Ahead of The Tokyo Ballet's official 50th anniversary on Aug. 30, its website is already garlanded with tributes from international dancers and choreographers such as Sweden's Mats Ek and Britain's Akram Khan — and even from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

For dance fans, however, the highlight will be an Anniversary Gala staged in Tokyo from Aug. 29-31, followed by a short tour in September.

As the company's newly appointed artistic adviser, Vladimir Malakhov, a guest dancer for more than 20 years, put it recently, "This will be a very special event. I am honored to be invited to perform along with Sylvie Guillem and Manuel Legris, who also have long ties to The Tokyo Ballet."