Renowned Japanese ballet dancers Ryoichi Hirana and Akane Takada are being promoted to principal dancers for Britain's Royal Ballets' upcoming season. The director of the company Kevin O'Hair has expressed his delight in promoting the pair because of the theatrical gifts that they possess.
Hirana first joined the company in the year 2002. He won an apprenticeship prize in the year 2001 at the Prix de Laussanne. He used to dance solo until he was paired with Takada.
Takada, on the other hand, first showcased her talent to the company by performing for the Prix de Lausanne scholarship in the year 2008. She officially became part of the company in 2019.
Hirano's mother excitedly told the press that he has been dreaming of being a principal dancer ever since he started performing.
Meanwhile, Takada's former instructor Hiromi Takahasi said that she is not surprised that her mentee made it to the top because she always saw something special with her talent since she was young.
Principal dancers are considered the highest-ranked dancers and are given lead roles. Hirana is set to play his first major role as the antagonist Gregori Rasputin in the play "Anastasia," while Takada plays Mathilde Kschessinska. They are expected to perform on October 29, 2016.
In other news, The Royal Ballet will be touring Japan this month. This will be the first time, after three long years, that they will be performing in the country. They will be performing both "Giselle" and "Romeo and Juliet" at Tokyo and Nagoya.
