What I saw these days, June-July 2010

OK. Here are 11 events I have attended, and 7 of them are outside of theatres. They are in a bunker, abandoned building, square, historical house, hotel converted from town hall, and open space. Any place can be preference space. This is the current tendency in dance and performance, and I am very much interested in this kind of performance.


10/07/2010 Nederlands Dans Theatre, Programme 2, Sadler's Wells
I saw only the second piece by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, as I was working as an usher. Great body and technique of the dancers, great scenography but it did not touch me.

10/07/2010 The Bunker Thing, Bootstrap Bunker, Dalston, presented by East London Dance and Avant Garde Dance
Site-specific street dance. I felt powerful commitment of the performers and the site, bunk had very specific humidity, smell, dust and darkness, which were also powerful. I cannot deny the feeling that the performance is still the extension of 'community dance'. It may come from the fact that the majority of the performers were young probably in their early twenties. But I appreciate the project that conjoined the bunk and these young street dancers, who seem to share particular kind of anger and darkness.

08/07/2010 You Me Bum Bum Train, LEB Building, presented by Barbican
I am totally overwhelmed. And I had to face on my lack of confidence on talking and also lack of awareness towards social issues. It was painful, in the end.
The performance itself was really well done. It's all about you. You are forced to go through different rooms, to play different roles, and to talk about your opinions... It's meant to be fun experience, according to the programme note, which gives you a sense of achievement.
For me, it turned out to be painful experience due to my strong nature of self-accusation. I have realised the fact that no one actually accuse me but myself, and this is happening always and this is how I exhaust myself...

06/07/2010 Slow Dancing, David Michalek, Trafalger Square, presented by Sadler's Wells
There are several stages to appreciate this work in Trafalgar Square. There are three massive screens that anyone who passes by would notice. And the screes show three figures in unusual poses on each screen. This is the best advert for dance.
Then if anyone who decided to stop by, they notice the figures are moving very slowly. In my case, I felt luck of patience here.
I tell myself to stay and wait to settle down for actual watching. I stay and watch. Then I notice the relationship between three dancers, that may be happening or not. Sometimes I just amazed by lines of dancing body, sometimes elegant, sometimes powerful and sometimes unnaturally straight.
Someone tells me to have closer look at the images. I go under the screens. I see muscles of the dancers. They are all beautiful. I feel something organic at last.
I look around in the square. There are many people standing, watching, chatting, and relaxing and sitting on steps. It is the power of a square to gather people in this way, and also the three massive screen hold them there.

06/07/2010 Nederlands Dans Theatre, Programme 1, Sadler's Wells
I had not watched conventional dance for long time. I simply enjoy their great physicality and pay respect to their techniques that has been established after years and years of training. I know the enjoyment of dancing difficult steps in precise way, but I don't get excited by watching them as much as by doing them. I question what dance wants to achieve? I want to achieve strong communication through dance. So the steps really does not tell me things. Careful gestures and a way to stand that reflects the dancer oneself mean more to me. And scenography. The environment a performer is placed tells me more stories. Watching one of the best companies in the world, I have noticed where I stand and where I want to go.

04/07/2010 Lauder Dance House, Carlos Cortes, Lauderdale House
I went to see my friend Fumi dancing in this. On sunny summer Sunday afternoon, Lauderdale House is full of families with children. I like the opportunity for dancers to be exposed to the community and for the community to be exposed to dance. It is like a small gift in life, nice meeting point of people.
I have heard the director Carlos has visual art background. At some point, I started wondering what's the difference between dance and visual art. What's the difference between still figures and moving body? What's the difference between tasks or games and genuine action-reaction? What is special about dance with living bodies?

-BREATH


01/07/2010 Town Hall Artworks, walkwalkwalk, Town Hall Hotel & Apartments,  produced by Artsadmin
I like going to unusual architectures and that was the reason I attended to this event. Town Hall Hotel and Apartments is a luxury designers hotel converted from the historical town hall. They commissioned several young artists to make works for the building, and walkwalkwalk is one of them. They are a group of poets and their poetry based on some description of local community in old times (80's?) are engraved on plastic plates and placed on walls in many different locations in the building. The event was a tour of the building following the poets reading out each of the poems.
The concept of the hotel itself and the artwork commissions are interesting. But poetry is not my favorite form. Maybe because English is not my mother tongue, I tend to miss some of the information in a poem and cannot read between sentences.

