Act Two requires more acting than dance, although there are several standout performances, such as Benvolio/Kubota’s exciting solo in the town square before a surly, drunk Tybalt/Yamamoto enters for the tragic showdown with Mercutio/Okaniwa.  

Juliet’s poignant solo with the sleeping drug was also impressive. The discordant scattering of notes in Prokofiev’s score aligns with Hidaka’s stumbling grace, the delicate balances manifesting her uncertainty and fear until an image of Romeo gives her strength.  

The rest is a relentless charge towards their star-crossed fate. No last entrance by Friar Lawrence, no reconciliation of the two families, it is an undistilled lover’s tragedy. Fittingly, the curtain call only included the main dancers, a somber, pared down approach that matched the stark devastation of the final scene. 

This season also sees the launch of a new initiative in the  company, “Global Season Principal,” opening up roles to interested international dancers, formalizing K-Ballet Tokyo as a creative global hub to bring dancers together and enrich the company moving forward. Later in the production run, Juliet will be danced by Ukrainian superstar, Anastasia Matvienko and Elizaveta Kokoreva, the Bolshoi Ballet’s young prima ballerina. With Yolanda Sonnebend’s gorgeous set and costume design, the staging pleases the eye even as it stabs the heart with repeated pain.