Here is Part 2 of Stephane's interview with Japanese dancer/actor Juichi Kobayashi. Sorry it took so long for me to finish up the second half of the interview. Here it is...
Stephane Lambiel & Juichi Kobayashi
Interview Part 2 published on World Figure Skating Vol. 39This interview took place in late June, about a month before Lambiel announced his return to competitions. He speaks during the interview assuming his retirement, but he must have held some conflicting feelings inside. In any case, the interview shows his strong desire to express himself on ice.
Ballet, Theater, and Figure SkatingLambiel: Juichi, did you start working in theater because someone encouraged you?
Kobayashi: Since I was in the ballet troupe, I always had interest in acting. But of course, I didn't think it would be easy. When I stopped doing ballet, a producer who is a fan of Maurice Bejart found out I had quit, and asked me if I would be interested in acting. That is how I got started in theater. Mr. Bejart's ballet productions have strong theatrical elements too. Some even have dialogues. But acting is difficult, since my body is completely a dancer.
L: Do you mean that dancing and acting are very different?
K: As a dancer, your body naturally moves before you can play a reaction as an actor.
L: When I am on the ice, my body moves naturally, without any thinking. So that would not work in acting.
K: Right. In ballet, you absorb all kinds of information, but in the end you need to be yourself. In acting, you absorb all the information, and then you need to play someone other than yourself.
L: I see. I would like to do some acting someday too. Of course, while people enjoy seeing me on the ice, it gives me a lot of inspiration, so I prefer the ice. Juichi, you will not dance anymore?
K: No. I had to stop dancing due to back injury. Besides acting, I also instruct choreography for Bejart productions, as well as at Paris Opera Ballet and Tokyo Ballet companies. I heard you take ballet lessons, where do you take them?
L: In Zurich. My choreographer (Salome Brunner) lives in Zurich, so when we work on new choreography, I take classic ballet lessons there. Once in a while, I take lessons near Martigny, my hometown. Also, at Steps in New York.
K: I attended the School of American Ballet in New York for 3 years since I was 17 years old, so I went to Steps frequently. You said you are friends with Julien Favreau at Bejart Ballet, and you went to see Le Concours in Lausanne. Do you go see ballet often?
L: I often go see ballet when I am on a trip, like in New York or Toronto. I enjoyed Carmen by the National Ballet of Canada. It was arranged in a modernized setting, with Carmen as a prostitute. It was very provocatively done. I wish I could go see various productions in Japan as well.
For the Joy of ExpressingK: Why did you decide to stop competing last year?
L: In figure skating, you always turn your body in the same direction, so one side of my hip is badly damaged... kind of like an occupational disease. Figure skating jumps take off on either foot depending on the jump, but the landing foot is always the right foot, so the impact is always on one foot.
K: In ballet, the pirouette spins in both directions, but everyone has their preferred direction.
L: In my case, the right side has become stronger, and the balance with the left side has become bad.
K: You don't regret retiring?
L: I have no regrets. I had many reasons for my decision. I want to continue skating, and health is most important for that. I need to take good care of my body. I admit, not competing gives me the feeling that something is missing inside of me¡
K: How is your body now?
L: I am still undergoing treatment. I also get massages and train the upper part of my abdomen. When you are skating on ice, even for shows, you naturally make positions that you are not really supposed to. So I try to train my abdomens so that they can absorb some of the strains instead of my legs. I don't know how long it will take, but I'm doing as much treatment as possible.
K: Dancers have some control over the strains, but in figure skating, I suppose it is difficult because you have the jumps.
L: It may be the same in dance, but when my hips hurt and I can't dance, I need to take medicine. But if I take a painkiller, then I can no longer be myself. Therefore, even though my daily treatments are hard, I think I need to do them, for the joy of expressing myself.
"Love Story of Me and the Rink"K: When you are touring for ice shows, what kind of preparations do you make?
L: In my case, I first practice without music in order to memorize the moves. Then, I just listen to the music several times. Then I adjust my body to the music. Everyone has their own way of preparing. During the tour, each practice session is about 45 minutes. For example, yesterday we had two shows in one day, at 12noon and 6pm, so the practice session was very early morning, and some people didn't show up. But I went because I wanted to wake up my body. How awake your body is can lead to how good your performance will be.
