{"id":2400,"date":"2022-07-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2022-06-25T07:40:56","modified_gmt":"2022-06-25T13:40:56","slug":"berubara-and-i-special-box-seat-majima-shigeki-choreographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/08\/berubara-and-i-special-box-seat-majima-shigeki-choreographer\/","title":{"rendered":"Berubara and I – Special Box Seat: Majima Shigeki (choreographer)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This book, which is something of an \u2018oral history\u2019 of Takarazuka\u2019s Rose of Versailles<\/em> adaptations, was published by Ascom in late 2005, and features chronological accounts from otokoyaku who had performed in the franchise from its first origins through the 2001 productions. Since the book is derived from transcriptions of interviews taking place often many decades after the fact, there may be discrepancies between accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that the term appearing through the text as \u2018theatre-comic\u2019 is translated from the Japanese term gekiga <\/em>[\u5287\u753b]. Although this term is described as applying to mainly male-oriented comics in most English-language sources, this not accurate. The definition of this word changed to also include sweeping, romantic female-oriented works with Rose of Versailles being arguably the most famous of theatre-comics. Takarazuka even published its own magazine of theatre-comics in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapters have been split in two to make them more readable without too much scrolling to reach the explanatory footnotes. Some paragraph breaks have also been added for ease of reading in English. I have also included some images printed in the book as well as sourcing many other archival images to illustrate the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Installments will be posted every two weeks, with some breaks if the next chapter is not complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Berubara Special Box Seat I – Majima Shigeki, choreographer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majima Shigeki:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Born March 22, in Tochigi Prefecture. While attending highschool, he took night classes in the Toho Arts Academy\u2019s dance department, studying ballet, modern dance, Japanese traditional dance, voice, musicology, etc. After graduating he entered the Nichigeki dance team and became their Top Dancer. He has appeared in many musicals including Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I,<\/em> and Le Cage au Folles<\/em>. Beginning in his Nichigeki career he has choreographed many shows, and recently directed and choreographed Matsuken Samba II and III. Hanafubuki Fuyakoi is on sale on CD and DVD [at time of printing].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe audience knows, but they still want to cry\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My parents would take me along to see Takarazuka ever since I was a little boy, and at the time, I thought they were undoubtedly \u201cmen\u201d rather than \u201cotokoyaku\u201d (laughs). I decided to join the Nichigeki Theatre in my fourth year of elementary school. Of the Takarazuka productions I saw after that, I think it must be Berubara where I first really understood in a personal way the singing, acting, dancing, the whole show. It was the first production, with Shou-chan (Haruna Yuri) as Oscar, Kan-chan (Hatsukaze Jun) as Marie Antoinette, and Asou Kaoru as Andre. Gosh\u2026I was pulled into it in an instant! My passion blazed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shou-chan\u2019s makeup and everything about her looked just like Oscar from the theatre-comic. At the time, all the girls in my class at school were reading the theatre-comic and exclaiming over it, so I borrowed it and read it too. So when I first saw Shou-chan I really thought, wow, she\u2019s just as if she leapt right out of the theatre-comic! And then that song that went \u201cyour blond hair rippling in the breeze\u2026\u201d, I really loved that song, so I\u2019d be humming it after the show from the first time I went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then after that, Migiwa-san\u2019s Oscar, Ootori-san\u2019s Fersen, Anna-san\u2019s Oscar, Setouchi-san\u2019s Andre, Matsu-san and her three roles, Ooura-san, Ichiro-san, Minoru-san, Kouju-san\u2026I\u2019ve seen every one of the stars who appears in this book! Berubara is a show created to fit the stars of its era, so I never get tired of it. In some troupes, the songs are the main event, and in some of the troupes they\u2019ll show off their dramatic acting, they all have their own different style. It\u2019s different depending on who is Top Star at the time, and it\u2019s fun to see how the Second and Third Supporting Stars will do with it, so I end up watching the next production, and the next, all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading Ikeda\u2019s theatre-comic, even as a boy I found my heart pounding. It had that aura of love between men, but then the impact of discovering Oscar is a woman\u2026I wondered what Andre would do. It\u2019s a work that surpasses gender, borders, nationality\u2026everything about human drama is \u2018elegantly\u2019 contained in it. And then accompanying it with music that goes straight to the heart, and Takarazuka\u2019s stars and \u2018star system\u2019, only gave it more sparkle, I think. It\u2019s a destined match. So I think even after 30 years its shine won\u2019t have faded at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was already a dancer at the time, and I felt from the first production that Berubara was a perfect achievement. I feel like people always say that Berubara was perfect for Takarazuka, but I also felt from the start that this was something only Takarazuka could do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, \u201cBecause I am\u2026the queen of France!