Photo credit: Mayumi Hirata
Nehemiah Kish and Yuhui Choe "In Conversation" with Deborah Weiss
2nd August 2022
Nehemiah Kish and Yuhui Choe – husband and wife – are, or in Nehemiah’s case, were, dancers with the Royal Ballet. They were ‘in conversation’ with dance writer Deborah Weiss, talking about their respective careers in ballet. Born in the United States, Nehemiah trained in Canada and danced there for some years. Although born in Japan, Korean dancer Yuhui trained in Paris.
The Chair of the London Ballet Circle, Susan Dalgetty Ezra, warmly welcomed the two dancers and thanked them both for agreeing to take part. Deborah commenced the conversation by asking how they had become involved in ballet.
Yuhui began dancing at the age of five. As a teenager she moved to Paris to train with Daini Kudo and later with Dominique Khalfouni. She won first prize at the Prix de Lausanne in 2002 and went on to join the Royal Ballet, becoming a First Soloist in 2008. Over the years she has danced many major roles.
Nehemiah was born in Michigan and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School. He joined the National Ballet of Canada in 2001 where he rose swiftly to become a Principal in 2005. In 2008 he moved to the Royal Danish Ballet, and in 2010 joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal.
“Does this country feel like home” inquired Deborah. “Yes” was Yuhui’s immediate response. Nehemiah answered that home was wherever your family was, and in that he included the extended family constituted by the Royal Ballet company.
In her first year with the company Yuhui had danced the Bluebird in Natalia Makarova’s The Sleeping Beauty. A film clip of her in this role, dancing with Alexander Campbell, was then played. Deborah remarked that she made the dance seem effortless, performing it with lightness and grace.
Nehemiah had also danced in a Makarova ballet, playing Solor in La Bayadère. At the time he had been very aware of the fact that she was a great ballerina. Indeed, he wondered whether one could ever feel completely ‘comfortable’ at the Royal Opera House as you were constantly aware of all the great names who had performed on that stage.
Sir Frederick Ashton has a most important place in the history of the Royal Ballet and both were asked how much they considered themselves to be ‘Ashton dancers’. Yuhui responded that Ashton had his own style, particularly with the involvement of the upper body. In an Ashton production one was always being urged to ‘bend – bend – bend’, especially when coaches such as Christopher Carr were taking rehearsals. The introduction of Ashton’s style of choreography began during the years of training at the Royal Ballet School.
Nehemiah told us that the repertoire of his ballet school had included several Ashton works. The company itself had La Fille Mal Gardée, and when at the school he had seen Karen Kain dance A Month in the Country, which first inspired his interest in the Royal Ballet. He had then gone on to Denmark where the choreography of August Bournonville also incorporated a lot of ‘bending’.
A clip of Monotones, another Ashton ballet, was then shown, in which Nehemiah danced with Edward Watson and Marianela Nuñez. Deborah commented that the pas de trois appeared seamless and the dancers moved so completely together. Nehemiah responded that while seeming effortless it was actually a very tiring role and his abiding memory was of cramping calves!
Yuhui concurred about the intense physicality of some Ashton pieces, citing as an example Symphonic Variations. The ballet, for six dancers, must appear serene and seamless. Achieving that, however, takes considerable effort.
Both dancers then commented on the tremendous range of works in the repertoire of the Royal Ballet, involving many different choreographers and thus so many different styles of dance from the purely classical to the more modern.
Deborah went on to ask about Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo and Juliet, in which Nehemiah had played both Romeo and Tybalt – two wildly different parts. Nehemiah explained that he had, in fact, performed John Cranko’s Romeo first, when he was in Canada. He felt that this first version of the ballet had internalised it within him, and that he had been able to approach Macmillan’s rather more technically difficult Romeo by getting lost in the story. The music – the costumes – all contributed hugely to his interpretation of the role.
Tybalt was quite a different part; the ’baddy’, as Deborah put it. Nehemiah explained that for various reasons he had actually had rather more time to explore and develop this character; it had been fun and most enjoyable.
A clip was shown of Nehemiah, with Reece Clarke, rehearsing the sword fight sequence from Romeo and Juliet. He explained the importance of maintaining the safety of both the participants and the other performers on stage. It was a difficult sequence to learn, and vital that the moves became second nature to the duellers.
