Momotaro (The Peach Boy)

Music

Saburo Moroi, Ringtaro Tateishi, Kazuko Yamada, Takashi Yoshimatsu, and Traditional Folk Music

Director & Choreography

Jessica Lang

Creative Associate & Dramaturg

Kanji Segawa

Set Design Illustrator

Yuki Takahashi

Scenic Coordinator

Yuki Izumihara

Costume Design

Meleta Buckstaff

Lighting Design

Reed Nakayama

Taiko Music composed by

Ringtaro Tateishi

Narrator

Brad Lo Walker

Featuring The School of TAIKO

Ringtaro Tateishi, Artistic Director

Premiere

March 21, 2026; Pacific Northwest Ballet

The world premiere of Jessica Lang’s Momotaro is generously sponsored by Aimee Truchard, Leslie Yamada, Deidra Wager, Connie Walsh, Once Upon a Dance, Yuka Shimizu Foundation, and Japan Fair.

The Story of Momotaro

Long ago, Obaasan and Ojiisan, an elderly couple living in the countryside, discovered a giant peach floating down a river. When they opened it, a miraculous little boy appeared. Sent from the heavens, the child became their son and was named Momotaro, meaning “Peach Boy.” The couple raised him with love, and he grew into a strong and kind young hero.

One day, Momotaro learned that fearsome ogres on a distant island had been attacking villages and stealing their treasures. Determined to protect his home, he decided to journey to Ogre Island and defeat them. Before he left, his Obaasan prepared special dumplings called kibi dango to give him strength on his journey.

Along the way, Momotaro met a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant. Each asked where he was going, and after receiving a dumpling from him, they joined his mission. Guided by magical forest, star, and water fairies, the group traveled together across the sea to reach Ogre Island. When they arrived, they found the ogres celebrating with the stolen treasures. Momotaro and his companions bravely fought them in battle. Eventually, the Boss Ogre surrendered and promised never to harm the villagers again, returning all the stolen goods.

Seeing the ogre’s genuine regret, Momotaro remembered the lessons of compassion taught by his parents and chose forgiveness instead of revenge. When Momotaro returned home with his friends, the villagers celebrated his bravery. Even the Boss Ogre came to apologize and return the treasures, and the villagers welcomed him peacefully.

Through courage, teamwork, and compassion, Momotaro restored happiness to the village, and everyone lived together in peace.

Artist Biographies

Jessica Lang

A celebrated choreographer of her generation, Jessica Lang is Resident Choreographer of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet. She has created over 100 original works on companies worldwide including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, PNB, The Royal Ballet, and her eponymous company Jessica Lang Dance. Additional commissions include those from The Kennedy Center, The Harris Theater & Chicago Architecture Biennial, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Lang has created four original works for Pacific Northwest Ballet; Her Door to the Sky (2016), Ghost Variations (2020), Let Me Mingle Tears With Thee (2022), and Black Wave (2024). Her Door to the Sky was commissioned in part by Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and performed by the company at the festival and internationally. Lang returned to PNB with Ghost Variations in 2020, for which she was nominated for The Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for Best Digital Choreography in 2021. She was named PNB’s Resident Choreographer beginning in the fall of 2024.

Lang has also worked extensively with American Ballet Theatre. Her original creations on the main company include Her Notes, Garden Blue, and ZigZag with the legendary Tony Bennett, as well as Let Me Sing Forevermore, which was performed on the ABT Across America nationwide tour and featured regularly on Celebrity Cruise entertainment programs. Lang has created seven ballets on ABT Studio Company including Children’s Songs Dance in collaboration with music icon Chick Corea. Additionally for ABT, Lang was part of the founding faculty of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, a teaching artist for the summer intensives and the Make-a-Ballet program and served as a mentor and panelist for the incubator program.

For opera, Lang has choreographed San Francisco Opera’s production of Aida, directed by Francesca Zambello that was presented at Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, and LA Opera. Lang has directed and choreographed Stabat Mater at the 2013 Glimmerglass Opera Festival, later presented at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival in 2017. Additional commissions include new works for the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Harris Theater, and the Chicago Architecture Biennial in collaboration with architect Steven Holl, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum for its Works and Process series. For fashion, Lang was the movement advisor for Carolina Herrera’s Pre-Fall 2022 collection.

Lang was Artistic Director of Jessica Lang Dance from 2011-2019. The company performed in over 85 cities presented by venues including Lincoln Center, LA Music Center, The Kennedy Center, NYC Center, Tel Aviv Opera, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, BAM Fisher, and Helikon Opera.

She is the recipient of a 2018 Martha Hill Mid-Career Award, the 2017 Arison Award, and a 2014 Bessie Award. She was nominated for a Manchester Evening News Award in 2012 for Lyric Pieces on Birmingham Royal Ballet. She has been a fellow of New York City Center and The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and in 2019 named a Caroline Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence at Princeton University. Lang’s work has also been performed by many educational institutions including The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and University of Arizona.

Jessica Lang is originally from Bucks County, PA and a graduate of The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. Lang is a former member of Twyla Tharp’s company, THARP! where she toured and performed all over the world.

Kanji Segawa

Kanji Segawa, originally from Kanagawa, Japan, began his dance training with his mother Erika Akoh, studying ballet with Kan Horiuchi and Ju Horiuchi in Tokyo. Segawa was awarded the Japanese Government Artist Fellowship in 1997 to train at The Ailey School. A former member of Ailey II and Battleworks, Segawa danced extensively for Mark Morris and performed as a principal dancer in John Adams’ Nixon in China at The Metropolitan Opera. Since 1999, Segawa has been Creative Associate for Jessica Lang, assisting her creations for companies worldwide including American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and The National Ballet of Japan. With Lang, Segawa co-choreographed the world premiere production of Turandot for The Washington National Opera, directed by Francesca Zambello. He was a dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater under the direction of Robert Battle from 2011-2023 and became Assistant Rehearsal Director in 2024.