Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2013

An upcoming visit will be principal New York City Ballet dancer Jared Angle’s fourth Japan tour, and he’s loved every one. “Tokyo in particular is madness—it’s great,” he tells Metropolis. “There’s a similar energy to New York. It has that buzz—you feel like you could find something amazing happening every day.”

Angle has been with America’s most hallowed ballet company since the age of 17, and is well placed to comment on the program the NYCB has planned for its much-anticipated tour. The selection of works by director Peter Martins focuses on founder George Balanchine.

“We’re taking some big stuff—among them Balanchine’s Swan Lake, Symphony in Three Movements, and Symphony in C,” he explains. “Symphony in Three Movements is a fantastic ballet in his neoclassical style—traditional ballet steps but with a modern edge. It’s very modern and minimal, but powerful—it feels like you’re watching a machine in a way.”

The only non-Balanchine the NYCB will be staging is West Side Story Suite by Jerome Robbins, along with Balanchine one of the troupe’s founding choreographers. “It’s all the dance sections from the musical, everyone gets to sing and fight,” Angle says. “I’ve been both a Jet and a Shark, but I don’t have the voice or temperament so won’t be singing myself. I’m not a Broadway person.”

The 2010 film Black Swan starring Natalie Portman as a bulimic dancer, and this year’s acid attack by a Bolshoi dancer against the Moscow company’s director, have generated a certain unaccustomed notoriety for ballet.

“It is horrible—but it seems like just one crazy person,” Angle comments on the attack, while granting, “there definitely are dramatic connotations to backstage ballet.”

“Maybe that’s how things are at the Bolshoi,” he reasons, “but I don’t think many American ballet companies are quite as politically charged. We are a pretty steady organization—our director has been here for 30 years.”

Angle muses that Black Swan was actually a great opportunity for ballet. “All of a sudden ballet was in the zeitgeist—our Swan Lake sold out right after,” he notes, adding with a laugh, “people called the theater to ask if Natalie Portman was dancing. Still, I would hope most people watching it would understand that our field doesn’t create craziness.”

For those who want to learn more about the NYCB, there is now all sorts of material online, including an upcoming web-based reality documentary series for AOL inspired by actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who is on the company’s board.

But don’t expect to be able to “friend” Angle (not that he isn’t friendly). “I’m not on social media—I’m either too lazy or a dinosaur,” he admits. “You can definitely hear what’s going on in many dancers’ heads though—if you want to ruin the illusion!”

The New York City Ballet performs at Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Oct 21-23. See details.