Tetsuya Kumakawa
Tetsuya "Teddy" Kumakawa is a Japanese ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.
Career
Born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Kumakawa began studying ballet at the age of ten.In 1986, at fourteen, he participated in a workshop in Sapporo, where world-renowned ballet teacher Hans Meister recognized his exceptional talent. The following year, in September 1987, he entered the Upper School of The Royal Ballet School in London.
In 1988, while still a student, he was selected to represent the United Kingdom at the 250th anniversary celebration of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Leningrad, becoming the first Japanese dancer ever to perform on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.
In 1989, he competed in the 17th Prix de Lausanne and became the first Japanese dancer to win the Gold Medal, bringing him international attention. That same year in Paris, he represented the United Kingdom at the “European Young Dancers of the Year” competition and received the Gold Prize.
In February 1989, he became the first Asian dancer to join The Royal Ballet. In July of the same year, at seventeen, he was promoted to Soloist—the youngest in the company. In December, he was cast as the Jester in Kenneth MacMillan’s new ballet The Prince of the Pagodas.
In 1991, he danced his first leading role in MacMillan’s Danses Concertantes and was promoted to First Soloist. He also received the 4th Global Award. In 1992, he made his full-length debut in Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée. Only four days after learning the choreography as an emergency replacement, he successfully performed Solor in La Bayadère. In May 1993, he was promoted to Principal.
Known for his innate physical elasticity, buoyant jumps with long hang time, and sharp, brilliant turns, his Basilio in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s production of Don Quixote was highly acclaimed. He also performed at the “Tchaikovsky 100th Anniversary Gala Concert,” hosted by HRH Prince Charles. In 1995, he originated the role of Master Bring the Bag in Twyla Tharp’s Mr. Worldly Wise. He has collaborated with many of the world’s leading dancers, including Maya Plisetskaya, Sylvie Guillem, Darcey Bussell, and Viviana Durante.
In 1996, he served as a judge for the Prix de Lausanne. Together with the four male Principals of The Royal Ballet, he produced and performed in Made in London, the company’s first self-produced tour in Japan, which became a major success.
In 1997, he danced Albrecht as a guest artist in the Bolshoi Ballet’s Japan tour of Giselle. He also performed Prince Désiré in the opening production of the New National Theatre Tokyo’s The Sleeping Beauty. In 1998, he appeared at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Don Bosco Charity Stage Vol. 3 Five Men’s Brilliant Scheme. After nearly ten years with The Royal Ballet, he left the company in 1998.
In January 1999, Kumakawa founded the, the only ballet company in Japan operated by a joint-stock corporation. In partnership with TBS Television, he launched the inaugural Japan tour IndepenDANCE JAPAN TOUR 99 SPRING, beginning annual national tours that continue today. He was invited to the Spoleto Festival in Italy, appeared at the 10th-anniversary gala of Bunkamura Orchard Hall, and performed Roland Petit’s Boléro, including at the Tokyu Silvester Concert.
In 2000, he guested with English National Ballet in The Nutcracker. In 2001, he guested in ENB’s Japan tour of Swan Lake. He also returned to The Royal Ballet as a guest for the “Sir Anthony Dowell Farewell Gala.” That year, he performed as a guest in Lorin Maazel’s Super World Orchestra 2001.
In 2001, K-Ballet premiered its first full-length classical production, Giselle, staged and re-choreographed by Kumakawa. Since then, while continuing to perform in Japan and abroad, he has served as Artistic Director—producing, staging, and choreographing works—leading the company to attract approximately 100,000 audience members annually through twice-yearly national tours.
In 2003, he guested at The Royal Ballet’s Rudolf Nureyev Tribute. In 2004, K-Ballet presented its first overseas performance at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York. As the first Japanese ballet company ever invited, they performed Ashton’s Rhapsody at the Metropolitan Opera House to great acclaim. In 2009, K-Ballet presented the Japanese premiere of Ashton’s The Tales of Beatrix Potter™.
On May 15, 2007, during a performance of Le Corsaire in Sapporo, he injured his right knee upon landing from a jump and withdrew mid-performance. The next day he was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament—the first time in his nearly twenty-year career that he required a replacement dancer. He made his return the following March in Beethoven 9, a new creation.
On June 30, 2011, he was appointed the first Artistic Director of Bunkamura Orchard Hall, beginning in 2012. As his inaugural work, he premiered Cinderella.
His repertoire as director includes original productions of classical works such as Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Le Corsaire, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker, in addition to staging works by Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine, Roland Petit, and emerging choreographers.