26/06/2010 In Pieces, Tim Etchells &Fumiyo Ikeda, Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler's Wells
On the other hand, this performance is more like reading between sentences. Tim Etchells made fragmented text with Fumiyo that take a form of lists counting from one. For example,"one, I don't like garlics""two, I saw it" etc. Fumiyo combines talking, moving and dancing. There is something word can express, something between words and something dance can express. Emotion tend to go with words, which expresses more concrete fact and direct impact. Dance can take this fact further into the universe. I enjoyed the evaporation of meanings as I jump to different places with different emotions, each of which led by the text.


26/06/2010 Dalston (un)folded, Origami&Memory, London Festival of Architecture
I just happened to participate this event one Saturday afternoon. I saw hundreds of Origami cranes connected in lines and hanging in front of a building in Dalston. It's organised by architects. They also had a huge map of the area, where each of us can put a sticker at a place one has some memory. Everyone was also given a sheet of paper, part of which one create a origami crane to add the sculpture, and other part of which one write what memory one has with the place marked on the map. Dalston is rapidly changing last a few years with its redevelopment. An architect explained me that they are also interested how people feel and live in the area, as well as making buildings. I am impressed by the approach of architects who look at more human side and I liked how they explain their idea through this event where they communicate with residents by giving the instructions of the activities.

10/06/2010 Kabuki, Sadler's Wells
I was most happy to experience the special gentle atmosphere in the theatre with lots of Japanese people, some of them in traditional Kimono. I appreciate the form and style although I look at the opposite side in my own practice.
For the first time in watching Kabuki, I realised how the whole thing- sound and visual are well composed. I had never paid attention to the sound before. Kabuki 歌舞伎 means singing- dancing - skill. It is a form of musical theatre, indeed.


09/06/2010 Electric Hotel, Kings Cross, A pop-up out door dance performance presented by Sadler's Wells
They built 'Electric Hotel' for this show in open space in Kings Cross. People watch the performance taking place in the building from the outside through hotel's large windows. The audience wear a head set to listen to the sound.
What I enjoyed the most was the scenery and change of light around the hotel building. It is outside and we can see the church and Kings Cross Station behind the Electric Hotel. The show started at 9.45pm, when the sun was not completely gone and as the performance progressed it became dark. That was beautiful experience. I enjoyed some of the sound I heard through the headset. The distance of sound is somehow more remarkable on the headset. When we hear very close sound, we are not sure if it's actual sound in live or recorded sound in the headset. I see more potential in this matter.

My imperfections

' My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet. ' ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Anger

' Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. ' ~ Buddha

FRAGMENTS at Triangle Gallery, opening

http://fragments12.blogspot.com/2010/07/very-interesting-work-that-challnges.html

Albert Einstein

' There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ' ~ Albert Einstein

ICA Talk, the Epic and the Intimate

http://fragments12.blogspot.com/2010/07/institute-of-contemporary-arts-talks.html

FRAGMENTS: performance details announced

http://fragments12.blogspot.com/2010/06/performance-details-announced.html

FRAGMENTS: Words

http://fragments12.blogspot.com/2010/06/words.html

UKIYO: The nature of the project

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2010/06/nature-of-project.html

They and I

' When it comes to the whole subject of loving others, you must know this:
how you handle your own heart is how you will handle theirs. ' ~ John Eldredge

Performances I saw these days

Here are the performances I attended these days.

27/05/2010 From Morning, A day of dance curated by Florence Peake, Christ Church Spitalfields
I generally like a performance in non-theatre space, and improvisation. So this event seemed right for me. There were four pieces, each of which we watch and experience from different views; one facing the entrance of the nave, one facing the altar, one in the crypt and one from the upper gallery. If I can ask more, I wanted to see the piece adapted more responding the architecture and the space they have chosen to perform. Maybe I say that because I have seen Nikki's piece before in another venue, and I thought that space was more effective for this work. The church is obviously not build for a dance performance and there were lots of moments that I struggle to watch the performance beyond other people's heads or pillars. But once if I accept the fact that what I can see is what it is, I can let it go with the missing parts. Anyway I would not get EVERYTHING from the event. What I experience is the event... I fall into the thoughts on performance I have been playing with these days.

