NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia–Japanese ballet dancer Kohei Fukuda has been in an ambivalent position since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Japanese public sentiment is so strong against Moscow that there was an atmosphere of avoiding even Russian artworks in protest. But Fukuda is also concerned about how his fellow Russian dancers of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Siberia are dealing with the situation.
Fukuda had spent six years of his ballet career at the Russian theater, and he has fond memories of the dancers there warmly supporting him when he was struggling.
It pained him to think that his colleagues were going through tough times because of their government’s actions.
Fukuda returned to Japan after the invasion of Ukraine. Some of the Russian dancers have called him to find out how he was faring.
A pleasant surprise came on an autumn day in 2022 when the artistic director of the theater called and asked Fukuda if he could come back to Russia.
“Yes,” he immediately replied.
“I was convinced of the importance of continuing cultural exchanges between the two countries all the more because of the difficult period,” Fukuda said.
STARTED IN LONDON
Fukuda first encountered ballet when he was 10 years old and living in London due to his father’s job.
It was “Swan Lake” by the Mariinsky Ballet, a world-renowned Russian ballet company based in St. Petersburg.
Fukuda was mesmerized by what unfolded on the stage.
As the lights gradually dimmed and the beautiful music started, dancers in gorgeous costumes performed onstage, evoking a fairy-tale setting.
“It just felt like watching a picture book in motion,” he recalled. “I fell in love with ballet in an instant.”
Fukuda took ballet lessons in London and continued after he and his family returned to Japan.
After attending a famous ballet academy, he signed a contract with a Japanese ballet company. Before long, he came to perform leading roles there as he was recognized for his soaring jumps and dynamic style.
But he started to feel hampered in his pursuit to take his ballet to the new level.
Each ballet company in Japan has its own schedule of stage performances and training sessions for members. The setup leaves dancers with little flexibility to participate in programs of other companies.
In addition, ballet dancing is not a financially stable career in Japan, even for professional dancers with job contracts.
Fukuda’s desire to reach his full potential took him to Europe in 2016, where ballet dancing originated.
With no connection with theaters there, he traveled through France and other European countries, sending emails to theaters of various sizes to inquire about vacancies.
Fukuda, whose strength was in classical ballet, found himself at a disadvantage because contemporary productions are mainstream in the European ballet world.
Coupled with the difficulty of gaining a work visa, he spent months with no prospect of landing a contract.
Fukuda grew increasingly desperate for work, any work, at a theater.
“Please offer me a job,” he said in emails to theater operators. “I am willing to do cleaning if a position as a dancer is not available.”
The final count of emails he had written was 120 over three months. He crisscrossed Europe for interviews with 30 prospective employers.
Finally, his patience and perseverance paid off, and he received offers from four theaters.
DIFFICULT FIRST YEAR
One of them was the Novosibirsk theater, a revered state-run ballet company in Siberia.
Located in the center of Novosibirsk, the third largest city in Russia, the theater was built when the Soviet Union was fighting the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in World War II.
The theater opened May 12, 1945, shortly after Germany’s surrender.
Fukuda was thrilled by the idea of performing in the gorgeous grand theater, the largest in Russia.
But his first year was difficult and lonely. He could not speak Russian, and no performing role was offered.
Fukuda also had to adjust to the Russian way of training, which was quite different from Japan’s.
In Russia, dancers are trained under a uniform classical dance education system, which is structured and codified down to the smallest detail.
When dancers are told to take a numbered position of the feet, for example, they all know exactly what they are expected to do.
They turn their feet outward at a certain angle with their heels apart or together and stand in identical positions.
Fukuda needed to master these steps first and pass certification examinations for dancers’ techniques.
Night after night, he practiced assiduously behind the stage where other members performed.
The competition was tough.
Two other foreigners joined the company around the same time as he did, but they soon quit and returned to their home countries.
Fukuda persisted, and he landed a role in “corps de ballet,” a dance performed in a group.
A year and a half after he joined the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, he was finally selected as one of four dancers to play the part of a clown in the premier of a new work.
But Fukuda ended up playing the clown role all by himself during the four-day program because the three other dancers, all more experienced than him, suffered injuries one after another.
He practiced the part with all his heart at least twice a day until opening day. His dedication, he said, changed the way his peers viewed him.
“It takes time for Russians to open up to others,” Fukuda said. “But they, like Japanese, like people who work hard.”
Fukuda gradually learned how to speak Russian by himself. That made it easier to make friends with other dancers, and some treated him like a family member.
He sometimes went out with theater members for drinks late into the night.
But that did not prevent him from training the following day as hard as he usually does, earning him a reputation that he is “samurai.”
DIFFERENT TRAINING REGIMENS
As Fukuda gained more experience in performing onstage, he took note of the Russian way of professionalism.
In Japan, dancers rehearse together over and over as a team for three to four months before a stage performance.
Russian dancers, however, stick to their own preparations before the actual performance. Some train at gyms while others rehearse their parts individually.
But once the curtain is raised at 7 p.m. and the performance starts, their dancing is presented in perfect harmony, Fukuda said.
As he settled into a life in Russia, Fukuda began to set his sights beyond just performing.
Hoping to expand cultural exchanges between Japan and Russia, he started an initiative called Spasibo Project in 2019 to help young Japanese students learn ballet dancing at schools in Russia.
At one time, more than 10 Japanese dancers were accepted by Russian academies with his assistance.
When the war broke out, Fukuda managed to get all the Japanese students safely back to Japan.
Despite the war and the country’s tarnished image in the international community, Russia remains a preferred destination for aspiring young Japanese dancers.
Fukuda said the number of Japanese youngsters wishing to train in Russia is rising again.
He noted that tuition and fees are much cheaper in Russia than in ballet schools in other parts of Europe.
In addition, graduates from Russian academies have a better chance to be hired by the 100 or so theaters across the country.
Those who win contracts with theaters can make a decent living.
As part of the project, Fukuda also offered ballet lessons in Japan with lead dancers at their Novosibirsk theater, and he organized tours for Japanese to see performances in Russia.
At 34, Fukuda noted that he is approaching retirement age.
The physical toll of constant dancing and training is enormous. But he aims to remain a bridge between the two countries.
“Cultural exchanges must be continued between Japan and Russia,” he said.
AloJapan.com