Photo/Illutration Students at the Takarazuka Music School pin school badges on the uniforms of members of the 111th class on April 15. (Provided by the Takarazuka Music School)

TAKARAZUKA, Hyogo Prefecture--Dreams came true for 40 teenage girls who passed rigorous screening to begin training as future stars of the popular Takarazuka Revue Company.

The Takarazuka Music School exclusively grooms members of the all-female music theater troupe affectionately known as “Takarasienne.” 

“I want to be an upbeat and cheerful Takarasienne who can jump into the eyes of audience members wherever I am on stage,” Moeko Oguma, from Tokyo’s Ota Ward, said at the April 15 entrance ceremony on behalf of the 111th class, whose members come from 14 prefectures around the country.

The competition was steep. Of the 612 girls who applied this year, only 40 were accepted.

The students learn singing, dancing and performing skills during the two-year course. The school, founded in 1913, only takes in girls between the ages of 15 and 18. 

Yurine Hirao from Fukuoka said she was overjoyed just thinking about attending the school in the gray uniform that she had admired for so long.

Ibuki Nishimaki from Nagoya said she wants to be a glamorous performer specializing in female roles who can “shoot fireworks into the hearts of audience members.”

In a speech, Tatsuya Nakanishi, the school principal, said, “I want each of you to grow into a performer with grace who supports Takarazuka’s gorgeous stage while educating yourselves as a woman and member of society.”

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