Richard Kizáková | August 3, 2010 19:00
He is the winner of the bronze medal in “USA International Ballet Competition”. The Slovak National Theatre, which he joined in 2008, represented a fundamental basis of his career. The young Japanese dancer Kyohei Yoshida, who graduated from the Tokyo Ballet School and Elmhurst School of Dance in Great Britain, is now preparing for his first step on the big world stage.
He has good prospects to succeed; he has won an award from a prestigious competition, which gives young talented artists a good take-off platform for a star career. Besides, he possesses the typical Japanese conscientiousness.
Are you dreaming of becoming famous in Japan?
Of course. I was born in Japan. I really wish I was known among Japanese people, too. After having won the international competition, Japanese people want to see my dance performance. The audience at home is very important for me. They are “my” people, with the same education, mentality and cultural background.
Although there is a saying that dance and music are universal languages, do you think you can bring something new from abroad? Are there any differences between Ballet in Europe and Asia?
Yes, the differences are huge. You can even call it a cultural shock. The choreographies created by the Japanese vary by far from the European style. They have a different dance style. Of course, classical ballet is always the same. But the contemporary modern ballet is totally different in Asia. It differs from both the American as well as the European style of ballet.
Is it because the Japanese society is rather conservative?
The distance between Japan and America and Europe is big. Japanese are neither familiar, nor do they dance pieces of contemporary choreographers. On the other hand, classical ballet has long tradition in Japan. It is known and expanded much more.
What is the reason, that they are so attracted by it?
There is a ballet-boom right now in Japan. It got very popular. The Japanese love everything that is new. Ballet is still very fresh and not boring for them.
Will this passion get unattractive for them one day?
I think, that ballet can bring always something new.
Is the source of ballet inexhaustible?
Authors of ballet are very creative people. All around the world new works are being created, such that have never been created before.
When you cam to Slovakia two years ago, did you know anything about this country and about the theatre you were going to join?
No, I did not know anything. But I was very glad that after I finished my studies Mario Radacovsky invited me. I was not very good dancer at that time. So I really appreciated his trust in me. But I was afraid.
Afraid of what?
For instance, I was scarred, when I saw the theatre building for the first time, and I totally froze. After all, the National Theatre was a huge building in the middle of nothing! The first stage of the theatre was just a part of a construction; it seemed absurd. It all looks nice now; everything around it has been completed.
And of course, I was afraid of the new work where I was just a beginner.
Does it mean, that the director of the Slovak National Theater Mario Radacovsky actually made you a high-level ballet dancer?
I improved. Mario taught me a lot. He knew my week points; he knew what I should work hard on. He gave me many invaluable advices.
Did you worry about the quality of the ballet ensemble?
To be honest, I did. But I found lot of great people and dancers here. I was very happy here. I got the chance to perform big main roles in ballet masterpieces like “Swan Lake”, or “The Nutcracker”. Not everybody can get a chance to play big roles like this, on world famous stages. The Slovak National Theater was a perfect start of my career.
You lived in Slovakia for two years. Have you learned something from the people here?
People in Slovakia are very dramatic, they have explosive temper and are full of emotions, in the positive way. Japanese are much more calm, introvert, they do not show their emotions so much.
Did your life in Slovakia change you in any way?
I am still the same person as I was before. But I am glad I had the opportunity to live in more open society than Japan.
Did you feel more freedom also as a ballet dancer?
Yes. If you become a dancer of a Japanese National Theater, you fell almost like a prisoner.
Conscientiousness and ambitious and hard-working nature is typical for the Japanese. Are Japanese dancers therefore better?
I am also always working very hard to get better. But in ensembles anywhere in the world, there are both very hard-working as well as lazy dancers.
I like to concentrate on my work and I want to perform as good as possible. But sometimes I feel tired. Try to imagine, that you have to wake up in pain every morning and work hard on the same steps and variations all the time.
So the good part of the job is probably, when you rehearse a new piece.
Yes, I do not have to concentrate just on the technical side of the dance and the creativity becomes the most important element at this point.
When I was rehearsing “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky for the American competition I was very motivated. I had never seen this ballet in the theatre before, so I did not have any role model example for how to create this character. I had to start from scratch; form the character from the very beginning and then put the soul into it finally.
Is it easier for you, when you do not see, how your role was performed before?
Yes, there is not any kind of influence. I feel more freedom. I can create my own new role, just like I feel it. And that is what I call creativity of a ballet dancer.
What kind of novelty can you give to the character?
I try not to act as an actor. My emotions and movements have to come out from inside, from the bottom of my heart. The audience can see and feel when the dancer is presenting something more then just some dance moves. Before the performance, I have to switch to my role, feel and live the imaginary life of somebody else.
Does it mean, that the dancer should have strong imagination and be full of emotions?
Exactly. If you do not want to just act, you have to put your whole heart into you performance.
Kyohei Yoshida
He was born in 1989 in Tokyo.
He attended the Tokyo Ballet School and Elmhurst School of Dance in Great Britain.
He became a member of the Slovak National Theatre in 2008.
In 2010, he gave a stunning performance in the “USA International Ballet Competition” in Jackson Mississippi, which is one of the most prestigious dance events in the world. Competing with participants from 30 countries, he gained the bronze rank.
Among the most important roles, which he performed in the Slovak National Theatre, are the roles of Jester in “Swan Lake”, Wolf in “The Sleeping Beauty”, or the role of the Golden Gods in “La Bayadere”.