18/05/2010 Babel (words), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet & Antony Gormley, Sadler's Wells
People make so much fuss about Sidi Larbi, and I have seen many works by him. To be honest, many pieces have faded out from my memory and the only one I remember is Sutra, the last piece hi made. On the other hand, I remember every work that Antony Gormley did in dance, with Sidi Larbi and Akram Kahn. I really enjoy such simple objects he makes create different spaces and meanings in relation to its uses in performance. The objects really get life.
In Babel (words), I saw this again, as well as other aspects in dance, physicality and humanity. The new thing in this work from Sidi Larbi is that there are more sense of humor. I have heard from other people that they did not like it because they are just kitsch and not funny. I don't disagree with them but I still like the stupidity because I think it is also part of human. A dance performance in a big venue like Sadler's Wells do not need to pretend 'high-art'. A real moment of creativity inhabits in people's playfulness, and it is OK to bring it on the stage, I think.
Including these stupid moments, the work had so much in it; great physicality of performers, abstract beauty of movement created by dance and the objects, social message and historical references. I enjoyed it every single moment.

16/05/2010 Would Like to Meet, non zero one, Barbican
It seems that it is becoming popular to provide a MP3 player and a headset to an audience member, who tours in a building following the direction given by the recorded voice. As far as I remember, this is the third time for me to have a headset to take a part in a performance, and this is the most well culcurated and completed one. There were probably two performers from the company who performs different roles in different time for different members of the viewers of six. So it is not about 'watching a performance'. It is about commiting yourself in the performance and interact with other audience members as the recorded voice pushes you to do so. There are some more activities you are told to do. In those moments, I felt the existace of myself feeling powerless as I have no other choices than folloing the instraction and trying to relax and enjoy myself doing the activity. It was very unique state of mind to be, and very powerful experience at the same time. I am very much interested in a performance in this kind of form, which the audience members really participate and create a performance for themselves in their own way.

FRAGMENTS creative process

I am working towards perofrmances of FRAGMENTS.

The project is aiming to involve the audience or others in its creative process, and launched a blog where people and read and leave comments.

Please visit the blog:
FRAGMENTS

We look forward to communicating with you.

FRAGMENTS: freedom and responsibility

http://fragments12.blogspot.com/2010/05/freedom-and-responsibility.html

UKIYO: Rehearsal on 23rd May towards Slovenia

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2010/05/rehearsal-on-23rd-may-towards-slovenia.html

FRAGMENTS: heeeeeeeelp

http://fragments12.blogspot.com/2010/05/heeeeeeeelp.html

Our neighbour

There is a couple of foxes living in our garden.
We see them from a window when we cook pasta for lunch.

Shame

' You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of! That is the basis for telling the truth. '
~ Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Great Words

The secret of health for both mind and body is not too mourn for the
past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment
wisely and earnestly.
Buddha

What I saw these days

I go and see performance very often and sometimes go to an exhibition. I happened to see much more performances especially in April. I have feelings and thoughts for each of them but no enough time to write now. So here is the list. I will write down something later.

At the moment the ones I am especially moved and inspired are:
Philly Steak(s)
Relay
Psy
Gnosis
The Catastrophe Trilogy

