Mizuka Ueno

Mizuka Ueno was born in Kanagawa, Japan, and began her ballet training at the age of five. In 1989, she won first prize in Junior Division at Saitama National Dance Competition. At the 1993 Prix de Lausanne, she won the Scholarship Prize on which she entered the Académie de Danse Classique Princess Grace in Monaco to study with Marika Besobrasova. She received the gold medal at the World Ballet and Modern Dance Competition in 1996.

After dancing several leading roles in classics as well as works by Roland Petit at Asami Maki Ballet, Mizuka Ueno joined The Tokyo Ballet in 2004 as a Principal. Her extensive repertoire with The Tokyo Ballet includes the leading roles in numerous classical ballets as well as great works of the 20^th century by renowned choreographers including Maurice Béjart, John Neumeier, George Balanchine, Roland Petit, Jerome Robbins, and William Forsythe.

Tours with The Tokyo Ballet and guest performances have led her to the world’s most prestigious stages such as The Palais Garnier, the Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna State Opera and the Staatsoper Berlin among others. Ueno also appeared in the World Ballet Festival in 2009, 2012, 2015, and at the Festival in 2018, she danced Boléro. In 2014 and 2018, she organized and presented gala performances titled Jewels from Mizuka, with her colleagues and friends. She has guest performed with many companies and at galas such as La Scala Theatre Ballet, Malakhov and Friends in Berlin, Nijinsky Gala in Hamburg, YAGP New York Gala and the Prix de Lausanne 40^th Anniversary Gala.

In March 2022, Ueno received The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize.

Repertoire includes:

Lead roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Giselle, La Bayadère, Don Quixote, La Sylphide, Le Corsaire, Boléro, The Kabuki, Bhakti III, Notre-Dame de Paris, L’Arlésienne, Cheek to Cheek, Leda and the Swan, Theme and Variations, Serenade, Ballet Imperial, L’Après-midi d’un faune, The Dream, Études, Delibes Suite, and others.

Appearances in The Tokyo Ballet Premieres: 

Frederick Ashton’s The Dream (2005, Titania), Anton Dolin’s Pas de Quatre (2005, Taglioni), Natalia Makarova’s La Bayadère (2009, Nikiya), John Neumeier’s Seven Haiku of the Moon (2009), Maurice Béjart’s The Ninth Symphony(2014), Vladimir Vasiliev’s Don Quixote’s Dream (2015, Kitri), William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated(2015), Vladimir Burmeister’s Swan Lake (2016, Odette/Odile), Jerome Robbins’s In the Night (2017), Roland Petit’s L’Arlésienne (2017, Vivette), Béjart fête Maurice (2017, Pas de deux from Notre Faust), George Balanchine’s Serenade(2018), Marius Petipa’s Esmeralda (2018, Pas de deux), Raymonda (excerpt, 2018) and Le Corsaire (2019, Medora).

Appearance in World Premiere:

Patrick de Bana’s White Shadows (2010)