Full biography
Les Ballets Grandiva/Les Ballets Eloelle is an all-male comedy ballet company, one of only a handful of companies in the world that practice this dance art form. The company was founded in 1996 under the name Les Ballets Grandiva, when Kiyouichi Miyazaki invited Victor Trevino to create a male comedy troupe to tour Japan. The founding company consisted of 13 dancers and a repertoire of 7 ballets. The company grew to over 50 ballets in its repertoire and toured with as many as 22 dancers. Grandiva has been featured in The New York Times, Dance Magazine and Pointe Magazine, and in many other publications and media around the world. In 1999 Grandiva gave a joint television performance for Japanese television with American Ballet Theatre, featuring ABT dancers including Yan Chen and Angel Corella alongside Grandiva. That broadcast reached over 30 million prime-time viewers in Asia.
In 2009, Mr. Trevino chose to step away for a few years, but in 2011 a producer from Australia approached him with a six-month tour of Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Trevino formed Les Ballets Eloelle (LOL) and took 15 dancers on the 25-week tour, with many venues sold out. In 2019 Mr. Miyazaki convinced Trevino to return to Japan under the name Les Ballets Grandiva/Eloelle, bringing the company full circle back to its roots. Grandiva/Eloelle has performed in Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, St Barths, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The stated mission of the company is to cultivate new audiences for dance through comedy, preserving the integrity of the ballets, dance aesthetics and standards of excellence, and educating audiences about classical and contemporary dance. The unstated mission is to introduce audiences to a diversity of people they might not normally meet. The company features dancers from all over the globe, covering a range of ages, body types and cultures. The message is one of bringing people together through laughter, creating connection through what we have in common. Dance is the unifying language that creates harmony. Our most important goal is to entertain. A few hours of shared joy and laughter is everything.