--
1/05/2010 Philly Steak(s), March Dance Theatre@Candid Cafe
1/05/2010 Relay, Donatella Cabras&Gabriele Reuter @Goodenough College
29/04/2010 Psy, The 7 Fingers @Peacock Theatre
26/04/2010 Gnosis, Akram Kahn @Sadler's Wells
24/04/2010 Pictures from an Exhibition @Sadler's Wells
24/04/2010 Leaving, Simon Ellis @St.Pancras station
22/04/2010 Birdsongs, Céleste Boursier-Mougenot @The Curve, Barbican Art Gallery
17/04/2010 Delusion, Laurie Anderson @ Barbican Theatre
10/04/2010 What If... @Siobhan Davies Studios
04/04/2010 Kontakthof with teenagers over 14, Tanztheatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch @Barbican Theatre
3/04/2010 Kontakthof with ladies and gentlemen over 65, Tanztheatre Wuppertal Pina Bausch @Barbican Theatre
20/03/2010 Go Public@Tate Britain
13/03/2010 Akane Abe @St.Pancras station
11/03/2010 The Festival, The Catastrophe Trilogy, Lone Twin Theatre @ The Pit, Barbican Centre
06/03/2010 Dansdubble#13, SNDO4, @Melkweg Theatre, Amsterdam
02/03/2010 Alice Bell, The Catastrophe Trilogy, Lone Twin Theatre @ The Pit, Barbican Centre
28/02/2010 You Are Here, Deepblue, @Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells
16/02/2010 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, @Olivier Theatre, National Theatre
13/02/2010 Solos choreographed by Deborah Hay, @Siobhan Davies Studios

UKIYO: Where I am and garment design for Leaves Woman

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2010/05/where-i-am-and-garment-design-for.html

今日この頃の愚痴

引っ越しからもう4週間。
身の回りの物が片付くのにそれほど時間はかからなかったけれど、自分の調子を取り戻すのにまだ手こずっている。

特にダンス。Clodの仕事をする前は、自分なりに追究したいことが見えていて、やってみたいこともあったのだけど、その後の突風で全部吹っ飛んでしまった。

自分がなんでダンスにこだわって，まだ踊ったり創ったりしようともがいているのか？という根本的な所で、つまずいている。

何かおいしい機会が欲しいけれども、それを狙って行動してもうまく行かないし、ダンスがつまらなくなるばかりなので、純粋な好奇心と研究心で毎日を積み重ねて行った方が良いのは知っているのだけど。

そうするだけの時間とエネルギーがないのは、ピラティスの教えが多すぎるからだとか，いい訳がましく愚痴をこぼしている，今日この頃。

変えなければ。

この1ヶ月あまり

気づけばこのブログから１ヶ月以上もご無沙汰になっていて、それは書くことがなかったのではなくて、書くことがありすぎて何から手を付けて良いのかわからなかったからというのは、既にgood newsか。

誕生日の付近は運が上がるらしく、いくつかラッキーなことがあった。

まずはClod Ensembleという、なかなか興味深いカンパニーからお誘いを受け、２週間ほど来年末発表予定の新作のR&D (research& development)に参加した。そう。常に継続してではないけど、こんなに長い期間、作品作りのための準備をする環境が与えられているとは、なんとも恵まれたプロジェクト。そして、私にとっては、「ダンス」の領域に限らない身体の動きと表現、ルコックを基本とした演劇に足を突っ込むという、大変貴重な経験をさせてもらった。
ありがたや。ありがたや。
なんとも充実した経験であった。

その最中、１ヶ月後に控えた引っ越しに向け、家探しをしていたところ、非常に良い条件のアパートを見つけた。この引っ越しは１週間後に控えている。
南無阿弥陀仏。南無阿弥陀仏。
早く無事に終わってくれぃ。
けれどもこのアパートに住むのは楽しみ。

Clodの終わった日、そのまま直行でアムステルダムに飛んだ。実はそこでコースを受けていて、２ヶ月に一度、５日間の割合でアムスに行かなければならない。やっているはPatricia Bardiという人のやっているコースで、Vocal Dance & Voice Movement Integrationという名のついている。要するに身体のことと、それが声や動きにどう関係しているかということで、解剖学などをお勉強するというよりは、それを体験して感じてみよう！といったもの。このコースは私にとってリトリートとのようなもので、吸収するものは多い反面、素直な自分のままでいれる場でもある。

そして現在に至る。アムスから帰って来てから、もっぱら引っ越しの準備で、わたわたとしている。

平常心でいられることがほとんどないので、そろそろ規則正しくマンネリのような日常が恋しくなって来ている。

Stranger Than Fiction: improv dance and comedy

I noticed a collective called Stranger Than Fiction probably several month ago. They do improvised dance performance once a month. Last Saturday, finally I managed to go and see their performance in a little modern church in Isligton.

