Gen Horiuchi () is a Japanese

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer and choreographer. He was a principal dancer of the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

and is artistic director of the Saint Louis Ballet Company.

Biography

Gen Horiuchi (Hajime Gen Horiuchi) was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 29 August 1964. He was raised in a ballet family: his parents were both professional dancers and own their own studio in Tokyo. In 1980, Horiuchi won the

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...

, the international ballet competition in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He then received a scholarship to study at the School of American Ballet. In 1982, he was invited by George Balanchine to join the

, where he became a principal dancer in 1989. He appeared in the 1993 film ''The Nutcracker'' in the role of Chinese tea. He played Mr. Mistoffelees in the musical "Cats", both on Broadway and in London's West End. He choreographed the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Since 1993 he has been a judge of the Prix de Lausanne. Since 2000 he has been artistic director of the Saint Louis Ballet Company and School. He has created a dozen original works for the company. Under his direction, the school rose from 50 students in 2000 to 350 in 2008."A Conversation with Gen Horiuchi"
, St. Louis magazine, March 2008. (Retrieved 5 Dec 2008)

References

External links

* New York City Ballet principal dancers Ballet choreographers Japanese male ballet dancers Living people Entertainers from Tokyo Year of birth missing (living people) {{ballet-bio-stub