Rambert Dance Company Days - Sad Megumi Days
Christopher Bruce gave me a job at the Rambert Dance Company in London back in 2001 and I think it is true that I was the first Asian dancer (if I'm wrong then for sure I was the first Japanese dancer) in that Dance Company. He saw my solo in a choreography competition in The Netherlands and we connected and I auditioned. He was like a big daddy and was respected by everyone. His classic pieces “Ghost Dances”, "Hurricane” etc... blew me away and touched my heart. One of the regrets that I have was not to get to dance in one of his ballets.
Looking back now, my season of 2001 (September 2001 to July 2002) was definitely my personal rollercoaster year. In my life calendar it’s a year that I blocked out probably because I never felt I was standing straight. The company season started in September, and I had just joined the company and almost right away it was announced that this would be the last season for Christopher Bruce as a director. The whole company was shifting into a transition mode. And the next day in the afternoon the rehearsals were interrupted and we all gathered in the green room and watched the moment the 2nd twin tower was attacked live on TV. I felt so alone at that moment, and, standing there looking over at the other dancers crying and sharing their thoughts. I sensed that the world was heading in a terrible direction.
Then, in December of that year, after a dear friend died I took a month off from work to try and get over it. In February 2002, I damaged my right knee meniscus while I was exercising with a big exercise ball. In March, I had a knee operation. In April, I met my future husband Nathan Buck. From April to July was the touring season all over UK but I was still recovering and not dancing. As a dancer not dancing/sweating it wasn’t easy especially since I was trying to build myself up again from my friend’s death. I knew it was all in my mind, but I was creating a “sad Megumi” aura and I was awkward and I was not myself. I am so grateful to my husband who had just met me around that time and loved me patiently and yes, we had some very good Romance.
Then, Mark Baldwin took over the direction of the company. . He was another really sweet person and I also regret that I hadn’t have much chance to work with him.
I stayed another year and a half at the Rambert. But I was performing on and off because of my knee injury and also because of the “sad Megumi” aura.
This picture was taken after a gala in honor of Christopher at Sadlers Wells. I got to dance the “Blackbird” duet by Jirii Kylian with Simon Cooper. It was an extraordinary performance for me that allowed me to condense my thoughts and feelings from that time into a performance.
I told Christopher that “I am sad that you just hired me and you already have to leave” he said “I am sorry that you feel that way but I can’t wait to work in my garden leisurely “ Everyone has different needs. I realized that I was just selfish and being a drama queen.
In 2003, Nathan and I started to move to NYC. NYC has been good to me since..
Now that I am almost 20 years older and speak better English and am more westernized & express myself openly, I’d love to reconnect with everyone from that time and have drinks! Maybe one person at a time: Amy, Sam, Hope, Mikaela Paul, Glenn, Conner, Simon, Attila, Lucila, Angela, Vincent, Gemma, Tom, Raphael, Fabrice, Steven, Antonia, Anna,CathY, Melanie, Deirdre, Brandon, Robin, Lily , Cameron, Martin, Clemmie(I might be forgetting someone sorry ) and Mark and Christopher.
I love you all and please excuse me for being such a "sad Megumi" at that time