K: In dance, even matinees often start around 2 or 3pm. In theater, some start around 11am or 12noon.
L: In the morning, some parts of your body are not fully awake sometimes, isn't it so?
K: But it's ok, because dancers are constantly doing warm-ups, all the way up to just before he goes on stage.
L: That's very good. We skaters don't do much until we go into the ice rink, but we actually want an environment where we can move more actively.
What I want in ice shows, is actually more theater-oriented production. But when you have several champions participating in the show, the audience wants to see each skater's individual performance too, so doing both is a bit difficult. I think it would be great if there was a champion's program as well as a theatrical program. I would like to do a show with all kinds of programs mixed together.
K: You skated to Jacques Brel's "Ne me quitte pas" in Dreams on Ice. Why did you choose this song? Actually, Mr. Bejart choreographed for "Brel et Barbara" in 2001 and this music was used in the production.
L: I chose this music because I thought it could let me express everything that I have done so far. The lyrics of the song is like reflecting on everything that happened in one's life, so I thought that maybe I can show that I've gone through many stages in my career. Everyone slowly ages and eventually becomes old. I have a strong desire to stay on stage, but some day I will have to leave this stage... This program is about a love story between me and the rink.
K: If you came to Bejart Ballet, I think you would be very successful, because you have mature thinking like that...
L: Important thing is to believe in yourself, isn't it? The audience could be feeling something completely different, but that is up to the audience. As long as I am strong internally, anything is possible. The important thing is not whether people will like me or not, but whether I can inspire people, move their emotions, and catch their feelings.
K: Exactly the same for dance.
L: It seems we both share the love for art, especially art with movements.
Our Beloved Home SwitzerlandL: Anther common factor between us is Switzerland. What do you appreciate about Switzerland? I would firstly say nature.
K: Also, I think Switzerland has an excellent system for life security.
L: Standard of living is very high too. I think the country and the people have a moderate character, because Switzerland has never fought with other countries.
K: I agree.
L: When I return to Switzerland from international tours, I feel at home. When you were living in Lausanne, did you go to the mountains?
K: I didn't have many opportunities, but I did go to Villars-sur-Ollon near Lausanne.
L: That's where I used to train for many years. How about next time you visit Switzerland, we go skiing together? I like skiing since I learned to ski when I was 18 years old. If you enjoy speed, I think you would like it.
K: Do you know kickboard? A long time ago, I used a kickboard to slide down from Mr. Bejart's studio to the lake. It was so scary! (laughs)
L: That's quite dangerous! (laughs)
K: It was like schuss, and you can't brake. But in the end, all you'd have to do is jump into the lake. (laughs)
L: Lausanne has hilly landscapes, and the lake is wonderful.
K: You know Bally's store in Place St-Francois? I was living above that store.
L: That's a very nice area! I live in the suburb. I love Lausanne because it's a wonderful city to live in, not too big, just the right size for humans.
K: I would love to visit again. Stephane, thank you for your time today.
L: Thank you too. I had a great time. Let's meet again, next time in Lausanne!
--- End
St¡¦hane Lambiel & Juichi KobayashiInterview Part 1 published on Dance Magazine November 2009 issueHere is a short making-of-interview movie clip:
www.shinshokan.com/figure/WFS39DM11/movie39.htmlLausanne, a beautiful and luxurious resort city located on the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac L¡¦an), is well known among ballet fans as home of the B¡¦art Ballet and as venue for international ballet competitions. Two people with deep ties to this city have come together for a one-on-one conversation.
Juichi Kobayashi was for many years a lead dancer in the B¡¦art Ballet troupe, and is now active in theater and movies as an actor. St¡¦hane Lambiel is a Swiss figure skater and a two-time world champion. He is known not only for his high level techniques but also for his artistry which places among the top of his generation. He trains mainly in Lausanne. Lambiel, who visited Japan this summer to perform in an ice show, and Kobayashi met up to exchange their artistic views.
The B¡¦art Ballet CompanyLambiel: Nice to meet you. Actually, just about 3 weeks ago, I went to see B¡¦art Ballet³Õ "Le Concours" in Lausanne.
