Returning to Japan has been even more fun so far than I had expected. Just finished dancing one of the four princes who pursue the young Aurora at her birthday celebration (which includes the famous Rose adagio). In Marcia Haydee’s eleboration after Petipa, these princes dance quite a bit more than in other versions and we love the chance to expand on our roles and relationships with the beautiful Aurora. I play the prince of the north who I imagine is from somewhere quite glamorous. Sometimes I think Denmark or Sweden and other times I decide on St. Petersburg. It’s all in fun and it was particularly fantastic dancing with Maria Eichwald on Sunday as she returned to the stage after a two year long injury! Bravo! Some of the Princes wear wigs that are done up in detailed and elegant historical styles and mine is extremely blond and set in a low pony tail that is wrapped in a ribbon. Last night however, things ran amok. For whatever reason pins started to fly from my head as I started my little jumping divertissement and by the time I reached the final pirouette my pony tail had become unwrapped and was twice the length it normally is. After having my face slapped silly by the unravelling hair I turned around and saw that, literally, ALL of my colleagues were desperately trying not to completely crack up with laughter! My problems weren’t over yet though…Before I exit the stage there is a series of grand jetes en tournant!!! As I was jete-ing around the stage I looked down to see what looked like a dead rat. It was my ribbon which meant that my wig was no longer in ANY sort of pony tail. The top of my head was still perfectly coiffed but the bottom was long and loose and below my shoulders! After the show I was bombarded by nicknames ranging from Axl Rose to Paris Hilton. A Rapunzel-esque nightmare!
(a friend just sent this to me from after the ‘incident’ entitled: ‘Evan/Axl Rose/Lord of Rings Legolas/Interview with Vampire/Paris Hilton’. haha)

The next ballet in the program this week will be John Cranko’s ”Onegin”. I will have the week to relax and prepare for my upcoming performances of The Sleeping Beauty. I am invloved in ”Onegin” but not onstage here in Japan. The last time the Stuttgart Ballet was in Tokyo I was learning the role of Lenski and was the cover/swing just in case one of the principal dancers got injured. When we got back to Stuttgart I danced the role almost immediately and have enjoyed dancing it ever since. THIS time however, I am excited to be chosen to learn the role of Onegin, himself; A role I have always dreamed of! BUT this means that at this moment in time I have yet to dance the role and am an understudy in Tokyo AGAIN! Perhaps one day in the future I will dance one of these juicy roles for the enthusiastic Japanese audiences. Who knows… I DO look forward to having the chance to watch my colleagues from the audience this week though. It is something that I rarely get to do and I always like seeing the people I know so intimately from a different perspective.

Next week we are off to Iwakuni where I will do my third show ever of Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty! I am still new to the role but enjoy it alot. I am looking forward to travelling somewhere that I have never been before and excited to see how the audience is. The Tokyo audience has been incredible and characteristically generous…(I can barely see the walls and floor in my hotel room, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the beautiful presents! though I think I will have to buy a new suitcase for one particularly enormous teddy-bear!!!! )

(Dewa mata suguni ne!!!?)

Douglas Lee, Hyo-Jung Kang, Me, Jason Reilly and Myriam Kacerova after my debut as Prince Desire this summer.
(photo: Jelinek)

EV