\u201d, that scene in the prison. That feeling that Antoinette is shining even in her prison is wonderful, right? Even though she\u2019s in prison, she has light, she has elegance, and that distance from reality (laughs), is just like Takarazuka and I love it, but foundationally, in the end isn\u2019t that the level of elegance that the Takarazuka Revue upholds? That nobility isn\u2019t something you can just be taught to produce instantly, the \u2018atmosphere\u2019 that you possess is what does it. If another theatre company did it, or someone who was merely good at singing, I don\u2019t think they\u2019d create the same atmosphere at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, the scene that makes me cry every time is when everyone sets out to fight and start the French Revolution. The part where Oscar is right in the center and the French Revolutionary music is playing. And the part where Andre is shot on the bridge is a huge shock\u2026! It\u2019s so painful, why does he have to be shot at a time like this!?  Even though I know this is where he dies, no matter how many times I watch, I always think \u201cWhy~!\u201d Whenever that scene comes around, I know I\u2019m going to be sad, and I\u2019m really waiting for it. It\u2019s like I know it\u2019s happening but I still want to cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t done anything wrong, so why do they still have to die?\u201d: that\u2019s the type of drama it has. The audience wants to be enraptured, they want to be in suspense, they\u2019re seeking that kind of dramatic experience. I\u2019m the same. I don\u2019t want something just pretty or gorgeous, I want to be thrilled and stirred. Berubara, I think, is created to excite those desires in the audience and draw them in. I think in that sense, from the time of the first production it was a perfect achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been a professional dancer since I was seventeen, and I feel like the way [Berubara] is able to capture the hearts of the audience has had an impact on my own current work. Ways of displaying myself, and the discovery that perhaps the audience is looking to be emotionally caught up, are things I gained from this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With choreography, as well, once I entered Nichigeki I was taught a lot there, but if I had time I would go to see Takarazuka and study their choreography. After joining Nichigeki the number of times I would go to see Takarazuka went up even more. After all, dance scenes on that huge stage were such a wonderful reference source, and I loved the entire impression it gave as a spectacle more than anything!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s true that depending on the show, sometimes I\u2019ll be thinking \u2018oh, this foreign choreographer is working on it so I have to see\u2019, and going for the choreography rather than the stars if I had to say either way, or sometimes since I\u2019m watching it as a professional dancer I\u2019ll end up thinking \u2018oh, this part is a bit dull\u2019 and lose interest. But! This absolutely never happens with Berubara. When it comes to Berubara I am totally in fan mode! I\u2019m just like all the normal middle-aged guys around me (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I was reborn as a woman I\u2019d definitely enter Takarazuka! 100%!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019d want to perform in Berubara. Naturally I\u2019d want to play Andre so I could sing that pegasus song. You see, even though he\u2019s in the shadows he holds such an intense love; so he\u2019s the ideal man even from a man\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to tell the truth\u2026I most wish I could play Antoinette!! (laughs) \u201cBecause I am\u2026the Queen of France!\u201d, I wonder if I could do that with such a noble air\u2026 Or the scene where she\u2019s attacked in the woods, I would get super into it and face them down haughtily1<\/sup>. I really want to play Marie Antoinette: that feeling just gets stronger and stronger. And please let me say \u201cBecause I am\u2026the Queen of France!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – This is a scene that seems to be lost from the script after the Showa Era productions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This book, which is something of an \u2018oral history\u2019 of Takarazuka\u2019s Rose of Versailles adaptations, was published by Ascom in late 2005, and features chronological accounts from otokoyaku who had performed in the franchise from its first origins through the 2001 productions. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[26],"tags":[255,394,395,362,355,354],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions\/2402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}