Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2012

Austria’s national ballet troupe mounts the stage in Japan for the first time since Manuel Legris arrived from the Paris Opera Ballet to shake up the institution. The program begins with a tribute to ballet giant Rudolph Nureyev, who tapped Legris for the rank of etoile dancer in Paris more than twenty years ago. Nureyev’s take on Raymonda comes as part of a Gala that also includes choreography from cutting-edge modernists like John Neumeier. The Gala runs for two days and is then followed by a production of the Strauss farce The Bat by Frenchman Roland Petit.

Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Apr 24-30 (listing).