Hi fellow Balletomanes!
I thought I would begin a ballet page to chronicle the truly exceptional in the ballet world. Since this is a page, the newest entries will be first.
Many of you will recall that I did a tribute page to Skylar Brandt, prima ballerina with American Ballet Theatre.
For the first entry, (December 5th, 2021) I have a special treat for you.
These are 9-11-year-olds performing for the Youth Grand Prix in Japan.
They are not dancing en pointe, (at least not for these performances) but it is evident that most, if not all of them are easily strong enough to do so. In fact, a few look like they’re ready to be soloists with American Ballet Theatre.
Here’s the clincher. They are too young to compete and are actually at the PRE-COMPETITIVE LEVEL.
They are all amazing, however, the two standouts are:
Anne Takahashi – age NINE – the video above is cued to show her performance of Harlequinade.
and
Asuka Hara – age TEN. The video above her photo is cued for her performance of Graduation Ball.
You would expect to see a lot of cuteness, right? Well, cute isn’t the word, exactly.
It’s more like, polished, seasoned, professionals at age NINE and TEN. It’s mind-blowing. Anyone who’s ever done ballet knows it takes a tremendous amount of strength, to do ballet well.
Both are insanely talented. Asuka, at least looks like a little girl with the sickest feet ever, and an arabesque line from heaven. She’s been awarded scholarships at every freakin’ ballet academy in the world. Anne, too young, apparently for any scholarships (unless I missed them) looks like a 25-year-old that stopped growing at age nine.* Both, not only deliver on technique but have stage charisma for days.
I am so looking forward to following these two girls. They are sooooooo young. However, the potential for international stardom in 10-15 years is certainly there for both of them.
*Note: Post publishing. On a whim, I checked to see if either dancer has an Instagram account. I couldn’t find one for Asuka, but Anne has one with 42 posts, to date. Please check out Anne’s Insta account, here. You will see that she is indeed an adorable little girl, not a grown woman in a little girl’s body.
Oh wait. I did just find Asuka’s Insta. Please enjoy them both.
