A Mexican dancer shakes up Japanese Ballet

Mexican classic ballet dancer, Braulio Álvarez, became the first foreign dancer to be part of the Tokyo Ballet Company, which he joined thanks to his wide experience in the Hamburg Ballet, his fluent Japanese and the fact that the Company, for the first time, was willing to open its doors to foreign talent.

Braulio, born in Mexico City, has become one of the most relevant performers of his generation. His career started beside his mother, Irasema de la Parra. By the age of 15, he studied at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, in California. Later on, he finished his training at the Hamburg Ballet, and for eight years, he was a member of a prestigious company directed by a ballet worldwide icon: John Neumeier.

Last August he joined the Tokyo Ballet Company, directed by Yukari Saito, where he started as a second soloist and was recently promoted to first soloist. Besides this, he's a teacher at the Company's official school. And, in little time, he managed to implement a project which encourages and allows students to create their own choreographies and bring them to the stage.

He shares his experiences in three different languages in the blog http://ameblo.jp/tokyodancelife. Where he tells, for example, the story of the time he spent side by side with the legendary star of the Bolshoi Ballet, Vladmir Vasiliev; his everyday life and his thoughts on Ballet itself.

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