There were three solos for 15 minutes each or so, and a duet for 20 minutes or so. The most remarkable point is that THEY ALL TALKED! It is not too unusual to talk in improvised dance but I would say it is one corner of improvised dance. They talk quite a lot, not only words, lots of lots of sentences. So basically they are telling absurd stories with talk and movement. It's funny. I laugh. But I can feel that the performer is trying to do something interesting so that people don't get bored. This brings me a question.

When I go to an improvised music gig, it seems that they are more going with the flow. They are not afraid of waiting until something comes up.

The approach in Henry's class is also like that. All the improvisers has gone through this kind of slow process for the body so that you can let the body's own intelligence come out.

But when improvisers perform, do they have to be out from the deep state of the body-centred? I don't mean that they have to stay in that state. The state always shifts and we go one to the other even in a second.

In a way, I felt a danger of improvised dance performance becomes comedy. Too much concern of the audience response changes the nature of improvisation.

This is an developing area, and we can try so much.
I feel I need to have a regular platform of improvisation dance, inspired by Amsterdam.
How can I make it happen?

Henry's class: jelly body

Following last Thursday, I went to a class with Henry Montes at ID. Henry is one of my favorite dancers. I admire his gentle careful fluid soft movement quality. His class description is the below:

Henry’s class is informed by his ongoing studies in Craniosacral Biodynamics. Focus of the class will be inquiry into the quality of the breath, tuning into our midline, grounding and orienting to space, how our fluids support our tissues, organs and how they in turn support our structure. Class will consist of open explorations, puzzles and culminate in set material, sometimes complex.


'how our fluids support our tissues, organs and how they in turn support our structure'
This is new concept to me. Structure means the skeleton and perhaps muscles. When we think about moving, we think about muscles moving bones. But the real quality comes from much subtler system in the body- fluid.

I was feeling pretty heavy this morning, but after the first exploration, I was tasting my movement.
I feel like I can keep moving forever.
I feel my body like jelly, and a flow in the body moves my body, so I don't need to make myself move.
I can feel some of my body parts has less flow than others.
Touch by a partner is a magic.
Then after a while, I don't need a touch any longer.
I keep getting stimulation from other people anyway.

The whole class was well thought and everything we did made a sense. With a great care of how the body feels, the building up of the class was smooth. It is art to deliver such a class. Rooted on experience and knowledge, I would like to be able to teach like that.

Giovanni's class: yoga, movement and the world

On Thursday 28th, at last I managed to go to a class at ID by Giovanni Felicioni, whose classes I am always interested in but don't make it often for some reason. Here is a description of his class:

Giovanni Felicioni
Mon 25th – Thurs 28th January
Finding The Ground Finding The Sky | This Body -- No Body
In these morning classes, which help us orient for the day, we will take the Tonic Function Theory of Hubert Godard as the main theme of our embodiment explorations on ourselves alone and on ourselves with others.
We will look at how context and perception are the basic continuum in which human movement takes place in space and time.
How this gives rise to our resource and our missing gestures and all the before before activity that goes on to finally blossom as movement in our changing world.
The experiential nature of the class will hopefully satisfy our need to move and our need to know. The small pools, puddles and rivulets will hopefully satisfy our need to know and our need to move. Yoga

Well, I actually did not read this carefully before I went and because I went only once I have no idea what the Tonic Function Theory is. For me, it felt like what we looked in the class was something really broken down from yoga. I recognise this rotation of the shoulder or that extension of the leg from this and that yoga asana (position) but what we did was just the initiation of asana and we repeat slowly to understand with the bones and deep tissues, which leads me to the state of a half sleep, like I used to feel in a Pilates session. A half sleep must be a good state to work on the body deeply.

