Interview with Nubuo Fujino

As you know that the term of our main purpose is about a girl who has interest of become a ballet dancer. For my research I looked at other actors in film who had the same interest as the main character in our film and how they made their prolonged dream a reality. This will help my research of gaining new ideas of how to develop and bring out the attention of our character for the opening sequence and how they are portrayed throughout.

The first Ballet dancer that I found my research on is a Dancer called Nobuo Fujino who similarly is in the same position as the Emma is in ours.

Nobuo Fujino

Born in Japan, Fujino studied at the Egawa Ballet School in Kobe. His winning of the Idemitsu Scholarship Award at the 1995 Asia-Pacific Ballet Competition was his passport to studying at the Australian Ballet School through a scholarship. He joined The Australian Ballet in 2005 before returning to Hong Kong in 2008.

I then decided to interview him, I have to admit I was anxious to interview him but at the same time an honour to have met him.

He greeted me with his Chinese posture, good thing he could speak English.

1.    What do you like/interests?

My main interest is learning in how to make money. Shock surprise I was bought up in my homeland china and being a businessman was all I knew how to be. Back in my school days in Japan they did nothing else apart from make money and talk figures in which I was trying to distance myself away of but somehow everywhere I walked all I could hear was figures , sort of an tradition if you like. (He laughs and blushes). Also there was no ballet school or anything like that in Japan so I have adapted to the lifestyle and cannot get it out of my system unfortunately. But once I started to get into ballet I instantly made that connection like a school boy and a football, it was something special.

2.    What made you like Ballet?

From a young age I was a very physically active person I always use to sing, dance and run everywhere, my mum knows how much of a pain I was to her in my young days. My mother wanted me to do something onstage in which I wasn’t too keen on but I respected her decision and went along with her choice. However women are not always right. I remember I always use to hold a microphone in my hand to this date and used to sing and dance with it. From there my sensei and my family supported me from there I had a trial for a talent agency and from there I was on television.

3.    I understand you have been invited to the cast of the new ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by BP?

Yes, how did you know that, I replied I have my sources. He laughed. Yes I am the new I will be performing for the first time in the Philippines, although he noted he had gone on vacation in Boracay and “walked through" the streets of Manila on his way to the famed beach destination as just to capture a glimpse of what it would be like. He added that the role of Prince Desire in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ has a special personal importance to me. I was performing the role when the Hong Kong Ballet officials announced that they were promoting me to the post of principal dancer in 2002," said Fujino, who joined Hong Kong Ballet in 1997.I haven’t danced the role of the Prince in almost 10 years. So I am looking forward to dancing it with Candice Adea at the fund-raising gala on Dec. 2," said Fujino, who is very saucy may I add but at the same time I am very anxious to meet her.

4.    What will you do after dancing?

I don’t actually see myself doing anything after dancing, to be honest I don’t really want to think about it but at the same time i am aware of the situation “But this is the same for everyone in today’s economic crisis. A businessman may lose his job. It is the same situation for dancers. If you don’t have a place to dance, you have to look for it. The economic gloom does not really bother dancers in Japan," he said.

5.    What inspiration would you give to anyone who wants to start out as a ballet dancer?

‘My motto in which my mum always told me is that you should always try your best in everything you do and if you put your mind to it and practise practise practise you will always become successful he concluded’.