within theNBJ, and has also showcased numerous works. He eagerly engages in choreographic works and Kaikawa was a creative member of the NNTT's trans-genre Opera project with mixed media and A.I. 'New Opera with Children and an Android Super Angels' with the New National Theatre Tokyo in 2021. Creative staff include Kawaguchi Naoji, who has also worked on set design for numerous works of NNTT's Opera and Ballet, and costume designer Ueda Kazuko, who has frequently collaborated with Kaikawa. Together, they will create the world for our new production of The Little Mermaid.

Leaving the sea behind, a mermaid who dreamed of joining the human world experiences the joy of love, the pain of sadness, and much more. The bittersweet love story of The Little Mermaid is brought to you as an original ballet from the National Ballet of Japan. Please enjoy this charming ballet, sure to delight audiences of all ages, as a summer vacation memory.