Ballet for Children 2026

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. Now for our fifteenth session, we will once again be performing this original ballet based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, Story of a Little Mermaid, after showcasing the world premiere of the same work in 2024.

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 the NBJ, 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.