Misa Kuranaga (, born 1982/1983) is a Japanese

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

. She is a principal dancer at the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

.Biography on Sosyal video portal web site
/ref> She was formerly a dancer at

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. ...

, and was the first Asian person to be promoted to principal dancer there.

Career

Misa Kuranaga initially trained at the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School in her native Japan and then received additional training at the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional voc ...

in New York City. Before joining

in 2003 she was a member of the

. . In Boston she was promoted to soloist in 2005 and to

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

in 2009. Kuranaga was the first Asian person to be promoted to principal dancer at Boston Ballet. She returned to San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 2019. Kuranaga started her competition career at the Chubu National Ballet Competition where she was the youngest participant to win the gold medal in the pre-junior division. When she was only ten years old she was invited by

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest Ballet company, ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it ca ...

director Yuri Grigorovich to participate in the Moscow International Ballet Competition Gala. She received a scholarship award at 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 ...

competition in 2001 and also won a gold medal as a Junior in the Moscow IBC that same year. In 2006 she won the senior gold medal at the

USA International Ballet Competition The USA International Ballet Competition, or USA IBC, is one of the world's top competitions for ballet. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, this competition is attended by dancers from all over the world to represent their country for bronze, silver, ...

. In 2006, she was named one of "25 to Watch" by ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' is currently part of Dance Media, led by longtime arts publisher Joanna Harp as president, and has mu ...

''. She has been a guest performer with 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 ...

(2009) and the

Vail International Dance Festival Damian Woetzel (born May 17, 1967) is an American choreographer. Woetzel was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, where he performed from 1985 until 2008. He also frequently performed with companies like the Kirov Ballet and Ameri ...

(2009, 2010).

Repertory

Her repertory includes the title role in

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

's ''Coppelia'', Florence Clerc's ''La Bayadere'' (Nikiya), Sir Frederick Ashton's ''La Fille Mal Gardée'' (Lise); August Bournonville's ''La Sylphide'' (the Sylphide); Marius Petipa's ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (Princess Aurora, Songbird Fairy, Princess Florine, and Jewels), Maina Gielgud's ''Giselle'' (Giselle, Peasant Pas de Deux, Lead Wili), ''Le Corsaire Pas de Deux''; Mikko Nissinen's ''The Nutcracker'' (Snow Queen, Sugar Plum Fairy, and Clara) and ''Swan Lake'' (Pas de Trois, Neapolitan, and Black Swan); Rudolf Nureyev's ''Don Quixote'' (Amour/Cupid), and leading solos in his ''Pas De Dix'' from ''Raymonda Act III Divertissements''; the ''Pas de Trois'' and solo variations from ''Paquita''; James Kudelka's ''Cinderella''; John Cranko's ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'' and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''; George Balanchine's ''Divertimento No. 15'', ''Concerto Barocco,'' ''Serenade'', ''Ballo Della Regina''(lead principal), ''Jewels,'' ''Rubies'' (lead principal), ''Who Cares?'', ''La Valse'', ''Stars and Stripes,'' ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''; Mikhail Fokine's ''Les Sylphides''; Mark Morris' ''Up and Down''; Twyla Tharp's ''In the Upper Room''; and Lucinda Childs' ''Ten Part Suite,'' as well as works by Jiri Kylian and Jorma Elo.

Galas/Guesting

She has danced the following classical pas de deuxs at galas and festivals in Japan, US, and Europe: ''Flames of Paris'', ''Giselle Act II,'' ''Don Quixote,'' ''Le Corsaire'', ''La Esmeralda (Tambourine)'', ''Diana and Acteon'', ''Black Swan'', ''Paquita'' (Lead Etoile), ''Balcony Scene'' from ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Lavrovsky version), title-role of Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (full-length, Lavrovsky version), ''La Sylphide Act II'', ''Rose Adagio'' from The Sleeping Beauty, amongst others. From George Balanchine's repertory, she has danced the following gala pieces: ''Stars and Stripes'', ''Tarantella'', ''Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux'', ''Rubies'' from ''Jewels'', selections from ''Who Cares''.

References

External links

Biography on Boston Ballet WebsiteMisa Kuranaga in Danza Ballet interview with Yukihiko YoshidaJanuary 2007 article in Dance MagazineVideo Interview with Jackson Competition Clips in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuranaga, Misa Japanese ballerinas People from Osaka Prefecture Prix de Lausanne winners Boston Ballet principal dancers San Francisco Ballet principal dancers Living people 1980s births Date of birth missing (living people)