With all due respect to Yuhui -- and she has been so wonderful this season in Gamzatti and Alice -- I unfortunately do feel that Jamesrhblack is right in that it's not so much Yuhui's lack of whatever quality that is required to be a principal that is the problem, but that Fumi and Akane proved to be equally strong classically and perhaps potentially better in terms of their physical proportion(s) as principal material. Politically speaking, an English company is also (ideally) not going to want to have 3 Japanese/East Asian principal female dancers, that would probably be seen as too many, unless they were Cojocaru or Guillem level, so they're probably going to pick one or two out of the three or four of them. I am sure the RB would be happy to promote all of them eventually had they been all British, and this can be said of dancers of other nationalities too of course. If Kevin O'Hare really wanted the best of the best Japanese dancers, he should have searched further into the market and could have invited AYAKO ONO, now principal with the New National Theatre, whom I saw guest with BRB in Aladdin this past February. I do hate to compare dancers in this way, but if you're choosing from a certain ethnic pool, then you might as well choose the most special one both physically and artistically, as this is THE RB (this is my opinion!). Just being a critical observer.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbXLaukk2FE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8TzDMT0w44
