Yui is the first costume that
I ever completely made on my own. For this reason, it holds a special place
in my heart. I made it to dance in. I knew that I wanted to dance
at a masquerade, and I wanted to do a pretty character that a lot of people
knew of. At the time, my hair was short, so I wanted to do someone
with short blonde hair so that I wouldn't need a wig. And, of course, I
needed a character that I could make dance.
I chose Yui. And I choreographed
a dance to the Fushigi Yuugi opening song to dance to. I wanted to
create her life out of dance, a dance that showed her vulnerability, her
devotion, her desperation. It was an interesting dance to do and
forced me to be very open on stage in a way that I rarely am in life.
It was extraordinary to do, so incredibly emotional. It felt
almost like therapy. And it must have shown. Yui won Fanime's Artistic
Superiority Veteran Individual (probably equivalent to Best in Show, Individual)
that year.
