Miyako Yoshida (吉田都, born 28 October 1965) is a Japanese ballet dancer. She was a Principal Guest Artist of
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
as well as a principal dancer with
K-ballet
K-ballet is a Japanese ballet company. The company started in 1999 and has since held approximately 50 annual performances. K-Ballet's activity was first recognised internationally in July 2004, when the ballet group was invited to New York's Met ...
, Japan.
Life and career
Born and trained in Tokyo, Yoshida won the
Prix de Lausanne in 1983 and joined
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...
in England. In 1984, she joined then Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, the present
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...
and was promoted to principal in 1988. In following year, she was awarded the ''Global Award and the Arts Encouragement Prize for Artists of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan''.
In 1995, Yoshida joined The Royal Ballet as principal dancer and was known for her partnership with such as
Tetsuya Kumakawa
is a Japanese ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.
Early life
Tetsuya Kumakawa was born on 5 March 1972 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. He began studying Ballet at 10 years old; aged 15, he moved to the UK and traine ...
, and
Irek Mukhamedov
Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE (russian: Ирек Джавдатович Мухамедов: tt-Cyrl, Ирек Җәүдәт улы Мөхәммәтев; born 8 March 1960), is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced ...
. She was also appointed
UNESCO Artist for Peace UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
UNESCO Goodwill Amba ...
in 2001. In 2004, she married Takashi Endo, a Japanese football agent.
In 2006, she joined K-ballet while she continued dancing with The Royal Ballet, before winning the Best Female Dancer in National Dance Awards. In 2007, she was appointed an
Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) for services to dance. In 2010 she retired from the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden.
Career and repertory
Odette/Odile (''
Swan Lake
''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...
''), Aurora, Juliet (''
Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)
''Romeo and Juliet'' (russian: Ромео и Джульетта, Romeo i Dzhulyetta), Op. 64, is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. First composed in 1935, it was substantially revised for its ...
''), Lise, Giselle (''
Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...
''), Swanilda (''
Coppélia
''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...
''), Sugar Plum Fairy (''
The Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...
''), Kitri (''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
''), ''
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', ''
Ondine'', Chloë, Titania, Tchaikovsky pas de deux, Le Corsaire'' pas de deux, ''Homage to the Queen'' and leading roles in ''
Prince of the Pagodas'', ''Symphonic Variations'', ''Elite Syncopations'', ''Snow Queen'', ''Galanteries'', ''Fin du jour'', Symphony in C, ''
Birthday Offering
''Birthday Offering'' is a pièce d'occasion in one scene choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Alexander Glazunov, arranged by Robert Irving. The ballet was created in 1956, to celebrate the Royal Ballet's 25th anniversary. The first ...
'', ''The Firebird'', ''Scènes de ballet'', ''
Les Rendezvous
''Les Rendezvous'' is a plotless one-act ballet created in 1933, with choreography by Frederick Ashton to the music of Daniel Auber (the ballet music from his opera '' L'enfant prodigue'') arranged by Constant Lambert and with designs by Willi ...
'' and ''Rhapsody''.
At the 2006 National Dance Awards, she was the Best female dancer.
National Dance Awards Best Female Dancer
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshida, Miyako
Prima ballerinas
People educated at the Royal Ballet School
Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers
Japanese ballerinas
English ballerinas
1965 births
Living people
Prix de Lausanne winners
Honorary Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom
20th-century ballet dancers
21st-century ballet dancers
People from Tokyo
People from Tokyo Metropolis