Rio Mitani

Rio Mitani  
三谷 梨央

神戸生まれ、1 才からウィーンに育つ。ウィーン国立バレエ学校を経てウィーン・コンセルバトリウム・バレエ科の公認バレエ 指導免許を取得。17才でオーストリア・バレエ劇場に入団し、まもなくソリストの役を与えられる。ウラジミール・ツカノフ、 ビルジニヤ・ツカノワ両氏に師事。1999年、視野を広めるべくアラスカへ渡り、ジュノー・ダンス・アンリミテッドの芸術監督を引き受ける。同時にニューヨーク、シアトル、ニュージャージー、アラスカ、オーストリア、フランスの各地でジゼル、 くるみ割り人形、ゼンツァーノの花祭り、レ・シルフィードの主役でゲスト出演。ニューヨークのアメリカン・バレエ・シアター にてダイアナ・カティエール氏に学ぶ。2001年、フュージョン・ダンス・カンパニーのソリストとしてシアトルへ招聘、パ シフィック・ノースウェスト・バレエの福祉プログラムの教師を務めたのち、ニュージャージーのアトランティック・コンテ ンポラリー・バレエ劇場のソリスト兼バレエマスターに就任。 2002年、故国日本に戻り、2004年、夫クリスティアン・マルティーヌと共にABC-TOKYOバレエ団を設立。 2010年8月、第4回 青少年のためのバレエ・コンクール「ザ・バレコン東京」にて、更に2019年、第３回「国際バレエアワード」コンクールにて優秀指導者賞を受賞。 

Rio Mitani was born in Kobe, Japan and raised in Vienna, Austria since the age of 1. She studied at the Vienna State Opera Ballet School and later with the Ballet Department of the Vienna Conservatory where she graduated with a diploma. At 17 she joined the Oesterreichisches Ballett Theater and soon was given soloist parts. There she deepened her studies with Vladimir and Virginia Tsukanov. To broaden her horizon, she took an o er as Artistic Director with Juneau Dance Unlimited, Alaska in 1999. At the same time she performed as guest artist classical leading roles such as Giselle, Sugar Plum Fairy, Flowerfest in Genzano, Les Sylphides and many others in New York, Seattle, New Jersey, Alaska, Austria and France. In NY she studied with Diana Cartier at the American Ballet Theatre. Rio then followed the invitation to be Soloist with Fusion Dance Company, Seattle and was also on the faculty of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s outreach program before she joined Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Theatre, New Jersey as Soloist and Ballet Master. In 2002 Rio decided to return to Japan and in 2004 founded ABC-Tokyo together with her husband Christian Martinu. In August 2010 she was awarded Best Teacher at The Ballet Competition Tokyo, and in August 2019 she received the Best Teacher Prize at the International Ballet Award, Tokyo.


ENDORSEMENTS FOR RIO MITANI AND CHRISTIAN MARTINU

"They are wonderful people, good technicians with extensive experience in both contemporary and classical works; they are extremely hard working and disciplined in class."
Diana Cartier, American Ballet Theatre, New York

"Christian and Rio have a wealth of knowledge to give all of us. There are few, if any, in the US who can boast their repertoire of teaching abilities." 
Virginia L Niekrasz-Laurent, Director of Redwood Concert Ballet, Redwood, California

Repertoire

• Nutcracker, Raymonda, Die Puppenfee,  etc. - Vienna State Opera Ballet
• Fanny Elssler (The Dancer) - Volksoper, Vienna, AUT
• Giselle - Grand Pas de Deux - Jeunesse Austria Tour
• Eclipse with ACBT - New Jersey, USA
• The Conductor (The Maid) - Union Square Dance Festival, NYC and Festival Off, Avignon, FR
• Sleeping Beauty, Grand Pas de Deux - Österreichisches Ballett Theater & JDU
• Don Giovanni (Mask Dancer) - Kammeroper, Vienna
• Romeo & Juliet (Juliet) - Juneau Dance Unlimited, Juneau Alaska, USA
• Urashima Taro (Princess Otohime) - Austrian Ballet Company, Akzenttheater
• Flowerfesival in Genzano, Pas de Deux - Ballet Bellevue, Meydenbauer Theatre USA
• he View from Here FDC - Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle, USA
• Merry! (Susi) Alaska Dance Theatre, Anchorage, USA

