Ballet - Le Corsaire At Tokyo Bunka Kaikan In Ueno

I was very lucky on Friday to get a ticket to a world-class ballet performance by the Leningrad State Ballet with Faroukh Ruzimatov. I happened to be in Ueno and dropped by Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, and if I waited, there would be last-minute tickets for sale from 17:30. Of course I waited.

I have seen Ruzimatov perform before in Tokyo (new HQ video added!), and he has such a huge following in Japan.

One thing I like about ballet is that the audience can applaud and cheer as much as they wish, even while the music and the dancing is going on, as a way to encourage the stars. Compared to ordinary classical concerts that are usually rather solemn events, ballet performances are "free-for-all" with lots of shouts of "Bravo!" after (or during) a spectacular spin.

Le Corsaire from 1856 is a very entertaining ballet, with a mean bunch of Arab pirates washed ashore a southern beach in Greece. Soon, some local girls appear to dance and win their hearts... There is a sultry sultan, and before you know it the girls are lured into his harem... The pirates are having none of it! There are samurai sword fights and lucky escapes and ninjas and sweet wine and good food. Samurai sword fights? Ninjas? No, I made that up. But there was indeed sabre dancing and the clash of steel on stage... A fantastic performance, and the capacity crowd at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan couldn't get enough of it. Compared to other performances, the good Leningrad (!) people also brought a very delightful stage set complete with a ship, an ocean, and an evening garden made for love.

The Japanese name for Le Corsaire is 海賊 (kaizoku) which literally means "ocean thiefs" or just plain old pirates.


Japan of course has had pirates, called wakou, that raided the Chinese coast in the 15th Century... Tofugu has more here: Konichiwarrrr, Mateys! Famous Japanese Pirates, Ninja Pirates, And The Wild Wakou

I also learn from Miss Kagaki of Multiculturalism for Steampunk (great name for a blog) that there were a few female pirates back in the day:

Corsairs and China sea pirates were tough customers that would probably make even Edward Teach double take and certainly give most airship pirates I see (who really act more like sky hippies than actual pirates) a run for their dubloons. The overall makeup of either of these groups was very multicultural and even offered opportunities for women- such as the case of the 16th century Muslim Queen of the Corsairs Sayyida al-Hurra.

Cheng I Sao and the Red and Green Fleets: While piracy in the Atlantic had been in a state of decline for nearly a century, freebooting was alive and well in the Pacific- particularly in the waters surrounding China. One of the most infamous lords of this coast was... in fact.. a lady. A former prostitute, in fact! Cheng I Sao, or Shih Yang started her rags to riches tale by marrying the ruthless pirate lord Cheng I, who apparently respected his bride enough to allow her to participate in his business affairs. When Cheng died in 1801 during a storm, his wife was more than capable to take the reigns of his 40 ships and bumped anyone who disagreed out of the way. From then on, Lady Cheng ruled the waters surrounding mainland China, Vietnam, and Hong Kong with an iron fist (with some help from her lover, Chang Pao). Her personal fleet became the dreaded Red fleet, while Pao was given the Green.

When the old bird was getting a bit too achy in her bones to shake a cutlass anymore, she rigged a deal with the Chinese government that allowed her to retire. Her tens of thousands of crew were pardoned, Pao was given a comfy desk job, and Cheng lived to the ripe old age of 60 as the proprietress of a house of ill repute and filthy rich. Not bad, not bad at all.

Source: Mix it Up!: Real Airship Pirates- Pirates of the 19th Century

But, back to ballet. Here is Faroukh Ruzimatov (Ali) in a 8 minute long video from 1991, with Lyubov Kunakova (Medora):