is a Japanese ballet dancer and a former 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 ...

Early life

Tetsuya Kumakawa was born on 5 March 1972 in

Asahikawa, Hokkaido is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a core city since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiyam ...

, Japan. He began studying

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

at 10 years old; aged 15, he moved to the UK and trained at the

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 ...

, before joining

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 1989 and becoming the youngest soloist in their history. He was promoted to first soloist in 1991, and principal dancer in 1993.

Career

Kumakawa won the gold medal and the then newly established Prince Takamado Prize at the 1989 Prix de Lausanne and returned as a jury member in 2013. With The Royal Ballet, Kumakawa has danced roles such as 'Lead Mandolin Player' in

Romeo and Juliet (MacMillan) Choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Royal Ballet production of Sergei Prokofiev's ''Romeo and Juliet'' premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 9 February 1965. Background Kenneth MacMillan had previously choreographed the ba ...

, Act 1 pas de trois in

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

's Swan Lake, The bronze Idol in

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especiall ...

and 'The Fool' in the premiere of

Kenneth Macmillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...

The Prince of the Pagodas ''The Prince of the Pagodas'' is a ballet created for The Royal Ballet by choreographer John Cranko with music commissioned from Benjamin Britten. Its premiere took place on 1 January 1957 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, conducte ...

. In 1998, Kumakawa and five other leading male dancers from the Royal Ballet, Stuart Cassidy, Gary Avis, Matthew Dibble,

Michael Nunn Michael John Nunn (born April 14, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF middleweight title from 1988 to 1991, and the WBA super middleweight title ...

and William Trevitt, left to form

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 ...

. He set up the K-Ballet School for young dancers in 2003. In 2006, Kumakawa won the "fifth Asahi Scenic Art Prize" for his artistic and original interpretation and presentation of the classical pieces ''Don Quixote'' and ''The Nutcracker''. In 2023 he was a jury member at Prix de Lausanne ballet competitions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumakawa, Tetsuya 1972 births Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Japanese male ballet dancers People from Asahikawa Japanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Living people Prix de Lausanne winners