Asahi Online "GO! GO! Takarazuka" Interview 11/4/2008
Original Japanese interview is here: www.asahi.com/showbiz/stage/spotlight/TKY200811040039.html
Into a Stunning Musumeyaku: Star Troupe's Yumesaki Nene
Photo Caption: The seal of quick "Flexibility." Yumesaki Nene vows to transform herself from a cute musumeyaku to a stunning one.
"We're dancing tango with abandon, so right now my whole body is sore." Her big sparkling eyes and mischievous smile are impressive. Yumesaki Nene is performing as the heroine in Wind of Buenos Aires [Buenosuairesu no Kaze] (at the Bow Hall from 11/14 - 11/25).
"There's no way I can dance like that... But every day, I'm learning an amazing amount." The same play was a hit when it was performed in 1998 with future Moon Troupe top star Shibuki Jun in the lead. Since Shibuki was known as a skilled dancer, the play was considered ideally matched to her. This time the lead role is being performed by Yuzuki Reon, also a strong dancer, and expectations are high.
In Takarazuka, there are often tango scenes in Grand Theater shows, but for a play to integrate tango to this degree is rare. "I've studied ballet from when I was small and when I entered Takarazuka I decided I wanted to display ‘flexibility' as a musumeyaku. So I tried to look sharp, but I couldn't get it to enter my body. ‘You do it as if you were trying to become an otokoyaku,' many different upperclassmen told me. Every day was a struggle." Yet every day she's transforming from an ordinary, cute musumeyaku into a stunning one.
In January of this year [2008], she was transferred from Moon Troupe to Star Troupe. She performed the heroine in the Bow Workshop Tales of Hoffman [Hofuman Monogatari] and immediately after had a quick change. Just after her transfer, she had to hurry into tackling her role as the supporting heroine in The Red and the Black [Aka to Kuro] at Theater Drama City. "My first Workshop, my first troupe change, my first Drama City... This year was full of nothing but firsts. It felt very fresh," she says with a satisfied expression.
It was a shock the other day, when top star Aran Kei - who was the first to call out to her in greeting after the transfer - announced her upcoming retirement. "My first show with Star Troupe was The Red and the Black and there wasn't even anyone from my class there; it's not surprising that I felt out of place. So it truly made me happy that she called out to me so lightheartedly," and she felt reassured.
Next year is, among other things, her last for shinjin kouen. "It's scary, isn't it? It's been seven years (since I joined)... I have to stop depending on others and start protecting the underclassmen properly." Provided with a steady self-awareness, she vows to jump right in.
Note: The original Japanese text used on this site is the property of the Takarazuka Revue and Hankyu Corporation. It is used without permission, with the intent of publicizing the revue to a larger audience.
The translations on this site were done by me. I reserve all applicable copyright on them and DO NOT give permission for them to be redistributed, published, retranslated, used as fansub scripts, etc.