At the performance of Mayerling on Tuesday 30th October, Hikaru Kobayashi made her last performance with The Royal Ballet after 15 years with the Company.
Hikaru Kobayashi was born in Tokyo and trained locally and at the Paris Opera Ballet School. She danced with the Jeune Ballet de France, Zürich Ballet and Dutch National Ballet before joining The Royal Ballet in 2003 as a First Artist. She was promoted to Soloist in 2006 and First Soloist in 2009.
Director Kevin O’Hare says, ‘Hikaru has made a wonderful contribution to the life and spirit of The Royal Ballet both on and off stage during her 15 years with us. She has taken on a wide range of roles within the repertory during her career, excelling notably in the classics including Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Nikiya in La Bayadère.
She has also brought fine sensitivity to dramatic roles such as Myrtha in Giselle, Gamzatti in La Bayadère and Countess Larisch in Mayerling so it is particularly fitting that we should see her in this role for her final performance with the company. We wish Hikaru every happiness for the future.’
