Gen Horiuchi

Gen Horiuchi, born Hajime Gen Horiuchi on August 29, 1964, in Tokyo, Japan, is a ballet dancer, choreographer, and artistic director who also built a notable Broadway career during the 1980s. Raised in a family of professional dancers, his parents owned and operated their own ballet studio in Tokyo, giving him an early foundation in the art form.

Horiuchi's international profile emerged in 1980 when he won the Prix de Lausanne, the prestigious ballet competition held in Switzerland. The victory earned him a scholarship to study at the School of American Ballet. Two years later, in 1982, George Balanchine personally invited him to join the New York City Ballet, the company with which he would become most closely identified. He was elevated to principal dancer there in 1989.

His Broadway work ran concurrently with his early years at New York City Ballet. Between 1982 and 1985, Horiuchi appeared in two Broadway productions: the play The Song and Dance Man and the musical Cats. In Cats he originated the role of Mr. Mistoffelees, a credit he later reprised in London's West End.

Beyond the stage, Horiuchi appeared in the 1993 film The Nutcracker, playing the role of Chinese Tea. That same year he became a judge for the Prix de Lausanne, the competition where he had himself triumphed as a young dancer. He also choreographed the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan.

Since 2000, Horiuchi has served as artistic director of the Saint Louis Ballet Company and School. Under his leadership, enrollment at the school grew from 50 students in 2000 to 350 by 2008, and he has created more than a dozen original works for the company.