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(pictures of Yuzuka Ray in a Giorgio Armani dress by Matsui Hideyuki)

Yuzuka Ray (32) graduated from Takarazuka Revue last May, after having gained fame and recognition as a skilled dancer and charming the audience with her uniform-clad, manga-reminiscent roles in plays such as “Here Comes Miss Modern” (「はいからさんが通る」) or “Mayerling (「うたかたの恋」). Six months later, clad in a stylish dress and giving off a cool and sophisticated aura, she spoke to Iizuka Tomoko about her upcoming performance in a ballet show (scheduled for January 2025).

An invite from the Paris Opera star

(Yuzuka will star in Mathieu Ganio’s Special Gala Concert, with performance in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya scheduled for January 2025. Ganio, the étoile – highest rank – dancer of Paris Opera Ballet, one of the top-class ballet companies in the world, has specifically invited the former Takarazuka star to be his dance partner in a newly created upcoming performance.)

I never even dared to dream about working with Mathieu, so my first reaction was to ask whether there’d been a mistake (she laughs). However, Mathieu knew about Takarazuka and understood its charm and potential—as far as I know, he has kindly requested my participation himself.

I was shocked to find out that Mathieu himself asked for me by name, and I’m excited to find out what type of a duet dance we’d be able to create together… Classical ballet differs from the type of dance I’d done in Takarazuka in terms of rhythm, using one’s body’s energy flow and muscles — it’s all very, very different. It won’t be easy to combine these two types of dance into one coherent number, but I am very much looking forward to undertaking this challenge.

Putting world-famous choreographer John Neumeier under her spell

(Yuzuka started attending ballet classes at the age of three, and continued doing so until entering Takarazuka Music School. Her upcoming cooperation with Mathieu Ganio has been influenced by choreographer John Neumeier, who had seen Yuzuka perform a lead role in “Mayerling” in Tokyo in the spring of 2023 and spoke with Ganio about the Takarazuka star.)

Mr. Neumeier has seen me perform in “Mayerling”, and reportedly thought Takarazuka to be “very interesting”. I wasn’t able to meet him directly at the time due to Covid-related restrictions, but I was really grateful to hear about his impression. Mathieu himself had also been aware of Takarazuka’s existence. He has also supposedly asked Hana O’Neill [Tokyo-raised Paris Opera Ballet’s étoile] about me—Hana-chan and myself used to go to the same ballet school in Tokyo.

For the past 15 years I’d spent in Takarazuka, I focused on show dance and jazz, so my challenge would be to find a way to combine Mathieu’s dance style with mine and make is even more enjoyable for the audience—to fill that great stage with energy. I hope that the audience would leave the performance feeling happy and excited at having had their hopes fulfilled.

A strange fate: two “Mayerling” stars

(As a ballet student, Yuzuka looked up to Mathieu Ganio since a very early age.)

To be able to work with him is a dream come true. I had had a pleasure of seeing one of his Gala Concerts live a while back, just before entering Takarazuka or in my early days at the company. It was like seeing a fairytale prince you’d read about as a child come to life. He truly is “the ballet prince”, and possesses an amazing physicality and outer-worldly beauty that resonate through his dance. He must be coming from the world of dreams (she laughs).

The first word that comes to mind when you think of him is definitely “beautiful”—he transitions from one pose to the next in such a delicate manner. This isn’t a type of beauty that lies in the details, but the way his delicacy, gentleness, transparency and flexibility all come together to create than image of “beauty”. It’s not simply a matter of the forms he steps into—he’s beautiful as a person, to his very core. When I see him dance, I can only imagine him as a kind, gentle and sincere person.

(Yuzuka and Ganio have played the same part in the past—Rudolf Habsburg, the Crown Prince of Austria, who—along his lover—had committed a suicide at the imperial hunting lodge of Mayerling, in the late 19th century.)

Rudolf wasn’t a “bubbly prince” personality type—however, having studied and played the role of a prince, I do consider him a sort of an archetype of “princeliness”.

Working with Ueno Mizuka as a child

(In the upcoming Gala Concert, Yuzuka will also perform alongside Ueno Mizuka, with whom she’d worked prior to joining Takarazuka.)

To say that we performed “together” would be a huge overstatement. When I was in primary school, I played a child part in Maki Asami Ballet Company’s annual performance of “The Nutcracker”, and had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Ueno perform one of the principal roles. She was one of the first ballet stars I remember seeing and admiring up close as a kid, along with Ms. Kusakari Tamiyo.

