National Ballet of Japan presented their triple bill of three 20th century works in Ballet Coffret, consisting of Mikhail Fokine’s The Firebird, William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and Harald Lander’s Études. Two of the works were company premieres and The Firebird was last performed in 2012, so it was a challenge to mount those particular works at the same time. And this time around, the younger dancers at the matinee performances were tasked with dancing with the leading roles.
Fokine’s Ballets Russes classic The Firebird, is a spectacular piece, featuring ornate costumes by Natalia Goncharova, and set designs by Dick Bird. There is a large cast of dancers including twelve maidens and numerous weird creatures and characters, led by The Immortal Kostchei with Stravinsky’s magnificent score on top of it. The work features Russian folk-tale inspired movements which seem quite dated nowadays with less technically challenging dancing, but the title role is truly a ballerina’s part.
First Soloist Risako Ikeda at the March 15th matinee, was a revelation. Although she is a petite dancer often cast as a princess, she has learnt how to present herself as a brilliant, eye-catching mystical creature with a larger-than life stage presence, light, airy, soaring jumps, expressive port de bras and an unwavering gaze so dominant and powerful that even The Immortal Kostchei (skilfully and crookedly played by the company’s best actor Masahiro Nakaya) and his gang could not overwhelm her.
The grand scale apotheosis depicting the resurrection of the Kingdom was a blissful moment, together with the magnificent Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Martin Yates) playing Stravinsky with all the requisite drama, it was a feast for the senses. The twelve enchanted maidens and Tsarevna (the elegant Misato Uchida) threw their apples with the utmost grace and skill as well as creating a fairytale like atmosphere.
William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, features all aspects of classical ballet with tutus, pointe shoes, high technical demands and music by Schubert. This modern classic challenges the dancers with high-speed, precise allegro, typically off-balance movements and swift partnering. The evening cast was performed by the company’s best technicians.
The marvelously musical and crystalline Yui Yonezawa led the cast to perfection, while Miho Naotsuka played with the music while displaying her gorgeous turnout and balance. Yui Negishi’s attack and dynamism also stood out, and it was quite something to see the three of them in synchronicity. The two male dancers were also stunning: Takafumi Watanabe’s high leaps, extended lines and use of épaulement were breathtaking, and technical wizard Shogo Hayami’s speed and daring execution were exciting. The afternoon cast featured younger dancers who had only one to three years of experience in the company, but they also tackled the Forsythe challenge with courage. This 13-minute piece was undoubtedly the highlight of the program.
The triple bill closed with Lander’s Études. Études displays the progression of classical ballet training starting with exercises at the barre, continuing on to pirouettes and small jumps, grand jetés and finally developing into complicated enchaînements and virtuoso solos. With no sets, female dancers dressed in black or white tutus and men in white tights, there is nothing to disguise any flaws, thus technical perfection is required. The evening performance was led by experienced principals: Yudai Fukuoka who gave a bravura, showstopping Mazurka solo while Shun Izawa’s consecutive tours en l’air were clean and elegant. Yuri Kimura as the prima ballerina displayed her strength and stability in her turns and presented it all with charm.
The matinee leads were taken by younger dancers, Yuki Yamada who is still a first artist, and first soloist Shunsuke Mizui who has just joined the company. The two showed off their virtuosity, especially Mizui’s execution of batterie was beautiful and clear, while Yamada's jumps were effortless in the final section. The ballerina role was elegantly danced by Saho Shibayama, soft and shining in the Sylphide section, serene in her difficult classical passages. There were some shortcomings: uneven performances by the corps de ballet in the diagonal crossing jetés, which lacked speed and precision; some technical mishaps in the fouetté section by the soloists, but that said, the quality of the ensemble improved as the performances went on.
As a whole, it was an enjoyable program, with each work focused on musicality and aimed at developing the dancer’s versatility. I hope these ballets, especially TheVertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and Études will be revived because they will certainly develop the virtuosity and range of artistry, as well as nurturing promising young talent. The audience too, will adapt to not only watching 19th century classics but more modern pieces.