Yoga tends to be alone practice even in a class. What I liked in Giovanni's class was that we did a kind of duet work. How do I tune in or not tune in to my partner. Then another good thing here was that we kept swapping a partner so that it was more like encountering a person and have a little conversation, rather than sitting down with a cup of coffee and talk for hours. I like this not-so-deep communication. This is more like the world. I remember what Deborah Hay said in her workshop; "here and gone. here and gone." about a moment in time that we never be able to catch and hold.

From a simple movement we tried in the class, I realised a clear fact that I tend to forget. As Giovanni pointed I tend to initiate a movement from my core, which is the essence of Pilates. But in fact, that is not only kind of movement. There is a movement that is initiated by a push with the feet or a swing of the arm. I do know these from dance but do they exist in Pilates? I guess not. Then suddenly I see this small box of Pilates as movement. Movement has much more varieties and there is no right or wrong in the end (unless you hurt yourself). The complex brings the expression and the identity of the person.

Ivana Müller, what is real?

Today I watched this show at Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells.

Ivana Müller
Playing Ensemble Again and Again (2008)

For 70 minutes, all is about only bows at the end of the show. Six performers in line move slowly but precisely. They repeat walking downstage, bowing, walking back upstage then going out in the wings. Slow-motion with the facial expression consists of a sequence of moments that have concentrated expressiveness like still images. My eyes and brain keep working busy to pick up their psychology behind the roles as performers they are playing, or their psychology behind themselves who were tortured by the slow-motion. What is real?

They utter some sentences that may describe real themselves or could be made-ups.
"three of us are homosexual, two of us are heterosexual and one is not sure" can be true, but
"we are between 35-60 years old" is clearly a lie. Then,
"we went to Big Ben at 11am to listen" we don't know if it's true or not.

Who can tell what is real.
And does it matter?

UKIYO: the Artangel Podcast

http://www.artangel.org.uk//the_artangel_podcast/artangel_podcast

Talking about sound and sound theatre, I have no much experience and knowledge in this area but I found this podcast by Artangel interesting. Very well edited. Also they talk about some idea that sound can take your imagination beyond the actual physical space where you are now. Sound can take you to another country or time. In this sense, there is a common idea between sound and what Maki Ueda explores with her smell. And this has something to do with virtual space and physical space...

これは自分用エクササイズ・メモ

Stretch left hip flexors
Stretch and strengthen right gluts med/ min
Feet massage and strengthening
Stretch and strengthen quadratus lumiborum

スポーツマッサージで身体バラバラ

ピラテスの教えの仕事で人の身体を見て分析するのは日常茶飯事なのだけど、実際に自分の身体をそうやってみてみることはなかったりする。多少の問題なら自分であれこれ試して治してしまったりするので、フィジオとかマッサージのお世話になることもない。

友達のGabbyがスポーツマッサージの資格を取る勉強をしているので、練習、ということで無料でマッサージしてもらう機会を得た。

もうコースも終盤だからか、Gabbyのマッサージは的を得ていて確実に効果があり、それはありがたいのだけど、同じ身体を扱う仕事をしている者としては、身体をどのように見て扱うかというところに興味がある。

そんなことを考えることになったきっかけは、同じ「ピラテス」と呼ばれるエクササイズを教えていても、同じスタジオで働くJさんと私の教え方はまるっきり違うぞ、と言ういわば頭痛の種があるから。その差は簡単に言ってしまえば

ー　身体を部位ごとに分けてみて足りない筋肉を強化する
か、
ー　身体全体を通しての連鎖運動をスムーズにし、無理な力の入らない動き方を学ぶ

かということで，これはどちらも必要な要素なのだけど、私は後者のほうが興味の対象なのです。だって筋トレってつまらない。

いわゆるメインストリームの医学は前者よりで、スポーツマッサージも同じ部類。
「この○○筋が凝ってるからほぐしましょう」
というのが基本的なアプローチ、と私は解釈している。（間違っていたら突っ込んでください）

それはそれで、○○筋のorigin（起点）がどこで、insertion（付着点）がどこ、ってばっちり覚えてて、その知識をもとにきっちり術を施すのは凄い。一つに固まっていた筋肉をほぐして、凝ってたこの一筋の筋肉をつまむ様は、さんまの丸焼きをお箸でほぐし、無駄なくきれいに骨だけ残して食べる過程を思い出さされた。

