Gen Horiuchi is celebrating 25 years as inventive and government director of Saint Louis Ballet. Throughout his tenure, he has remodeled the as soon as debt-ridden civic group into a totally skilled firm with a formidable working price range, a loyal subscriber base and a faculty serving roughly 350 college students. Horiuchi’s methodical method, sturdy organizational expertise and regular presence have allowed the corporate to thrive.
Horiuchi was born in Tokyo, Japan, right into a ballet household. His mother and father had been skilled dancers who owned a dance studio straight beneath the household residence, immersing him in ballet from a really younger age. Ballet was merely part of on a regular basis life. He says, “Once I was born, the ballet studio was already there, and my mom and father had been the lecturers. Having that household enterprise made the transition into the world of ballet clean, and there was actually no query about persevering with to pursue it as a profession.” This early publicity to the self-discipline and routine of studio life formed his work ethic and inventive perspective.
He received the Prix de Lausanne in 1980, incomes a scholarship to check on the Faculty of American Ballet (SAB). “Successful that scholarship actually modified my life and set every part in movement for the profession that adopted. I had at all times dreamed of dancing within the New York Metropolis Ballet (NYCB).” Learning at SAB with lecturers resembling Stanley Williams formed his growth and ready him for knowledgeable profession.
His time at SAB was not with out challenges. “The largest adjustment was studying and understanding English and American tradition,” Horiuchi explains. He persevered and was invited by George Balanchine to hitch NYCB in 1982, on the age of 17. Trying again, he feels he was too younger to totally respect the alternatives he had been given. “It took me a number of years to appreciate how fortunate I used to be to have the ability to dance for Mr. B. I want I had identified extra about him whereas I used to be truly dancing for him, however I treasure the time I spent with him for all times.”
Horiuchi rose rapidly via the ranks and was promoted to principal dancer in 1989. A number of cherished moments stand out. “The primary ballet I used to be forged in by George Balanchine himself was Persephone. That was a turning level for me and actually marked the start of my skilled profession. One other defining function was being forged as Oberon in A Midsummer Night time’s Dream. It was a task I by no means imagined I’d be forged in, and it introduced a brand new problem for me as an artist.” He additionally remembers being chosen for a principal function in Les Gentilhommes as particularly significant.
He remained with the corporate for 14 years and later carried out the function of Mistoffelees within the musical Cats, each on Broadway and in London’s West Finish. His years at NYCB taught him the significance of presenting sturdy work to audiences and contemplating their expertise, not solely what an organization needs to current. This lesson would later inform his management in St. Louis.
In 1997, Horiuchi was invited to Saint Louis Ballet to carry out in A Midsummer Night time’s Dream as a visitor artist. The inventive director on the time was Lyudmila Dokoudovsky, whose father, Vladimir Dokoudovsky, had taught Horiuchi in New York. After Dokoudovsky’s dying in 1999, the corporate’s board approached Horiuchi about the potential for main the group. “I had at all times dreamed of getting my very own college and firm, so the concept intrigued me, and I went for it.” He accepted the place and formally grew to become inventive director in 2000.
He then started the troublesome job of rebuilding the corporate from a small, struggling troupe into the skilled group it’s immediately. On the time, the corporate confronted monetary challenges and had solely a small roster of dancers, but Horiuchi noticed potential in each the scholars and the broader neighborhood that supported the varsity and performances. In earlier interviews, he mentions being struck by how welcoming the town felt and the keenness for the humanities amongst audiences and households concerned with the ballet. St. Louis, with its sturdy custom of supporting cultural establishments, appeared to him a spot the place a long-lasting ballet group might take root.
An early precedence was strengthening the varsity. “I keep in mind George Balanchine at all times saying, ‘First, a faculty.’ That concept stayed with me. One among my first priorities was establishing the varsity in a extra family-centered location, which we had been in a position to do with the assistance of a board member.” Within the early 2000s, the academy was relocated to a extra accessible suburban facility within the Chesterfield space, a transfer Horiuchi credit with serving to enrollment develop quickly and strengthening the group’s basis.
He additionally centered on securing a constant efficiency venue. Within the early years, the corporate relied largely on touring engagements. After presenting performances in smaller native theaters, the corporate established its major residence stage on the Touhill Performing Arts Heart in 2009, permitting it to succeed in broader audiences. One of many biggest challenges throughout that interval, he remembers, was constructing recognition. “I had completed lots in my profession in New York Metropolis, as a ballet dancer and on Broadway, however in St. Louis, individuals didn’t know me. Missouri is the ‘Present-Me State,’ so I needed to slowly show myself,” he says. “I used to be making an attempt to develop the expertise within the firm and produce ballets with a really small price range. I typically choreographed the productions myself, which helped get monetary savings that may have gone towards hiring exterior choreographers.”
One other impediment was competing with the town’s sturdy sports activities tradition. “It’s a sports activities city. On the similar time, I knew there was an viewers for dwell performances due to how many individuals attended reveals on the Fox Theatre,” he notes. He labored to construct consciousness that St. Louis had a resident ballet firm worthy of neighborhood help, a course of that required persistence over a few years.
Horiuchi’s management type stays firmly rooted within the studio. He believes in main by instance, typically taking class and infrequently performing alongside his dancers. “Shifting with the dancers jogs my memory the way it feels to be a dancer. It additionally helps me choreograph higher. A director can simply stand in entrance of the dancers and provides instructions whereas forgetting what it truly feels wish to be on the opposite aspect of that instruction.” By sharing the each day self-discipline of coaching, he hopes dancers really feel he’s working with them moderately than merely directing them.
Underneath his management, the group has grown into a totally skilled firm. In 2024, dancers ratified their first union contract with the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). The corporate now consists of roughly 24 skilled dancers and 5 second firm members on contract, together with a Skilled Coaching Program of greater than 30 dancers. A typical season options three to 4 mainstage productions, further studio performances and periodic worldwide touring.
This spring, Horiuchi will carry a bunch of dancers to Tokyo for a particular engagement. “We’ll carry out underneath Shiki Theatre Firm, the biggest theater firm producing Broadway-style productions in Japan, for 5 performances,” he says. “This system will embrace Jerome Robbins’ Interaction, Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel (A Dance) pas de deux and my ballet St. Louis Blues.”
Reflecting on his silver anniversary, Horiuchi says, “At this stage, I’m particularly blissful that I’m in a position to invite colleagues from my previous to set and create works for the corporate. Having the ability to current ballets commonly by choreographers resembling George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck and Jerome Robbins brings me nice pleasure.” Sharing these masterworks with St. Louis audiences whereas preserving the classical repertoire stays central to his imaginative and prescient.
As he appears forward, Horiuchi stays centered on development and inventive connection. “My hope for the way forward for Saint Louis Ballet is to proceed presenting the perfect works out there to us whereas additionally serving what audiences want to see, and to share and respect the expertise collectively.”
Saint Louis Ballet will current Cinderella from April 24-26, on the Touhill Performing Arts Heart. For tickets and extra info, go to www.stlouisballet.org.
By Mary Carpenter of Dance Informa.