In 2013, he again served as a Prix de Lausanne jury member and received the Purple Ribbon Medal from the Government of Japan. In 2014, he premiered his own production of Carmen, attended by the Emperor and Empress of Japan. In 2017, he premiered the full-length original ballet Cleopatra, which received widespread critical acclaim both domestically and internationally. In 2018, he received the Mainichi Arts Award Special Prize for his achievements leading up to Cleopatra.
In 2003, he established the as the educational arm of K-Ballet Company, opening branches in Koishikawa, Ebisu, Kichijoji, Yokohama, and Omiya. The K-BALLET ACADEMY operates an audition-based curriculum for aspiring professional dancers.
In 2013, celebrating the school’s 10th anniversary, he founded K-Ballet Youth to provide young dancers with professional-stage experience through regular full-length productions.
In 2015, he received the 24th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award for his contributions to ballet education and talent cultivation in Japan.
From January 30 to February 4, 2023, he served once again as a jury member for the Prix de Lausanne.
In February 2023, he was appointed Tokyo Tourism Ambassador.
In July 2023, he established the, dedicated to the promotion of ballet arts and culture.
In September 2023, the company officially changed its name to K-BALLET TOKYO.
In September 2025, he assumed the position of General Director of K-BALLET TOKYO.
Characteristics of His Productions and Choreographic Works
Since the establishment of his company, he has demonstrated remarkable talent in staging and choreographing revised versions of many classical ballets. While honoring the traditions and formal structures of classical ballet to the utmost degree, his works are known for their brisk, contemporary pacing and for direction that conveys the narrative and the characters’ psychology with exceptional clarity.He avoids relying on cutting-edge digital technology; instead, he employs traditional stagecraft to guide audiences into imaginative, otherworldly realms that no one has ever experienced before. As he states, “I want to leave behind works that would stand as classical pieces—whether they were seen 100 years ago or 100 years from now. I never use digital technology for its own sake; my aim is to create works that do not betray what our predecessors built. That is something I cannot compromise as an artist.”
In recent years, he has pursued the creation of entirely original full-length ballets such as Carmen and Cleopatra. For Cleopatra, he created the entire production—scenario, music selection, and choreography—from scratch, without any pre-existing base. Achieving a large-scale premiere of this nature was an unprecedented accomplishment in Japan.
He is also uncompromising in his approach to design and costume. He has collaborated with leading international designers, including Yolanda Sonnabend—one of the foremost figures in British theatre design—and Daniel Ostling, known for his work with institutions such as the Metropolitan Opera.
Portrait
Within K-BALLET COMPANY, he has taken on one full-length classical work after another, overseeing every aspect—from re-choreography, musical direction, costumes, sets, publicity, and even the editing of promotional footage, to the business operations of co-producing performances with major broadcast networks. His unwavering policies guide every facet of production.Driven by a strong conviction that it is essential to discover and nurture the next generation of outstanding artists, he founded a ballet school and is deeply involved in training young dancers. As the founder and artistic director of K-BALLET COMPANY, he actively casts talented young dancers, playing a major role in fostering emerging artists. He also manages ballet studios that welcome students ranging from complete beginners to advanced dancers, earning wide support from both children and adults.
He is an avid collector of rare books on great dancers, choreographers, and composers. His collection includes valuable historical materials such as an 1826 first edition of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and manuscripts handwritten by Tchaikovsky. He explains, “By touching objects created in the time these artists lived, their presence becomes real—almost close enough to feel.”
He is also well known for his love of cars, especially sports cars and supercars, and has owned models such as the Ferrari F40 and F50. “It’s about never losing that sense of admiration. Ferraris and ballet—neither is necessary for everyday life. Only those who truly love them pursue them. But each can become someone’s lifelong treasure,” he says. He once recounted an episode where a driveshaft broke while driving near Buckingham Palace, causing him to collide with a wall.
He describes himself as someone who “pursues everything to the very end.” Even when experiencing muscle or nerve pain, he studies anatomy and his own physical condition carefully, always seeking deeper understanding.
He has profound affection for his hometown in Hokkaido. While living in the U.K., he returned home annually to work in the fields. Even after founding his company, whenever he felt overwhelmed or at risk of losing his sense of self, he would drive back to his hometown to reconnect with childhood friends and nature.
In February 2023, he was appointed a Tokyo Tourism Ambassador.
Anecdotes & Episodes
At age 15, when he entered The Royal Ballet School, he was placed not in the Lower School where students his age typically trained, but unusually in the Upper School’s class for 17-year-olds due to his exceptional technique. Though he displayed a mischievous side—often enough to receive warnings sent to his family—his ability earned him a scholarship in his second year.In May 1988, he was selected as one of the representatives of The Royal Ballet School to perform at the 250th anniversary of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Leningrad. He danced MacMillan’s Four Seasons, becoming the first Japanese dancer to perform on the Mariinsky Theatre stage. Fellow performers that year included Altinai Asylmuratova and Farukh Ruzimatov, with whom he later danced in La Bayadère with The Royal Ballet.
