#kaorialive

Scan and translation from Yurika's "unknown" concert program.

Special Talk Makaze Suzuho/KAORIalive

Makaze: The first time I was together with KAORI-sensei was with ”Outsiders in the Renaissance” (2018 Cosmos Troupe performance). That time the choreography was too cool, it was like ”risky!”.

KAORI: It was risky, wasn’t it? (laughs)

Makaze: It was too awesome (laughs). The coolness of the formations and moves is a given, but you also drew on all our talents and thought of making us look our best. Your working style in the rehearsal hall was wonderful too, and made me think that I wanted to meet that high level of consciousness. Since then too my work together with sensei has always been a boosting, stimulating time, so I definitely wanted you to direct this concert.

KAORI: When I got the offer to direct it I was very happy, but I was also worried whether I could take on such a big job as not just choreographer but director… But after thinking things over, since Makaze-san asked me to do it, I accepted my fate.

Makaze: Sensei thought of the title too.

KAORI: Since it’s your first concert after leaving Takarazuka, it is unknown to both Makaze-san yourself and I what kind of Makaze Suzuho we’ll be able to show, same as for the audience. Therefore, I felt I wanted to show a new Makaze-san nobody had seen before, and thought ”unknown” might be good.

Makaze: It’s certainly right for the current me, so I thought it was really great.

***

KAORI: Speaking of which, we have hardly had any private conversations, right. Only, I had an impression from before that Makaze-san was a flexible person, so that even if I put in dance components that are rarely used in Takarazuka, you’d try them properly and make them your own. You must have struggled too, but you never show me that side and just keep improving with every performance, so you’re really a flexible person.

Makaze: That’s… much appreciated.

KAORI: So as choreographer, I become a partner who wants to make you try various dancing.

Makaze: I have a bond with sensei, while I was in Takarazuka we were together for several works and each time you gave me various challenges. Since I’m the type who hates it if my image becomes fixed, to be on the scene with a sensei who could give me a new stimulus every time was a very revigorating feeling. You took care of me during my farewell performance ”Casino Royale – my name is Bond” too, so I feel like we understand each other very well.

KAORI: Oh yes! We understood each other!

Makaze: There was that time when, just before opening day, the director Koike (Shuuichirou)-sensei suddenly started worrying about having to change the choreography…

KAORI: He desperately told the two of us, didn’t he. (laughs)

Makaze: ”It’s fine the way it is!” I said. (laughs) The choreographies KAORI-sensei have figured out have definitely been cool!

KAORI: Thanks to that relationship of mutual trust, there haven’t particularly been anything of ”I want it to be like this” this time either, has there? There have only been requests for song selections, like ”if possible I’d like to sing this”.

Makaze: Fundamentally, it has only been things with words I’d like to share with my fans right now, and ”I’d like to hear this together with everyone”, and ”I’d like to be wrapped in this song while standing on stage”, as you said. Above anything, I wanted to try to live and breathe in a world imagined by KAORI-sensei, and I wanted to see the world created by sensei.

KAORI: The first meeting was over in about 20 minutes, right. (laughs)

Makaze: A short time was enough to convey our intentions, right!

KAORI: There are four blocks in this concert - ”Gradation”, ”New World”, ”Galaxy”, ”Alive” – and to start with, I wanted to show the gradation of the Takarazuka otokoyaku gradually turning into a new Makaze-san. From there, I go on to show a completely changed world, a cool, sexy, hot block, and in the end I wanted to give a feeling of something tying it to the future.

Makaze: There are a lot of challenges for me among the songs too.

KAORI: Fundamentally I centred the song selection around what I could picture Makaze-san singing for my inner vision, rather than what I wanted to do. ”The lighting should be like this, after singing this part I’ll put in an interlude…”, I note down the things I have a clear image of inside my head. That’s the same as with the works from the Takarazuka era. I often create the choreographies while imagining that I’ve become Makaze-san and thinking if I dance like this here the audience will go ”kyaa!”. This time I made a new song called ”unknown” with Makaze, I’d like to draw attention to that too. And then I obsessed extremely over the lighting, and asked impossible things of the lighting person. I obsessed over the video and art too, so I have faith that it will be a fun concert.

Makaze: I’m also excited to know what sort of time I’ll spend with all of my fans in the venue.