School Spotlight: Yosuke Mino
RWB Company Dancer and Professional Division Graduate Premieres New Work at On The Edge
Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company Dancer Yosuke Mino has choreographed a new piece for the RWB School’s On The Edge. The performance showcases talented students from the School’s Aspirant Program.
Mino, a soloist with the Company and a graduate of the Professional Division, has choreographed for On The Edge several times before and says he really enjoys working with the students.
They are so open to learning and moving and I really enjoy working through the choreographic process with them,” Mino said.
While he spends plenty of time performing works by other choreographers during the Company season, Mino says he has always had an interest in exploring the choreographic process and expressing himself outside of his own dancing.
“It has always been my interest to choreograph and explore what I can do with movement and dance based on what I’ve learned. I’m especially interested in being able to express myself through choreographing for others, rather than dancing myself,” Mino said.
Mino’s piece incorporates clapping and stomping, pairs intricate movements with the percussive sounds of Brazilian musicians, Barbatuques. Mino likes to choose genres outside of ballet to get the experience of other types of movement. For this particular piece, Mino was really drawn to the music.
“I wanted to choreograph to something more upbeat, and when I found the music for this piece, the choreography just followed,” Mino said.
In addition to the premiere of Mino’s new work, On The Edge features three new choreographic works by RWB School Artistic Faculty Gabriela Rehak, and RWB School Aspirant Program students Philippe Larouche and Philippe-Alexandre Jaques. Also included in the program are classical works: the Pas de Deux from Flower Festival in Genzano,Grand Pas Classique, Diana & Actaeon, and excerpts from La Bayadère.
You can see RWB School Aspirant Program students on stage in On The Edge May 29 and 30 at the University of Winnipeg Asper Centre for Theatre + Film.