Making a Splash - The National Ballet of Japan in London

By Katsushika Hokusai - Metropolitan Museum of Art: entry 45434, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2798407

 

National Ballet of Japan Giselle  The Royal Ballet & Opera, 26 July 2025, 14:00

The National Ballet of Japan has made quite a splash on its short visit to London.   Louise Levene of the Financial Times (Clement Crisp's old paper) wrote: "The National Ballet of Japan makes its UK Debut with an Exquisite Giselle".  David Jays of The Standard exalted Yui Yonezawa's triumph in the title role. Debra Craine of The Times acclaimed "a triumphant return for Miyako Yoshida".  Mark Monahan of The Telegraph asked: "Who needs the Russians when the Japanese can dance like this?"  It seems a long time since a visiting company received a reception of this kind.   The only comparable one that I have been able to find was when the Bolshoi first visited London in 1956.

We should not be surprised by the National Ballet's success.  There are Japanese principals and soloists in many of the world's great companies.  One of them was the company's director, Miyako Yoshida, who danced first with the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and then with the Royal Ballet as a principal. Japanese students often do well in international competitions like the Prix de Lausanne.  Yoshida won that too. 

The company that visited London last week was founded in 1997.  According to Wikipedia, it had made only two previous trips abroad.  It visited Washington in 2008 and Moscow in 2009.  Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times observed that "In London, the National Ballet of Japan steps onto the World Stage."  As I said in Yoshida Coming Home, the National Ballet is not the first company in Japan.  The art form appears to have been introduced into Japan at about the same time as it was introduced here.  There are parallels between the development of ballet in Japan and its development here.   The history of Japanese ballet is explored by Janey Pritchard in an article in the programme entitled Ballet - A Bridge Between Britain and Japan.  

There are certainly strong links between artists in the UK and Japan.  One of Yoshida's predecessors was Sir David Bintley, and Alastair Marriott and Dick Bird contributed to Yoshida's production of Giselle.  But the British connection does not seem to be the only one.  I think I detected a Russian influence in the dancers' virtuosity and maybe an American one in their athleticism. Indeed, Pritchard mentions some of those connections in her notes.

I attended the matinee on 26 July 2025.   The first thing that impressed me, even before the curtain rose, was the full-throated sound of the orchestra.  It was, of course, the Royal Ballet Symphonia who must have played that overture countless times, but something was different.  The conductor was Misato Tomita.  According to Meet Misato Tomita, 25 Sept 2015, on the English National Ballet's Facebook page, this was not the first time that Tomita had worked with the orchestra of an English ballet company, but I am not sure how many times she has conducted the Royal Ballet's orchestra.  She had a rapport with the musicians, which usually takes a long time to develop.

Shortly afterwards, the curtain rose to reveal Bird's set, which was magnificent.  The details and colours of the trees and buildings in Giselle's village were intricate.   His scenery for the second act was even more impressive.  Hills around the cemetery marked with crosses and lanterns were spine-chillingly spooky.  I did not think that I would ever see a set to compare with Toer van Schayk's designs for the Dutch National Ballet's Giselle, but Bird's designs were at least their equal.   Bird had collaborated with the lighting designer Rick Fisher, who plotted the course of the moon as it receded and dimmed with the first rays of morning.  

The first on stage was Hilarion, danced by Takaro Watanabe.  He was well cast for the role.  An excellent dance actor, he expressed jealousy, indignation and self-pity in Act 1 as Giselle's relationship with Albrecht developed.  The audience could almost hear gears grinding in his brain as he worked out the stranger's identity.  In Act 2, he demonstrated his athleticism, flinging himself across the stage at the wilis' behest.

Hilarion was followed by Shogo Hayami, who danced Albrecht, and Fukunobu Koshiba, Albrecht's squire Wilfred.  Hayami was good-looking and suave, but the role required him to project haughtiness and entitlement.  Even though he had concealed his sword and discarded his cloak, it was obvious that he was no peasant.  It was not difficult to understand why an inexperienced, perhaps somewhat simple-minded country girl should be flattered by his attention.  Nor was it difficult to understand Berthe's exasperation or indeed Hilarion's at Giselle's headstrong naivety.  There were a few sniggers and gasps from the audience as Albrecht picked up the flower and surreptitiously removed a petal.

Of all the great classical roles, Giselle must be one of the hardest to perform.  Like Odette/Odile, it requires a personality change, though in Giselle's case, the change results from a transformation and not an impersonation.  In Act 1, Giselle is an impressionable peasant girl from a remote village with a weak heart and a protective mother.   In Act 2, she is transformed into an aetherial being capable of sublime love.   Saho Shibayama performed that transformation flawlessly.   Her interpretation of Giselle was one of the best I have ever seen.

The peasant pas de deux is the only divertissement in Giselle.  The piece offers an opportunity for two of a company's up-and-coming young soloists to show off their virtuosity.   On this occasion, it was danced entertainingly by Moeko Iino, one of the company's most experienced dancers, and  Ren Ishiyama, one of its first artists. I think it was there that I detected a Russian accent. At any rate, I was not surprised to learn that Moeko Iino had studied in Novosibirsk before joining the company,

Although it is not a major role, Berthe (Giselle's mother) is important to the story.   She has a premonition of Giselle's fate, which she reveals graphically to her daughter.  She even traced out the outline of the wilis' veils with her hands.  That role was performed by Misato Nakada, who is an excellent character dancer. I am sure she would be a great Madge in La Sylphide or nurse in Romeo and Juliet.

Other featured dancers in Act 1 were Masahiro Nakayo, who was the Duke, and Misato Uchida, Albrecht's betrothed.  All danced well, as did the villagers and hunting party.  The women members of the corps were magnificent in Act 2, as I shall mention later.

The success or otherwise of any production of Giselle rests on Myrtha, one of the great female roles in ballet.   In Saturday's matinee, it was danced by first artist, Suzu Yamamoto.   Technically, she was faultless.  However, wilis are the spirits of scorned women whose fury exceeds that of Hell.  I have come to expect an iciness and steeliness, not to mention spite in Myrtha's role, and maybe Yamamoto was just a little bit too nice.

Susan Dalgetty Ezra of the London Ballet Circle once referred to Moyna and Zulme as "Myrtha's sidekicks", and I smile at that thought, which I can never remove from my mind.   Moekko Iinp, who had danced in the peasant pas de deux in Act 1, reappeared as Zukme in Act 2.  Maho Higashi danced Moyna. They also danced well.

I was most impressed with the corps in Act 2.  They were disciplined, well-rehearsed and as precise as a company of guardsmen.   The scenes in which they crossed the stage en arabesque in formation were mesmerizing.  The scene in which they dispatched Hilarion was spine-chilling.  They deserve much of the credit for the success of the show.

Yoshida has produced a fine Giselle. It stands comparison with my other favourites, Mary Skeaping's, Sir Peter Wright's and even Rachael Beaujean's.  The National Ballet's visit was far too short.  They have left their audience wanting more.   If they come back to London, it would be good to see some of the other works featured in their 2024/2025 video, or better still, some of their commissioned works, such as Ishii Jun's Bonshō no Koe—from The Tales of the Heike, or Maki Asami's La Dame aux Camélias.