A Thing with Feathers

To launch her tenure as artistic director for the National Ballet of Japan, Miyako Yoshida added Sir Peter Wright’s “Swan Lake” (with Galina Samsova) to the repertoire, explaining the choice as a “new step forward” for the company. Six years later and now in its second revival, NBJ’s staging on Wright’s most classic of all classical ballets elevates the company’s strengths while expanding the emotional and technical range of every dancer.

Performance

National Ballet of Japan: “Swan Lake” by Peter Wright

Place

New National Theater Tokyo, Japan, June 7, 2026

Words

Kris Kosaka

Akari Yoshida and Shun Ozawa in “Swan Lake” by Peter Wright. Photograph by Takashi Shikama, courtesy of the National Ballet of Japan

Six different ballerinas partnered by six different Siegfried’s will assume the role of Odette/ Odile over ten performances. In fact, some 41 different dancers will debut a role in this run. On the matinee I attended, soloist Akari Yoshida embodied the delicate valor of Odette, while her automaton-sharp, duplicitous Odile as Baron von Rothbart’s (Fukunobu Koshiba) nefarious puppet astutely advanced the story, as the famous 32 fouettés unspooled as the decisive weapon in an arsenal of trickery.

Coming off a fracture that sidelined her earlier this year, it is Yoshida’s second stint in the role after her debut in 2023, difficult to fathom, as her Odette resonated with the intelligence of a more seasoned performer. Marked by technical excellence, her stunning, long-legged exactness and supple, expressive back, the fluttery grace of her wing ripples and quick feet, Yoshida is my new touchstone for the role. But Yoshida’s emotional interpretation impressed me most. One of the great appeals of Wright’s version is that every Swan Maiden is a princess in her own right, and the everpresent corps rely on Odette to mirror their collective turmoil.

In the famous Act Two White Swan adagio, Yoshida’s développé as she sweeps forward into a deep penché before flowing backwards into the stunning cambré, her arms draped like wings over Siegfried’s (a charismatic Shun Izawa) support, soulfully captures the swans’ united yearning, poised in solidarity around her. Or the forlorn bend of her arabesque around Siegfried’s body and the tilt of her head, as she projects the first tentative moments of trust, the corps’ shifting bourrées echoing this flutter of hope.

Repeatedly the corps act as a physical chorus, emphasizing the emotions in stillness or by surrounding the lovers in their iconic movements like the sorrowful drag of the temps glissé or their encircling formations as Tchaikovsky's haunting woodwinds swell. It’s a bittersweet first meeting, as Odette carries not only her own fragile hope, but theirs. Later, in Act Four, when Odette bursts into frantic entrechat, a final, fluttering attempt to escape the spell, the entire corps painfully subsumes her agitation. Hope, a thing with feathers, broken.

Suzu Yamamoto and Yuzuki Hanagata with Mizuki Nakajima in “Swan Lake” by Peter Wright. Photograph by Takashi Shikama, courtesy of the National Ballet of Japan

Another star of Wright’s production are the designs by Philip Prowse. Themes of oppression and duplicity run through the majestic sets and costumes. Underskirts flash with unexpected color, sleeves drape like wings across multiple characters, dark skirts shimmer with jeweled patterns. His craggy, mystical backdrop at the lake frames the despair, and well-placed stagecraft accentuates the drama.

As a narrative, it’s hard to equal Wright’s production. The gloom of the funeral in the prologue establishes the pensive tone while providing key empathy for the Prince. Choreographically, any version belongs to the swans, but Ozawa’s grief-stricken Siegfried, his stoic determination to satisfy the Queen Mother (Marina Ohki in her debut) in his kingly obligations, tightly parallels the oppression of Odette.

His is a different entrapment, but carrying the responsibility for others weighs heavily on Ozawa’s Prince, as it does for Odette. We fall in love with Siegfried as he falls in love with Odette, inspired by her indomitable courage, determined to break free of his own chains by breaking hers.

This thru-line also gives the corps narrative purpose beyond their iconic synchronicity. And synchronous they are: over and over, the Swan Maidens align in eerie exactness. With the addition of the Four Cygnets (Ayano Akai, Maho Higashi, Nana Oda, Miyu Kawamoto) and Two Swan maidens (Yuzuki Hanagata, Saki Horinouchi) both difficult sequences perfectly executed, NBJ hosts a bevy of 30 swans onstage plus Odette, a heart-wrenching spectacle, especially in the mist-shrouded opening to Act Four.

Akari Yoshida and Shun Ozawa in “Swan Lake” by Peter Wright. Photograph by Takashi Shikama, courtesy of the National Ballet of Japan

Yet their synchronicity also belies a strength that foreshadows Wright’s ending. When the sacrifice of the lovers unexpectedly breaks the spell, en masse the Swan Maidens advance, their bourrées hostile on the now helpless von Rothbart. A most satisfying comeuppance.

There are plenty of other dance highlights including the first Act Two Courtesans (Hanagata and Suzu Yamamoto) with Benno (Mizuki Nakajima) futilely attempting to cheer up the Prince or the character dances in Act Three, each topped by their respective Princess, hoping to secure a place as Queen. Ozawa takes advantage of a rare solo in Act Three. His floating jetés, spinning leaps, the exuberant turns à la seconde all so convincingly portrayed his joy at Odile unexpected presence (mistaken for Odette) that I found myself cringing, anticipating the (yes, very) cruel reveal. Every narrative step unfolds logically, grippingly real.

If you’ve found yourself dissatisfied with other versions, try Wright’s. NBJ’s production is supported by Birmingham Royal Ballet and part of the centennial celebration ahead of his 100th birthday on November 25th. BRB will also stage a revival in October, as well, birds of a feather—happy centennial to a maestro.

Kris Kosaka

Kris Kosaka is a writer and educator based in Kamakura, Japan. A lifelong ballet fan and studio rat in her youth, she's been contributing to the Japan Times since 2009. She writes across culture, but especially in dance, opera and literature.

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A Thing with Feathers

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