Ms. Ueno would always come and see my Takarazuka plays, which was already a great honor and something I was extremely proud of—but now, to stand on the same stage as her!... So much time has passed since we performed together under Maki-sensei’s guidance. I haven’t been able to perform in any ballet plays since having entered Takarazuka, so this brand new opportunity is very precious to me—I never dared to dream something like this would happen to me, and this just shows how little we know about what the future holds for us.

I believe that this is why continuous studying, challenging oneself and growing in our craft is so important. I hope that this performance helps the audience realize what it is that they want to do, what they have already accomplished, and what they have to offer to the world—that it would connect them to their future and expand their possibilities.

PLAY

— Recently, I've been paying more attention on how to rest fully on my rest days. I can play on my "play days", but I realized that's not the main way I spend those days now. I'm spending more energy on stage and in rehearsals in a day than I did in the past, so I won't be working too much on my rest days. During the break after the Tokyo performances are finished, I'd go to Disneyland or go on vacation in Paris, or sometimes go back to my family home. Since I don't have much time in rehearsals to take care of my dogs Hana-chan and Yuki-chan, I'd take them out on a walk on my days off.

RELAX

— I like to take my dogs out and go for a drive, and realized once again how much I like seeing nature. I like seeing architecture too, but when I see places with greenery and the sunset, I'd feel especially moved by the scenery. And it's been my daily routine for 5 years that I write in my diary every morning. When I wake up, (writing my diary) prepares myself, and it gives me a refreshed feeling (to start the day.)

KNOWLEDGE

— As I was learning about The Rose of Versailles, I went to France for vacation. I didn't have much opportunity to play aristocratic roles in the past so I didn't have much knowledge (on this status of class), but as I delved into learning Marie Antoinette, I found it very interesting. I've researched all that I can, and realized that perhaps the intrinsic human sides of her remain unchanged, and there are many things I can relate to her. Now I'm rehearsing for the performance Romanesque Mask, a story of aristocrats after the French Revolution, and there've been many stories of the socialites of the time and it's fascinating to see various portrayals (of such lifestyle) in movies. I jot down notes for what I've researched, and it was fun to learn about this history.

BEAUTY

— I have a skincare routine. Every morning and every night, it's an indispensable step to use the steamer and facial beauty devices. I don't take supplements every day, but it depends on each day. I'll use facial wash, softening beauty, anti-dullness, facial scrub… and 5 other of those products and use them distinctively. And also before I sleep, I'll definitely use the hair straightening iron. By straightening the hair, it curls naturally when I wake up in the morning.

HEALTH

— I catch colds easily, so health is really an important task for me… I really want to enhance my sleeping quality and have been searching desperately, so if there are recommendations, please tell me about it (LOL). This year, I want to change to a new set of silk sheets for my bed! Besides, I don't watch television a lot at night, and I keep my lights dim in my room. I also tend not to look at my smartphone (at night). I only watch Youtube to receive information on beauty care, but I think the algorithm is too much for me. It's difficult to just receive the necessary information I need, and to learn what I really need to face for myself, I'm starting to do more digital detox.

FASHION

— It's not just particularly for offstage times, but I want to be comfortable in what I wear. When I'm working, I'd wear mostly items of my troupe color (green) and fashion styles that suit my role. I'll go shopping, and sometimes buy exactly how the coordinated styles are shown on display (LOL). When I see some flower-patterned or checkered fashion that definitely do not go together, I'd think "I'll buy both!". For portrait photos in the future, I'd like to challenge things I haven't used in the past for photoshoots, or taking photos with things I'm unfamiliar with.

MEMORY

— Even for the books I read to create my role, I'll be writing it down to remember it, and I'm the type to annotate my script. But before I begin performing, I want to read the script once more and treat it as completely new. It's a definite step that I use a dryer and erase my notes I've written with my Frixon pen, and restart (studying the script) from the beginning. Also, even though I understand the role I'm playing, to embody the role, I want to always know how my mentality is doing, so I'd also note down what I'm thinking or what I'm worried about. Also in my 5-year diary, I'd be able to look back on the past 1 year whether I've improved or performed worse, so I recommend this method to underclassmen who are also concerned with their troubles. Because writing down (all of these) helps you to take care of yourself internally.

BONUS!!

First picture bubble:

"with (Aisora) Minami who came to visit the photoshoot"

Second picture bubble:

"a challenge to wear the bustier that brings an impact"