Dancer dedicated to bringing art to life
His grandfather was a Japanese pop music composer. His parents were both actors.
So it’s no surprise Alberta Ballet soloist and choreographer Yukichi Hattori loves to balance entertaining with tickling the intellect of the audience in his dance performances.
“I was brought up in the theatre so I have that actors’ influence. I balance that — theatre arts and ballet — and that opens it up to an expanded audience.”
And growing that audience is important to a dancer who considers it critical to connect with those in the auditorium.
“I want to hear people’s opinions about my art. I’m not the artist of ‘it’s my way or the highway.’ ”
The Tokyo-born 33-year-old, in his eighth season with Alberta Ballet, is known for his crisp, fast dance movements. That individual style may come partly from his study, along with ballet, of Japanese traditional dance.
“I bring that flair into my choreography as well — it is minimalist, spiritual.”
Hattori was the lead dancer in Jean Grand-Maitre’s Love Lies Bleeding, the ballet set to the songs of Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin, but he may have topped that this year as the cho- reographer for Pomp Without Circumstance and as the lead dancer in Mozart’s Requiem — both in the same night. He was most recently seen dancing the role of The Nutcracker.
Hattori studied ballet in Japan as a young child, winning a scholarship to the Hamburg Ballet School. In 2004, he was promoted to soloist and also toured the world as guest artist with the Bavarian State Ballet.
His wife, retired dancer Galien Johnston, joined Hamburg the same year and, on a visit to her parents in Alberta, both joined Alberta Ballet.
Hattori’s talents as choreographer and dancer have also been showcased at festivals around the city, such as High Performance Rodeo.
For 2014, Hattori says highlights will include a tour in the United States and more choreography, along with the birth of his second child.
The dancer will share his passion for dance, not only in his performances, but also with visits to schools, emphasizing the importance of arts in daily life. The physicality of dance, he says, helps kids focus on the rest of their day’s activities.
“Dance is not just something to look at.”