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ROMEO THE THIEF AND JULIET THE GUARD



A modern, comical, anime dance version of "Romeo & Juliet," which tells a story about the famous star-crossed couple.

15 minutes, premiered 2008
Selected as one of finalists of AWARD SHOW 2008 in New York City.

Juliet: Kiyoko Kashiwagi



Genres: Classics, Comedy, Romance

REVIEW
"The return of the son in cartoon version"

Un Soir Ou Un Autre, Danse Theatre Sons Partis Pris Mots Buto Amnésies, 22 march, 2007


Kiyoko Kashiwagi and Anime Dance Theater play Romeo the thief and Juliet the guard. It is not Shakespeare, but much better: we steal the "joconde" (Mona Lisa) in a ballet in the style of a Tex Avery ninja, where love triumphs. It is hilarious.


"The A.W.A.R.D. Show! finals"
by Ilona Wall, ExploreDance.com, May 24, 2007

All four works throughout the evening had an air of eager ambition about them. Each short piece, whether charming, humorous, or intense, was performed with refreshing dedication to the work... The final performance started on a light note with Anime Dance Theatre's "Romeo the Thief and Juliet the Guard" choreographed by Kiyoko Kashiwagi. Using sections of the Prokofiev Suite from Romeo and Juliet, Ms. Kashiwagi and Vincent McCloskey cleverly took us from the heist of the Mona Lisa by a veiled Romeo to the passionate Juliet shedding her police guard uniform to seduce him. Juliet's opening jazzy patrol of the painting retreated as Romeo humorously scaled the wall in pursuit of his Rosalind, the Mona Lisa. When Juliet caught him and forced off his mask, love was in the air. Cue the Balcony scene music. Kashiwagi was clever enough to refer to both Shakespeare's lines and Ashton's trademark choreography complete with abandoned running, lifts, and the use of dance sneakers as pointe shoes for balances. In the end, of course, Romeo and the painting got away, and Juliet was left too love-struck to notice. The piece was charming and convincingly....


Phoho by Steven Schreiber

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