Ryoichi Hirano (平野亮一, born 1983/84) is a Japanese

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

who is currently a principal dancer with 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 ...

in London.

Early life

Hirano was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. He had his ballet training at his mother's dance school. His brother was a dancer with the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

Career

In 2001, after Hirano competed at the

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...

, he became an apprentice with

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 ...

in London. He made his stage debut as a corps dancer in the third act of Cranko's '' Onegin''. He joined the company as an Artist in 2002, then became a First Artist in 2007, Soloist in 2008 and First Soloist in 2012. In 2016, at age 32, Hirano was promoted to Principal Dancer. He and

Akane Takada is a Japanese ballerina and a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Her lead roles have included the title role in '' Giselle'', Nikiya in La Bayadère, Kitri in ''Don Quixote'', and Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty''. Early life ...

, who was promoted the same year, are the third and fourth Japanese principal dancers in the company, after

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

Miyako Yoshida Miyako Yoshida (吉田都, born 28 October 1965) is a Japanese ballet dancer. She was a Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet as well as a principal dancer with K-ballet, Japan. Life and career Born and trained in Tokyo, Yoshida won the ...

Critical reviews

In an October 2018 review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Luke Jennings called Hirano "a dashing dancer and fine actor", but that he and

Natalia Osipova Natalia Petrovna Osipova (russian: Наталья Петровна Осипова; born 18 May 1986) is a Russian ballerina, currently a principal ballerina with The Royal Ballet in London. Early life and training Born in Moscow, Osipova began ...

were "uneasy bedfellows" in MacMillan’s ''Mayerling''. In a February 2019 review of Hirano's performance as Espada the Matador in ''Don Quixote'', Laura Freeman in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' wrote, "Ryoichi Hirano is the Mata-phwoar. The corps de ballet swoon and flutter. He is sexy, even caddish. I was a Hirano doubter, but this was a magnificent performance: athletic power matched by classical control. A bullfighter one moment, ballerino the next."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirano, Ryoichi Living people Japanese male ballet dancers Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Japanese expatriates in England 21st-century ballet dancers Year of birth missing (living people) People from Osaka