User:Omotecho/sandbox/Matsuyama Ballet Troupe

History
Masao Shimizu with Itsuko Matsuyama has founded Matsuyama Ballet Troupe in January 1948, with a studio located near Omotesando in Aoyama, Minato. The Troupe was invited to perform in China in 1955 on a Chinese film “The White Haired Girl“ 白毛女 revised into a ballet piece, as a first project ever to choreograph a classical Chinese story into ballet. The Troupe then brought the ballet repertory “White Haired Girl” back to Japan in 1955. Matsuyama Ballet Troupe won the best performance award in ROC in 1958 as “首度前往中華人民共和國演出”. Following “White Haired Girl”, Matsuyama Ballet Troupe continued choreography on Chinese stories into ballet repertory in including “ Red Detachment of Women” and other titles, which they performed during their revisit to ROC in the years of 1971, 1973, 2004, 2017, and 2018, almost 20 times in total, while the founder Masao Shimizu has traveled to over 100 times to ROC.

During the pandemic of COVID-19, the Troupe sent representatives to the Chinese Consulant in Japan, and donated face masks as well as disinfectant solutions. Looking at a troupe member’s personal video recording of past visit to ROC, they sang “March of the Volunteers“, or China’s second National anthem as a friendship message to Chinese people during hardship.

Masao Shimizu and Istuko Matsuyama were honored by the Minister of Cultural Affairs 中国文化部 with “文化交流贡献奖” for contribution in cultural exchange between China and Japan. It was in May 2010 when their son Tetsutaro Shimizu, the present Troupe President, and his dance partner and wife Yoko Morishita were honored by Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the People's Republic of China 中国国务院总 for shared contribution toward the friendship of both countries. It fell on the 60th anniversary of the first ballet presentation of ”the White Haired Girl”.

Further readings

 * Shimizu, Masao (___) “Bare Hakumojo harukana tabi wo iku” 『バレエ白毛女はるかな旅をゆく』, Kodansha publishing.
 * Morimiya, Shigeru 宮森繁 (____) “The Real Record “Cultural Revolution” in China &amp;mdash; the enthusiast and their morale”『実録・中国「文革」礼賛者たちの節操 』, Shin nihon shuppan （新日本出版社）