自分のはっきりと認識してなかった身体部位をそうやって掘り起こされると言うのは、面白い感覚。

私はやっぱりmovementが好きだから、こうゆうアプローチはとれないなあ，と思うけれど、ある意味究極の身体バラバラアプローチを経験できてためになった。
私の左足は右足より長いなんて知らなかったし。だから右の骨盤が落ちて、仙腸関節に痛みが出るのかな、とかこれからまたいろいろ推測して試すネタも出来ました。

試行錯誤はまた続く。。。

Rosemary's class: Deep, honest, simple

Rosemary Butcher is one of the greatest choreographer in UK, and I would always go and see her works.

I was fortunate to have her as my choreography teacher when I was studying at Laban, then I did her workshop at Independent Dance in winter 2008. First two weeks in January, she led professional morning classes at ID. This is quite unusual because she normally does not 'teach' a dance technique class like other teacher would do. She 'leads' a class where each participant explores their own identity in movement. Her class is very much based on her idea of dance, which is further beyond what most people would think. But it is like searching for the golden rule for human, not only dance. The truth is applicable to many other things and communicative to many other people.

The classes were very satisfying experience for me to explore movement, the body and the mind in the improvisation (if I may call it) clearly led by Rosemary's vision. It was challenging as usual to understand or interpret her abstract directions and suggestions. I like the state of mind I reach through the process, somewhere very deep, honest and simple.

How Rosemary leads and where I reach seem to be quite mystery to me and I would love to know more about it.

After the experience, I try to break down the journey in the classes so that the idea may be crystallised.


1) Starting point
We start from any comfortable positions, often lying on the floor. Rosemary gives some simple focuses on the body eg.) shoulder joints and hip joints, all the surface on the body, which part on the floor and which not, vertical line and horizontal line etc.

I would just do whatever the body wants to do following the instruction. The movement gradually gets more dynamic, and I start to see some kind of pattern of movement or the idea behind of some movement.

2) Defining vocabulary
Then I can consciously be aware of my vocabulary in this session. I will keep this in my mind and will come back to the vocabulary when I feel lost. On the other hand, the door is half open for anything new to come in. The vocabulary map keeps slightly changing according to the new comers.

3) Change of energy
This is the most challenging part. Rosemary suggests to change the focuses of what we are experimenting in very abstract way. The interpretation of her words is up to the individual, and I always a bit of struggle in myself asking 'is this what she is asking for?'. I can do only what I have understood. It is quite easy to give up here and stop moving. But the most important things would be not to loose trust in myself. After the struggle, the cloud gets clearer in myself and start seeing different games and qualities emerging. If lucky, I can have some imagination and some kind of narratives, which would probably make very strong performance if you see from the audience point of view.

4) Letting outside come in
Up till here, the journey is pretty much personal. There are no connection to other people around. After working personally for a while, there is a point where I can keep the personal connection inside me without caring too much and can open my eyes to people and space around me. This gives me other possibilities of movement that does not belong to my vocabulary map, and it will trigger the map to be broaden whether the movement stays in the map or not. I have a danger to loose my own internal journey and go with the new stimuli from outside so I will remember to anchor myself down.

5) Abandon the memory, and start again
This is optional. Rosemary once told us to stop and leave the memory of the journey behind. Start from the blank campus. But can it be completely blank? What is remained?

6) Reflection
At the end, just remembering and digesting the experience. We can do whatever- move, write, watch... I try to retrace the journey.