Kobayashi: Really? I heard from my friends in the troupe that it was very well received.
L: It was a lot of fun. I was especially blown away by the dancers' performances.
K: I heard you know some people in the troupe.
L: Yes, Julien Favreu and...
K: Ah, Julien! I am good friends with him too, and he is very popular in Japan as well.
L: He is a very nice person. He was very good as detective in "Le Concours." Also, Katya (Kateryna Shalkina) was very good too. I also have friends who went to Rudra (B¡¦art ballet school). We should all get together in Lausanne.
K: I want to go. Last time I visited was back in 2007.
L: The city has changed a bit. There is a new subway line.
K: Yes, I heard there is a new station called Maurice B¡¦art? I would love to see it.
L: Then you'd definitely need to come! (laughs)
Figure Skating and BalletK: I had wanted to ask you -- In figure skating, you do jumps in your program. When you come to the edge of the rink and take off for a jump, do you have a sense of space in your head?
L: Yes, rink size is set by standard. So there is a certain rhythm to jumps, so that you know approximately how much time is needed before you take off.
K: Does anyone ever bump into the wall?
L: Midori Ito once jumped over the wall (laughs). But in general, skaters can subconsciously feel the wall, even if their back is facing the wall. By training, one can learn the sense of space.
K: I have actually never skated before (laughs).
L: I have done ballet (laughs). Although as skaters we can't express delicate movements with the tips of our toes. Occasionally I take ballet lessons.
K: How do ballet lessons help you?
L: For things like posture and arm placements.
K: Do all choreographers have experiences in figure skating?
L: Not always. As for me, I want someone who respects what I want. I want as much freedom as possible, since I decide almost all the basis of the programs, such as what components to use. So I want them to help me in body expressions and breathing.
K: But it must be difficult to perform in competitions. You have to do difficult jumps on top of artistic expressions...
L: It's difficult to do both at the same time. So we must switch accurately between the artistic parts and the technical parts. For example, there is a rule that requires how many seconds must be maintained in one position in order to get the necessary points. By doing so, artistic aspect must be interrupted. There are also strict rules on the use of edges, such as inside edge and outside edge.
K: Audience can hardly tell the difference between the edges...
L: That's true (laughs). But in scoring for sports, decisions are made on a fraction of a millimeter. If one really wants to do it, one must keep trying to achieve it. When I watch ballet, I imagine how many hours of hard training the dancers must have endured. Then the performance seems more and more beautiful to me, because I understand how much self-sacrifice was made and how beautiful that makes this dance. Figure skaters do jumps, but we don't make detailed expressions with the tips of our fingers and toes. If I could have another life, I would like to try more ballet.
Breathing with MusicK: Learning non-dance movements, such as Pilates and yoga, have become trendy lately, but I think one should learn dance first. When I helped Miki Ando with her "Bolero" program, I didnÖÉ know much about figure skating, but I thought to myself: Can the skater sing the song that she selected for her program? If she can sing it well, then it means she can breathe with the music. So I asked Miki, "Do you know how you are breathing when you are skating to this program?" This is because, for a dancer, it is critical to understand the music, to make music your own, and to breathe with the music. What do you think?
L: When I work on a new choreography, the most important thing is what the music is trying to say. In figure skating, often a skater constructs the program components, and then chooses the music that goes with it. Sometimes one even uses the same program components with different music. But for me, I think that the body needs to go inside the music. Therefore, one needs to be more sensitive to music. I would like to work on a program with someone in that direction.
K: You can be a dancer.
L: No, no, I couldnÖÉ (laughs). But I am searching for something that you just described. Figure skating is also about sensitivity. If you breathe with the music, you donÖÉ steer away from the music. When the rhythm changes, that is the important part. Everything starts to disappear --- and then pop, the music starts again. How to express that part, is very important to me.
--- Continued to Part 2
Warmest thanks to Sally IV and Freefall!
I wish some commentators have some of your kind-heartedness and feel for art (or keep silent for the performance - there's enough time during replaying of the highlights! 
)
"It sounds like your retirement was just a show. " 
"On the ice you are free. And the freedom is magnificent." (Stephane Lambiel)
(props to Sportopic!)
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