Artistic Director
January 2000 to June 2001: Juneau Dance Unlimited, Juneau, Alaska, USA
1998 to present: Austrian Ballet Company, Vienna, Austria
2004 to present: ABC-Tokyo Ballet Co., Tokyo, Japan

Trained at
Vienna State Opera Ballet School, Graduate of the Conservatory of Vienna
Vladimir Tsukanov, Virginia Stankiewiz, Bolshoi/Vaganova
Diana Cartier, American Ballet Theater

Training and Coaching Experience
Rio teaches in English, German, Japanese, and French

• Giselle, Grand Pas de Deux for the Demi Soloist of the Vienna State Opera Ballet
• Romeo & Juliet, Balcony scene for a dancer of the Royal Ballet
• Hänsel und Gretl, Gretl for a dancer of the American Ballet Theatre
• Swan Lake, Neapolitan Dance for a Demi-soloist of the Vienna State Opera Ballet
• Blue Danube Waltz, soloists of the Vienna State Opera Ballet
• The Magic Toyshop, Harlequin for a dancer of the Royal Ballet
• Sleeping Beauty, Budapest soloists of the Hungarian State Opera Ballet
• Swan Lake, Odette for the soloist in Japan

Prizes
​For having prepared Asami Koizumi, as well as Towako Mizukami for the first prize in a competition, Rio received two special teacher's awards as outstanding ballet mistress. 

Choreographies

• Prima la Musica, for Austrian public TV (ORF)
• Urashima Taro, A Japanese Fairytale, Akzent Theater, Vienna
• Mozart's Pour le Roi, Jeunesse Austria Tour
• Carmen, Jeunesse Austria Tour
• Johann Strauß Memories, Vienna Festival Weeks
• Nostalgies, Kinderklang, Vienna with artists of the Vienna Philharmonic
• Roses from the South, ACBT, New Jersey
• Etudes, Redwood Concert Ballet, CA
• The Conductor, Festival Off, Avignon, France, Union Square Dance Festival, NYC
• For God, Hokkaido, Japan
• Romeo & Juliet, JDHS, Juneau
• Yuki Onna - The Snow Princess, Japan, Australia, Europe
• Urashima Taro - A fisher's man tale, Japan, Australia
• The Wonderful World of Dance, Japan
• Umbrellas of Kyoto, premiere in 2012
• Messiah - The life of Jesus Christ
• The Dream, premiere February 2017
• Les Miserables, 2018
• From the Ashes, 2019

Professional References
"In working with PNB, Rio helped do the important and valuable work of enriching public schools and the lives of students and teachers with ballet, dance, and the arts." 
Stephanie Scherpf, Director of Outreach and Education, Pacific Northwest Ballet, 2002

"Miss Mitani and Mr. Martinu have proven to be such a gift to the teaching profession." 
Virginia L Niekrasz-Laurent, Director of Redwood Concert Ballet, Redwood, CA., 2002

"Rio and Christian's classes are well organized and their corrections are very positive. I feel privileged to have them on the faculty." 
Phyllis Papa, Director, Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Theatre, New Jersey, 2001

"We enjoyed the positive energy, professional work ethic, and flexibility in all situations." 
Alice Bassler Sullivan, Director, Alaska Dance Theatre, 2001

"Your performance as a dancer convinced the public, by grace and ease, and by an especially beautiful musical interpretation." 
Dr. Werner Pelinka, Director, Kinderklang Vienna, 1999

"Miss Rio Mitani is extremely brilliant, constantly diligent in her work, and outstandingly talented - a true artist in a wide sense." 
Mariko Nicol, Composer, Concert pianist, Painter, Tokyo 1999

"Her discipline, her technical ability, and her vision make her an extraordinary artist. She is truly dedicated." 
Susana B. Williams, Director, Thought-Forms Productions 2000

"... a wonderful ambassador for our department." 
Prof. Karl Musil, Director, Conservatory Vienna, 1997

"I have been extremely pleased by her level of professionalism and her commitment to her art and her students, always willing to "go that extra mile" to get things "just right." 
William Bell, Vienna International School, 1999
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"I appreciate her ability, as a dancer with profound technique, to create stage characters within a wide range of personalities." 
Walter Bartussek, Director, The Mime Center, Vienna, 1999