In 2019 Nehemiah retired from the Royal Ballet and embarked on something entirely new. He enrolled for an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy at Goldsmiths’ College. He had no clear objective in sight but thought it would provide a good basis for whatever he might decide to pursue in the future. Although a considerable challenge to go back into an academic setting, he found the course extremely inspiring. It was great to be part of such an international and diverse group of students. Along the way he was able to promote dance quite widely, building on work he had started while in Toronto.
He had just completed his course when their baby arrived in January 2021 – one of six born to Royal Ballet members during lockdown! Both expressed their delight in becoming parents.
Yuhui was then asked about the problems of returning to the life of a professional dancer after childbirth. She had eighteen months away from the stage and now had a different focus - “I became a mother” she said. However, she found that she was able to separate her responsibilities; when at work, dancing was first and foremost in her mind. It was tough but rewarding. (“Superwoman” whispered Nehemiah approvingly)
She had many long conversations with Kevin (Kevin O’Hare – Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet) who was anxious not to push her. He wanted her to take the return to major roles at her own speed and she had been extremely grateful for the tremendous support which he offered. At the end of the season he had apparently said that “we did it together”.
Deborah then went on to explore Nehemiah’s exciting new project titled Nureyev: Legend and Legacy. This would consist of a series of five gala performances staged at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane during September this year, involving stars of the ballet from British and European companies. The galas would celebrate the life and work of Rudolf Nureyev, probably the best known ballet dancer of all time.
Planning the programme had been difficult, although it had mostly evolved naturally. He hoped the programme would demonstrate the remarkable range of Nureyev’s work and his major contribution to ballet. Nehemiah noted with appreciation the great encouragement given by the Trustees of the Nureyev Foundation in mounting the productions. Monica (Dame Monica Mason) had also been extremely supportive.
The music was, of course, an extremely important element and this would be provided by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. The location in the Theatre Royal was also significant, because Margot Fonteyn had invited Nureyev to take part in her gala there. Nehemiah was pleased to be able to bring ballet back to Drury Lane.
Deborah wondered how much of Nureyev’s history as an individual would also be explored – after all he was known for his clothes, his flamboyance, his lifestyle, perhaps almost as much as for his ballet. However, Nehemiah explained that the programme would focus on the many classical ballets in which he starred. He wanted to bridge the generations and emphasise Nureyev’s relevance today.
One performance will be filmed by and available online for those unable to attend in person. Nehemiah also said that the souvenir programme would be very full and detailed.
The trailer of the gala was then shown, including cleverly intercut pictures of Nureyev and dancers of today. The prospect of the shows was hugely exciting, said Deborah. She wondered whether this was the start of a new career for Nehemiah – as an impresario? All he would admit was that he had found Sol Hurok’s book (Impresario: a Memoir) interesting….
Nehemiah and Yuhui then responded to questions from audience members. The first involved promotion – was it always necessary to have danced with several different companies to achieve the status of Principal? Yuhui has remained with the Royal Ballet, although she has danced with other companies. She believes the Royal Ballet is ‘right’ for her and would not want to move to another company.
Nehemiah, on the other hand, has travelled a lot. He said that a dancer is lucky if they find exactly the right company and want to stay there, but he wanted to explore different aspects of dance. Everyone must discover what suits them, he believed.
He was then asked about his role as Creature in Frankenstein, which he had undertaken about a year before tackling Tybalt. It was a very different role, which Liam Scarlett had asked him to perform. Under his direction he felt he had brought out something new in himself and produced a sympathetic character.
Finally, Yuhui was asked about the many soloist roles she had performed in Liam Scarlett’s Swan Lake. As a new parent, just returning to the stage, had it been hard to juggle these? Hard and challenging, she replied, and quite tough. However, in tackling all of these she felt that she had been able to reflect Liam’s influence on the company.
Yuhui and Nehemiah were thanked most warmly by both Deborah and London Ballet Circle chair, Susan Dalgetty-Ezra, for giving up their evening to take part in such a fascinating conversation.
Written by Trevor Rothwell and edited/approved by Nehemiah Kish, Yuhui Choe and Deborah Weiss
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