Up to now, through its J-Ballet series, NNTT has created ambitious ballet works by young choreographers.It is very important to the future of a theatre to make continuous efforts to develop productions not found in any other theatre in the world. Various attempts are being made at Western theatres, and as seven years have passed since NNTT’s grand opening, there has been growing interest by management in producing the theatre’s own ballet works. In the Emerald Project, which begins this season, NNTT will propose the creation of new ballet works with a narrative-like structure to choreographers in Japan and abroad, thus striving to expand the repertoire of NNTT’s original works. It wishes to create new, youthful and energetic ballets with novel and exciting choreography, which will be valued by the audience as gems in its repertoire, as is reflected in the project name.The first in the series is Carmen by Ishii Jun. Ishii has published a number of works in the past and he has guided the New National Theatre Ballet as its ballet master. For NNTT, he choreographed Bonsho no Koe (The Voice of the Bell), the work commissioned for the grand opening of the theatre, and Juniya (The Twelfth Night), performed as part of the J-Ballet series. In the forthcoming production, he will work on Carmen, a well-known work in the opera repertoire. Bizet’s exciting music has fascinated and inspired choreographers worldwide. First-class Japanese production staff, who excel in drama production, have gathered around Ishii. It will be interesting to see how Ishii will choreograph the passionate story in which flesh-and-blood people clash against each another.He has a full knowledge of the characteristics of individual dancers in the company, so high expectations are placed on the dramatic development of the story by his elaborate choreography and direction.