Although he once vaguely hoped to join a company like ABT, one week before competing at the Prix de Lausanne, he was offered a contract with The Royal Ballet by Artistic Director Anthony Dowell—an unprecedented invitation for an East Asian dancer at the time. He did not accept immediately but considered the offer for several days before deciding.
At the 1989 Prix de Lausanne, he won the highest honor, the Gold Medal, despite not being in perfect physical condition. His overwhelming performance moved audiences to break competition rules by applauding mid-performance during both the European preliminaries and the Tokyo semifinals. After receiving the award, he said, “I didn’t think I could get the gold medal, but I was determined to.” Notably, only 13 dancers have received the Gold Medal in the competition’s 46-year history as of 2018. Many fellow competitors that year—including Adam Cooper, Ethan Stiefel, Daria Klimentová, and Morihiro Iwata—went on to lead major international companies.
He made his debut with The Royal Ballet in June 1989, stepping in as a last-minute replacement just a few days before a Bristol performance; he learned the choreography in only two days. Two weeks later, he was selected for the Mandarin Dance solo in Romeo and Juliet—an exceptionally rapid rise.
In September 1989, he was promoted to Soloist at 17, the youngest in company history. Initially told he would be promoted only to Coryphée, he boldly requested to be made a Soloist since he was already dancing solo roles, and Dowell approved the promotion on the spot.
In 1992, he prepared the full-length role of Solor in La Bayadère in just four days after being asked to replace an injured dancer. Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret attended the performance discreetly, and he danced flawlessly opposite Viviana Durante.
He was promoted to Principal in May 1993—the day after dancing in the Baryshnikov Don Quixote. At age 21, he achieved Principal status in just over four years, an extraordinarily fast trajectory.
His sudden resignation from The Royal Ballet shocked the dance world; newspapers called it “a great loss to the Royal Ballet.” But the decision was not impulsive. He had long expressed his desire to return to Japan while still young and to contribute to the advancement of Japanese ballet—a vision he had openly shared since his teenage years.
His nickname “Teddy” was given shortly after he arrived in the U.K. Because “Tetsuya” was difficult for English speakers to pronounce, friends suggested “Teddy”—both beginning with T and evoking the “bear” in his surname. For a time, even newspapers referred to him as “Teddy Kumakawa.”
Awards
1989 – Prix de Lausanne: Gold Medal and Prince Takamado Award1989 – Eurovision Young Dancers: Classical Prize
1998 – 22nd Japan Academy Prize: Best Actor "F"
2001 – 27th Akiko Tachibana Award: Special Prize
2003 – 3rd Asahi Performing Arts Award: Stage Arts Prize
2005 – 5th Asahi Performing Arts Award: Stage Arts Prize
2005 – Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize
2013 – Medal with Purple Ribbon
2015 – 24th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award
2018 – 59th Mainichi Arts Award: Special Prize
Principal Roles (Original Productions & Classical Repertoire)
Don Quixote Swan Lake The Sleeping Beauty The Nutcracker La Bayadère Giselle Romeo and Juliet Cinderella The Prince of the Pagodas Manon Three Sisters Side Show Elite Syncopations Mayerling Dances Concertantes A Midsummer Night’s Dream Scenes de Ballet Rhapsody La Fille mal gardée Les Patineurs Symphonic Variations The Tales of Beatrix Potter Birthday Offering Petrushka Le Spectre de la Rose The Prodigal Son Symphony in C Who Cares? Agon Jeunne homme et la Mort Boléro created for KumakawaCarmen L’Arlésienne Push Comes to Shove Mr. Worldly Wise In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated Hermann Schmerman Firstext Steptext Ebony Concerto Raymonda Act III- '''Paquita'''
Re-staged, Newly Choreographed, and Performed Works (Classical Full-Length Ballets)
Choreography / Re-staging by Tetsuya KumakawaGiselle Le Corsaire Romeo and Juliet CinderellaThe Sleeping Beauty Swan Lake Coppélia Don Quixote The Nutcracker La Bayadère----
Original Choreography – Short Works
WolfgangPassing Voice SolitudeFruits de la passion----
Original Choreography – Grand Ballets
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 Carmen Cleopatra Carmina Burana Madam Butterfly Clarimond The Sleeping Beauty- '''Mermaid'''