Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2011

St Petersburg’s Leningrad State Ballet arrives with Leningrad State Orchestra for a 22nd tour of Japan. As per tradition, all eyes will be on charismatic soloist Farukh Ruzimatov, who—despite his years—still commands audiences with a brio his younger peers can only dream of. The tour will be made doubly special by the presence of pioneering Japanese ballerina Miyako Yoshida, former principal with England’s Royal Ballet. Fresh productions of Swan Lake and Le Corsaire created by new director, Spanish dance great Nacho Duato, signal the company’s rehabilitated ambitions.

Various venues, Jan 3-15 (listing).