A ballet for the ages
Most people who know “The Tale of Genji” think of it as a story about a man because the title character is a prince.
Nao Kusuzaki is taking a different approach with her new ballet, inspired by the 11th-century Japanese classic. She is considering the perspective of its author, a keenly observant noblewoman, known as Murasaki Shikibu, and four characters around whom Genji’s life revolves. The fictional Genji is a dream of a guy — handsome, poetic and tender — but he has been demoted politically, so he pursues women who can help him regain his stature in Japan’s imperial court. (He is not to be confused with the cyborg ninja Genji who rules the internet these days, although there is a popular manga version by Yamato Waki.)
Widely considered the first modern novel, “The Tale of Gengi” seamlessly blends prose with waka poetry to convey the political, social and moral dynamics (and the vanities) of the elite class during the Heian period. A golden era that lasted from 794 to 1185, the Heian period gave rise to the Japanese writing system, traditional bugaku dance and gagaku music, among other things. “It really established Japanese identity,” Kusuzaki says.
Each of Genji’s lovers represents a different kind of relationship. Their characters are iconic in Japanese culture — among them, a stepmother who is Genji’s unattainable ideal love; a young girl he grooms to be like her; an official, politically arranged wife; and a beautiful, jealous mistress with a murderous “living spirit” who kills her rivals.
After her years with Houston Ballet, where she was a soloist until 2016, Kusuzaki easily envisioned the dramatic havoc the spirit character could create. “I wanted to see that happen,” she says. Her “Genji” premieres March 24-25 at Asia Society Texas Center, in partnership with Houston Ballet.
Running about 50 minutes, Kusuzaki’s dance is not a literal telling of the novel. She has taken some liberties to portray how the women would have bonded and created their own community
during the Heian period, when they lived in isolation from men — including their polygamous husbands.
Kusuzaki left her native Ehime Prefecture when she was 10, so she didn’t study “The Tale of Genji” in school like most Japanese students. But she has known its stories mostly through osmosis all her life. Her mother, who writes poetry, loves the book and often references it, she says. “Basically, all Japanese people know this book.”
Her “Genji” was percolating before the COVID-19 lockdowns, but the pandemic gave her a chance to finally sit down and read the novel, which sprawls across 54 chapters and follows four generations of characters. She was surprised by the book’s timeless evocations of love, jealousy, loyalty and betrayal. “Murasaki was so ahead of her time,” she says. “It’s so relatable.”
Even as a one-act, “Genji” is an ambitious undertaking. Kusuzaki is working with a composer for the first time, and she isn’t starting small.
She enlisted acclaimed New York musician Kaoru Watanabe to write a layered score and perform live alongside her dancers. (He also will portray Genji’s father.) A jazz artist who specializes in the traditional shinobue flute and taiko drumming, Watanabe has collaborated with Jason Moran, the Silkroad Ensemble and other leading artists across an array of dance and visual art disciplines. He also was featured in Wes Anderson’s film “Isle of Dogs.”
Kusuzaki and Watanabe became friends several years ago after she was invited to perform with his group at a festival in San Antonio. “His music is perfect for … a contemporary retelling of this classic literature,” she says. The score incorporates some spoken word — waka poetry from Murasaki’s book — and some of Watanabe’s music will be improvisational.
Kusuzaki is just as excited to be featuring five Houston Ballet up-and-comers. She has cast soloist Ryo Kato as Genji and his real-life wife, demi-soloist Yumiko Fukuda, as Genji’s favorite lover, Murasaki. Soloist Aoi Fujiwara is Genji’s obsession, Fujitsubo. And two new corps de ballet dancers have their first plum roles: Jindallae Bernard is the jealous mistress Rokujyo. Emma Forrester is Genji’s official wife, Aoi. (They do battle in a famous carriage scene from the novel.)
“I’ve known Jindallae since she was about 10,” Kusuzaki says. “I could tell she was really focused; I knew she had something really special. It’s very exciting for me to see her start to blossom.” Four students from Houston Ballet Academy fill out the cast.
Set designer Ryan McGettigan is utilizing screen-like pieces and projections to create a minimalist environment on the Asia Society’s intimate stage. Tiffany Schrepferman is designing the lighting, and just-retired Houston Ballet first soloist Allison Miller is creating the “Genji” costumes. “The design will be simple, not what we would expect the Heian imperial court to look like,” Kusuzaki says. “It’s more about the characters and the stories they’re telling.”
She first worked with McGettigan on “Tsuru (The Crane Wife),” a 2016 collaboration between Houston Ballet and the Asia Society that she co-created and starred in but did not choreograph. She has been coming into her own as a dancemaker since then, organizing smaller projects through her nonprofit Creative Minds Collaborative, as well as choreographing works for students. Three shorter one-act ballets she recently created for pre-professional dancers also will premiere at a Regional Dance America festival in March.
While Kusuzaki devotes much of her time to teaching at Houston Ballet Academy and the University of St. Thomas, she hopes she isn’t done yet with “Genji.” “Maybe there will be a sequel, or an Act 2, or eventually it will be a full-length ballet,” she says.
It’s an especially relevant time to share the beauty of Japanese culture, given the recent surge of violence against people of Asian descent. “Yes,” she agrees. “I hope it will be a peaceful and beautiful way to bring people together.”
“Genji,” 7:30 p.m. March 24-25; Asia Society Texas Center, 1370 Southmore. Tickets: $45-$55; asiasociety.org