Tetsuya Kumakawa’s K-Ballet Tokyo has revived his version of Don Quixote. Premiered in 2004, this was his fourth full-length ballet and has been an audience favorite, as he himself was a legendary Basilio. His production emphasizes the storytelling, including having Dulcinea (Don Quixote’s lady of his dreams) appear in the prologue as a mime role separately from the dancing Dulcinea played by Kitri. He also shows her walk away in the epilogue so that explains why Don Quixote continues his journey. The sets creating the atmosphere of Barcelona are also designed by Kumakawa and are highly effective, with bricks and arches following the Spanish architectural style. The color of Kitri's tutus are a little muted to make it more realistic.
Kumakawa has also tweaked the structure of the ballet and music in various parts by placing the scene when Sancho Panza is thrown up into the air by the toreadors into the third act. During the coda of the grand pas de deux, after Kitri's 32 fouettés, Gamache (Kitri’s suitor), Mercedes and Espada dance their solos and duets before Basilio shows off his multiple pirouettes. Gamache and Don Quixote fight a duel at the tavern as they both have a crush on Kitri, and there is a romantic pas de deux between Kitri and Basilio at the beginning of the second act. Some solos such as the gypsy solo and Cupid’s, were absent. All those little changes work effectively to depict the characters and make the ballet work at a solid pace so there are no lapses in the action.
Shiori Kase of English National Ballet made a guest appearance for the second time with K-Ballet Tokyo. Last time she guested in Cinderella in 2015 when she was still only a soloist. She's returned as a Lead Principal and this marked her role debut as Kitri in the full-length version of the ballet. Usually cast in the softer, princess roles, Kase’s Kitri made a change for her and she successfully rose to the challenges it presented. She is a good actress bringing warmth and playfulness to her character, and her interactions with Basilio, Masaya Yamamoto, were eloquently portrayed so the audience could easily read their feelings. They had great chemistry together. Of course, Kase has stellar classical technique and she shone with stunning elegance in the second act dream scene as Dulcinea, with great balances and a beautiful upper body. In the third act pas de deux, she threw in multiple triple turns in her fouettés and very fast turns in the rest of the coda.
Yamamoto is a natural Basilio with dazzling technique and he was clearly having fun on stage. Kumakawa has added some extra solos for this role yet Yamamoto danced through them with ease and clarity. He was a secure partner particularly in the one arm lifts in the first act and caught Kitri effortlessly when she jumped into his arms in the tavern scene.
K-Ballet Tokyo is currently in the process of changing generations both in management and dancers. Kumakawa became the General Director in September so that he can work on his own projects, and Shuntaro Miyao, a former principal has taken over the role of Artistic Director. A new generation of dancers are getting opportunities, such as Mine Nagao who danced the role of the Queen of Dryads in a regal and polished manner, with secure technique (she will debut as Kitri in later performances). Hirotaka Yamada was brilliant and sensual as the toreador Espada. Mayu Tsukada as Cupid was light and bouncy in the very complicated choreography full of airy jumps that Kumakawa created for this role. The young dancers in the company showed enthusiasm and high spirits throughout the performance.
Special mention should be given to Yusuke Osozawa who played Gamache with daft humor. As a former Principal of the company, this was his role debut and no one had imagined that he could be so funny. The role itself has been enhanced bringing a lot more dancing in the coda and an opportunity to display his virtuosity. K-Ballet Tokyo has some really good character dancers which is quite rare for a Japanese ballet company which strengthened the quality of the performance. Kumakawa's Don Quixote is a production that promises that the audience will go home feeling happy.
