TAKAWIKI PROFILE

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NAME: Wakamiya Wakaba
KANJI: 若宮 わかば
CURRENT TROUPE: Hanagumi | Flower Troupe
FORMER TROUPE: Soragumi | Cosmos Troupe
ROLE: Musumeyaku
STATUS: Top Star

NICKNAME: Sakura
REAL NAME: Kanbe Sakura
KANJI: 神戸 さくら
HEIGHT: 161 cm
BIRTHDAY: 22nd of February
BLOODTYPE: A
HOMETOWN: Tokyo Metropolis, Tokyo Prefecture
FAVOURITE FOOD: Sweet rice dumplings
FAVOURITE FLOWER: Roses
FAVOURITE COLOURS: Pink, red and white
HOBBIES: Going to the ballet
COLLECTIONS: Stationary
SPECIAL TALENT: Writing haiku
ORIGIN OF STAGE NAME: Like her real name, given to her by her father. Holds the meaning "in a young (若) palace (宮), young (若) leaves (葉) bloom".
FAVOURITE ROLE: Cleopatra from ‘The Sands of Egypt’.
WOULD LIKE TO TRY PLAYING: A role Elizabeth Taylor has played.









ROLES IN SELECTION

DEBUT: Like That! (Hoshigumi | Star Troupe)



Top Star roles (Hanagumi | Flower Troupe):

Over Large Waters | Für Elise (Grand Theater)
• The Hoyang Consort/Yoshino Princess | Elise

Direction: Doi Akio | Synopsis;
Chunagon has travelled to China to find the reincarnation of his deceased father. At the Chinese court, however, he meets a most beautiful woman, the Hoyang Consort, and falls in love with her. Although she is married to the Chinese Emperor, they share many beautiful moments of love, until Chunagon is called back to Japan. Separated, they do not know of one another's fate, but one night the Hoyang Consort comes to Chunagon in a dream, telling him that she has passed away, yet she will be reborn into the body of the Yoshino Princess whom he must save from the Crown Prince...

Hot Jazz | Got the Swing! (National Tour)
• Nancy

Synopsis;
The arrival of the swing era is making life hard for jazz musician Charles who struggles to get by and is slowly losing his inspiration. One night, drunk on beer, he decides to just throw away his saxophone, but in an alleyway he comes across a woman, Nancy, singing a jazz melody to herself while doing the laundry. Inspired by her voice, he invites her to come sing with his band, but everything gets a little tricky when it turns out that the Italian Mafia has a claim on Nancy's family...

The Sands of Egypt (Grand Theater)
• Cleopatra

Synopsis;
Mark Antony has won the Roman Civil War and seeks out Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to gain her as an ally. After a great feast, they become lovers and Cleopatra vows to help him in his war against Octavian. Caught up in their passion, they prepare for the Battle of Actium, but when Cleopatra sees his ship catching fire and sinking, she is convinced that he is dead and she returns to Alexandria without him by her side...

After Dark (Chunichi)
• Mari

Synopsis;
Takahashi, a trombone-playing student who loves Curtis Fuller's "Five Spot After Dark", meets Mari, a 19-year-old, who is spending the night reading in a Denny's. Takahashi knows Mari's sister, Eri, and insists that the three of them have hung out before. During the night, their fates are twisted together with that of multiple other people and meanwhile, Eri is in a deep sleep...

Hymn to Liberty | Got the Swing! (Grand Theatre)
• Hürriyet

Synopsis;
Symeon is a freedom fighter who believes that Cyprus should be reunited with Greece. Leading a band of revolutionaries, he occupies a city in Northern Cyprus in an attempt to make the Turkish government give up their siege of the island. However, while he and his men hold the village hostage, he meets the beautiful local girl, Hürriyet and falls in love, finding himself suddenly questioning all his prior beliefs...

Onamuji | Have a Dream (Grand Theatre)
• Princess Suseri

Synopsis;
Onamuji is favoured for husband by legendary Princess Yakami before the eighty gods and they all conspire and kill him twice over. On his mother's petition, he is resuscitated each time and finally sent off to seek Susano-o in the Netherworld. Here he meets face to face with Susano-o's daughter, Princess Suseri and they fall in love. Now, Onamuji must pass Susano-o's crafty tests to be able to marry Princess Suseri and hear of his fate in the world above...

Angel on My Shoulder | My Dear Revue II (National Tour)
• Irene

Synopsis;
Gabriel has performed God's kindness since the beginning of the world and has tired of watching the good of God at work from afar. He asks God to transform him into a human being for just a week, so he can feel His goodness on his own body. Gabriel's wish granted, he finds himself in New York where he runs into Irene whom he's helped while still an angel. This soon brings complications, when he falls in love with her...

Other roles (Soragumi | Cosmos Troupe):

The Lout Aladdin
• Scheherazade
• (Shinko lead) Badroul

Little Plum Blossoms (Bow Hall)
• (Lead role) Umeko

Forever and a Day | Sunshine Reggea
• Simonetta
• (Shinko) Adelina

The Scandalous Man | Uptown Downtown II
• Gerda
• (Shinko) Beatrice

HIT LIST (Bow Hall)
• (Lead role) Rin

Rose of Versailles – Fersen and Marie Antoinette
• Young Marie Antoinette
• (Shinko lead) Marie Antoinette

A Token of My Affection (Bow Hall)
• (Lead role) Ulrikke

Seal of Approval | Oh Happy Day
• Susan
• (Shinko lead) Daisy

Love From Paris | Les Parisiennes
• Jacqueline
• (Shinko lead) Monique

Dreams Amongst the Clouds

Sketches From the Life of Ryoma Sakamoto | Uptown Downtown
• (Shinko lead) Oryo


Other appearances:

Sunflower-san!
• Wakamiya Wakaba Music Salon

Love Sonatas
• Amano Senjou Dinner Show

Where Will I Go From Here
• Amano Senjou Music Video

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• Graduated 2nd in her class.
• The first Takarazuka production she saw was “In the Amber-Hued Rain”.
• Her favourite ballet is "Serenade” by George Balanchine.
• She speaks some French.