Yuka Iwai 岩井優花, Principal Soloist, K-Ballet Tokyo: How to Prepare for an Unexpected Debut

Yuka Iwai, Giselle, K-Ballet Tokyo. Photo © Nicholas MacKay / MacKay Productions

Yuka Iwai 岩井優花 is a principal soloist with K-Ballet Tokyo. Two weeks before the opening night of K-Ballet’s recent revival of Giselle, she found out that she would step in for an injured dancer and dance Giselle at the production’s opening night. She was originally cast to dance the pas de six in the first act and one of the two soloist wilis in the second act. Instead, she would now be dancing the lead role, partnered by guest principal dancer Julian MacKay (Bayerisches Staatsballett). Yuka has danced the female lead in Romeo and Juliet, Madame Butterfly, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, but she had never even rehearsed the part of Giselle. TWoA talked to Yuka about the special challenge of learning a principal role in two weeks.

What was your reaction when you found out that you would be dancing Giselle?

I was very surprised because I was not expecting this. At the same time, I was very excited because I had never danced Giselle before. Giselle is one of my favourite roles.

What was the biggest challenge in stepping in just two weeks before opening night?

There was very little time, and Giselle is actually the type of piece that needs time to mature, especially the part of Giselle.

How much of the choreography did you already know?

I had never performed it, but I knew the basic variations, the basic choreography. I had seen Tetsuya Kumakawa’s production of Giselle for K-Ballet but only once when they were on tour. I knew the general structure of the ballet and choreography, but I didn’t know the details specific to this version, especially the specific mime scenes and the flow of the production.

How did you prepare the dramatic part of this role in those two weeks?

To begin with, I watched a lot of YouTube videos to find out what direction I wanted to go in. Yuko Arai, one of our honorary principal dancers, who was a principal the last time the company did Giselle, came in and coached all the casts for the lead couple. She was an important key for me to find the direction I wanted to go in, how to do the specific mime scenes, and how to develop the character.

Which act do you find more challenging?

The second one. It doesn’t just involve acting, you also have to control your body while you act. The combination of both, and finding the right balance between them, is really challenging.

Building the right relationship with your partner is really important in Giselle. You were dancing Giselle with guest principal Julian MacKay from the Bayerisches Staatsballett, who arrived a week before opening night. How did you build a working relationship in only one week?

Julian has come to K-Ballet a couple of times, for K-Ballet’s Opto’s Plastic and for Madame Butterfly. But we had never even talked to each other before he arrived for Giselle. I was curious what kind of person and dancer he would turn out to be. One key thing was that we are the same age. This helped a lot in terms of connecting. He was very nice and easy-going. We immediately found a connection at the first rehearsal and then went on to have a lot of deep discussions about specific details, about specific acting scenes, about how to move forward.

Yuka Iwai and Julian MacKay, Giselle, K-Ballet Tokyo. Photo © Nicholas MacKay / MacKay Productions

During those two weeks leading up to the debut, what did you do to stay calm and manage your nerves?

Usually, the more I rehearse, the calmer I feel. But this time, this wasn’t possible because of the limited time. So instead, in all my free time, I listened to the music of Giselle and watched videos. I tried to feed myself as much information as possible about the production, about my character so that I would feel prepared to do the show.

Did you watch any dancers in particular for inspiration?

That’s a hard question! I have a DVD from the Het National Ballet with Anna Tsygankova that I’ve been watching since I was small. But I also watched many others, from many companies, both dancers who are dancing today and dancers from the past.

What was going on inside you on your day of the debut?

Let’s start with the dress rehearsal. At the dress rehearsal, I was extremely nervous. I ran onstage and got the first mime section wrong. I did something weird. At the end of the rehearsal, I finished – and didn’t know what had just happened. A lot of the moments from the dress rehearsal were just gone from my memory! I felt very rushed, so much so that the artistic director told me: “Don’t rush!”

Let’s talk about opening night. Are you superstitious? Do you have a specific routine to keep you calm?

I don’t have a specific physical routine. But before I go onstage, I take some time to calm down and to be grateful for the fact that I can go on stage. It’s a mental routine. I tend to be a bit negative, so I don’t want to jinx myself by having an anti-jinx routine. I don’t want to have to rely on something to feel that the performance will go well.

Looking back on opening night, what was your favourite moment?

My underlying memory is that I was feeling extremely overwhelmed. That said, during the dress rehearsal the day before, somebody had told me not to be too expressive with my face in the second act, so I remember trying to apply that. By controlling my face, I felt I was able to still express my character’s love for Albrecht. We both toned down the facial expression, but still felt a deep connection between our two characters.

How did you feel after your first performance?

The number one thing I felt was relief. I was happy that I finished the performance and that it went well. Of course, there were a lot of parts I wanted to do better in the next performance, but overall, I was just glad that the performance went smoothly and that I was able to finish. After the second performance, when I got off-stage, I felt that a lot of things didn’t go the way I wanted. I wasn’t a hundred percent satisfied with my performance. But then the people who had watched – including the artistic director and artistic staff - were all telling me that the second performance was much better than the first. There was a gap between how I felt, and how it was perceived from the outside. I generally think the most important thing is how the audience perceives the performance, so if the artistic staff says it went better, I believe them. During my third and last performance of Giselle, nothing went really wrong, the performance itself went well, but the fact that it was my last Giselle meant that I felt: “I could have done this better, I could have done that better.” I felt relieved that all the performances had finished, but I was also sad.

What did you learn from this experience of taking on a leading role last minute?

If I ever find myself in this situation again, the fact that it’s challenging won’t change. However, I feel that after this experience, if there was another time, I will be able to go into the process a bit calmer because I know that I’ve managed before.

What do you do after a major performance like your debut to calm down?

After my debut, I talked to some of the fans who always patiently wait outside for us. Then I went home and got ready for bed. I felt relieved and ready to rest, but with the adrenaline, I couldn’t really sleep. After a show, I try to relax by doing things I like. I eat some sweets, or I do something else that makes me happy to calm down.

Yuka Iwai, Giselle, K-Ballet Tokyo. Photo © Nicholas MacKay

Yuka’s upcoming performances with K-Ballet:

K-BALLET TOKYO Spring Tour 2024 "La Bayadère"

June 2nd(Sun) 13:00 @ Bunkamura Orchard Hall(Tokyo, Japan)

June 12th(Wed)18:30 @ Fenice Sacay Main Hall(Osaka, Japan)

K-BALLET Opto "Cinderella"

August 3rd(Sat) 16:00 @ Tachikawa Stage Garden (Tokyo, Japan)

August 4th(Sun) 14:00 @ Tachikawa Stage Garden (Tokyo, Japan)

K-BALLET TOKYO Autumn Tour 2024 "Mermaid"

September 21st (Sat) 18:30 @ Bunkamura Orchard Hall (Tokyo, Japan)

September 23rd (Mon) 13:00 @ Bunkamura Orchard Hall (Tokyo, Japan)

September 29th (Sun) 13:00 @ Bunkamura Orchard Hall (Tokyo, Japan)

October 5th(Sat) 18:30 @ Bunkamura Orchard Hall (Tokyo, Japan)

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