From Kanagawa to the world! Lake Sagami Outdoor Ballet Festival 2025

Kanagawa Prefecture is said to be the birthplace of modern ballet in Japan, and the Lake Sagami Outdoor Ballet Festival 2025 was held in the Lake Sagami area for the first time in nine years. We spoke with Kihei Ogawa, chairman of the Lake Sagami Arts and Culture Urban Development Executive Committee, which aims to invigorate the region through the power of arts and culture, with a focus on ballet, and Katsue Yoshino, vice chairman and general producer of the festival.
(Top image: Act 2 of "Swan Lake", image provided by Sagamiko Arts and Culture City Development Executive Committee)

A town-wide festival

- Now that the event has finished for the first time in nine years, please tell us how you feel.

Ogawa: The event was held over two days, on October 18th and 19th. Unfortunately, it had to end early on the 19th due to rain, but other than that, everything else was a great success, so I'm relieved.

-There were many parents and children and families in attendance, and the venue, Sagamiko Park, was bustling.

Yoshino: This year's festival was based on the concept of enjoying art and culture in the park, both casual and sublime, for all ages. It kicked off with a free-to-view opening event, followed by a two-act performance of "Giselle" starring Ueno Mizuka and Atsuji Yasuo on the 18th. After a free chair ballet experience on the 19th, "Ballet Park 2025" was held. Food trucks and event booths were also set up, adding excitement to the festival.

The Sagamiko Arts and Culture City Development Executive Committee was initially formed by 22 organizations, including the local Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Association, and Residents' Association Federation, as well as private companies. However, it now includes organizations from neighboring areas, and is in the process of becoming known throughout Sagamihara City.

Ogawa : That's right. We used a variety of public relations media to spread the word about this town-wide festival to many local residents.

A fantastic and unique outdoor stage

- "Ballet Park 2025" on the 19th was an impressive event with four diverse programs.

Thank you, Yoshino . We made efforts to spread the word through the efforts of the Sagamiko Arts and Culture Development Executive Committee, the Lake Sagami Festival, which attracts approximately 50,000 visitors, and the network of Atelier Yoshino, which I represent and which provides costumes to over 80% of ballet studios across the country. Despite the unpredictable weather on the day, we were able to attract many visitors.

The performance will be a varied event that parents and children can enjoy, featuring a ballet performance (ballet costume fashion show) with nearly 100 ballerinas and a costumed Yoshino-chan, a collaboration with a violin, contemporary dance, and the second act of "Swan Lake" starring Nao Sakuma and Yasuo Atsuji.

-The outdoor stage overlooking Lake Sagami was like a dream.

Yoshino: I remembered the excitement of the first outdoor ballet held in 2007, and felt that the scenery of Lake Sagami has the potential to rival the Mörbisch Lake Festival in Vienna!

The last event was in 2016, and since then, at the request of Yamanashi Prefecture, we have provided stages for developing dancers at Kawaguchiko Stellar Theater and theaters in Tokyo. This is the first time we have held the event in a long time, and we have received requests from local people to hold it every year as the biggest event that can promote Lake Sagami, along with the Lake Sagami Festival.

- The second act of "Swan Lake" also had an excellent synchronization with the real lake. Please tell us about how it came to be and any behind-the-scenes stories.

Unlike the Yoshino Ballet Company, the performers were all dancers active in a variety of age groups, organizations, and regions who were selected through auditions, so it was difficult to gather them from all over Japan to rehearse. Fortunately, many of the dancers who danced in the "Swan Lake" performance held at Kanagawa Prefectural Hall on February 8, 2025, participated and were happy to appear in "Giselle," "Swan Lake," and other pieces, so I think the performance turned out to be very impressive.

I would like to create an environment where freelance dancers can grow into theater-affiliated dancers and, in the future, launch into the world as the Kanagawa Sagamiko Ballet Company. If we can create a cycle and system in this area where children can receive special ballet training from an early age, I believe that Sagamiko will truly become a "city of ballet."

Chair ballet is fun and beautiful

On the 19th, there was also a performance of "Chair Ballet (Chair Ballet Exercise®)," which focuses on movements performed while seated in a chair to the accompaniment of classical music. Based on the upper body movements of ballet, this new program incorporated exercises to promote muscle strength, flexibility, and posture improvement in the elderly, aiming to promote well-being in the "100-year lifespan era."

-As you continue to hold the event, have you noticed any changes in the local area?

Ogawa: Compared to when we first started, I feel that our efforts are gradually becoming more accepted by everyone.

- That's great! Finally, please tell us your thoughts on the future.

Ogawa's goal is to build a permanent outdoor ballet theater at Lake Sagami, and to use it as a base for arts and culture to revitalize the region by utilizing its natural resources, develop commerce and industry, and further stimulate tourism.

Yoshino: We would like to hold this event every year with the theme of "Swan Lake performed by the best dancers on the lake." During the day, we would also like to hold a variety of dance and music performances at the "Ballet Park" where everyone can enjoy themselves.

I would like to establish Sagamiko as a city of ballet, where children can receive specialized instruction from professionals from an early age, not only in ballet but also in various performing arts, and develop it into an art business town where artists can grow and thrive, and where Japanese arts and culture can be disseminated to the world.

Text by Mai Shimura (editor/writer)

Sagamiko Arts and Culture City Development Executive Committee
Official website: here