Kon'nichiwa, Yumi! What’s ballet for you?
It’s my life and my passion. Dancing makes me feel like being in another world because of the music, costumes and decorations. Each time there is something special and opportunity to re-live that very moment. When the performance ends and I hear the audience's applause, I’m often happy and a bit sad at the same time as I start missing this excitement of being on stage, so I’m waiting for the next show.
Why did you choose Geneva Grand Theatre?
I came to Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, because I wanted a change in my career as a dancer. I wanted to dance more contemporary pieces that I was interested in. Here in Geneva, I’m able to experience those things.
How do you find Geneva?
I really like this city. In the heart of Europe, peaceful Switzerland, the country of mountains and lakes, beautiful nature and clean Alpes air. I fell in love with Geneva very quickly. Sometimes it reminds me about my own roots, Nagano, Japan.
How does your typical day look like?
Being a dancer requires lots of work and self-discipline. If we don’t have a performance in the evening, we usually spend 6-8 hours in rehearsals. We’re either creating new performances with new choreographers or rehearsing already created pieces. It maybe sounds as a great effort for the day, but I'm used to it so it's not such a big deal.
How do you cope with your workload and stress?
I don't have so much stress outside of my work. Yet, there is a lot of stress in dance world, of course, as I think in every other world. I'm very lucky and happy that I'm able to be a professional dancer which is my passion and what I love to be so at the end the stress I have at work is not that big. I just take bath and a cup of nice tea in the evening then everything is fine.