今年の抱負

来年への抱負、かな。の続編。

日本でのモダンバレエの恩師にメールの返信をしているときに、自分の考えがはっきりしてきました。つまりこうゆうことらしい。

以下、私の書いた返信内容。
ーーー
先生のご活躍ぶりというのは本当にすばらしいと思います。
国内外での公演や通常のかなりの量の教えなど、好きでなければここまで頑張れないだろうと、私は自分の収入源であるピラテスの教えを横目に見ながら思います。自分の持っている時間全てをダンスに注げたらどんなに良いだろうと思うのですが、そこそこ自分の興味のあるもので、良い収入を得られる仕事を、放り出す勇気もなく、愚痴をこぼしてここ3年と言うのが実情でしょうか。

ダンスを始めた最初の5年、ロンドンに来てからの最初の5年、というのが一番没頭して体当たりで取り組めた頃だと思います。年を重ねて、欲が出て、人間関係やお金の流れなんかが見えだすと、正直にダンスを楽しむ以上に嫉妬心と挫折感が重くなってきます。そんな負の気持ちもあって、ピラテスに逃げた部分もあるのでしょうね。

そんな構造がはっきり見えて来たので、今年はダンスに対する正直な気持ちだけに目を向けてみたいなと思っています。黒い雲のように心に覆いかかってくる負の気持ちは身体を動かすことで蹴散らかそうと思います。これまで、日本でもロンドンでも、いろいろなテクニックを学んだり、講習会を受けたりしてきましたが、この辺でじっくり自分のものをじっくり見つけて行きたいです。人のまねでない何か。どんなダンス、ダンスの何が私の心を動かすのか？

長年の経験のある先生でさえ、いろいろ考え、試行錯誤しながら作品をつくっていると知り、大変な励みになります。ダンスに「完成する」ということはなく、終着点はないと言うことですね。Movement、という通り、人生の中のダンスは常に変化し発展し続け、頂上にたどり着くことはないと言うことですか。

ーーー
ということです。

今年は地道に正直にダンス作業していきます。

Happy 2010

It is already 22nd of January and there are so many things that I thought about writing here but I did not.

I have realised that dancing and writing are the key to have happy days for me.

So I will dance and write this year.

来年への抱負、かな。

年を越そうとしていますが、どうもシャッキとしませんね。

日本での3週間が濃かったせいか、はたまたその後のクリスマス休暇でいつになくのんびりしたせいか、ちょっとrunning out of steam、って感じです。

2010年の抱負、とか、考えたほうがいいのでしょうかね。

「目標」とか「課題」とかたてると、自分の態度の柔軟性を失いそうで、ついオープン・エンディング、みたいな形で残してしまう今日この頃なのですが、それでは四方八方に散らばって、なにも形にならないよなー、とも思う今日この頃。

日本で受けた教育では目標を達成することが評価されていたけれど、それだけが唯一の方法ではないよということを、ロンドンで学んだ。

どっち付かずで、うまくバランスがとれるようになるのは、もう少し時間が必要なのか。

UKIYO: Reflection on Improv at Symposium on 9th Dec

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/12/reflection-on-improv-at-symposium-on.html

UKIYO: Leaves Woman vs. Metal Woman

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/12/leaves-woman-vs-metal-woman.html

UKIYO: Doros's virtual Ukiyo

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/12/doross-virtual-ukiyo.html

UKIYO: Leaves Woman 1

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/12/leaves-woman-1.html

UKIYO: Leaves Woman

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/12/leaves-woman.html

UKIYO: My 2nd character

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-2nd-character.html

Documentaries on Dance

Dance Umbrella 2009 is on now and you can find two videos related.

Heroes, Michael Clark
Common Dance, Rosemary Lee

I have to buy a ticket for Common Dance.

Floating Worlds

My 2nd post on another blog Floating Worlds.

Lab @ Brunel Univeristy, 25th October 2009

UKIYO: Lab@Brunel Univeristy, 25th October 2009

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/10/lab-brunel-univeristy-25th-october-2009.html

UKIYO: To begin with

http://ukiyoperformance.blogspot.com/2009/10/to-beggin-with.html

New blog, Floating Worlds

I have started a new blog, which focuses on the creative process of Ukiyo. This is a development of the idea I wrote on Documentation, score and creation. I am hoping other project members join and we can exchange and share our thoughts and imaginations. Let's see...

Floating Worlds

Pick n Mix @Woolworths, Laytonstone

This was my kind of performance.

It was not the most glamourous event as you can imagine from Woolworths (yeah it is the big chain shops that had went burst. They used to sell cheap stationaries, school clothes etc.). But in terms of the unusual space and also the audience group that may include lots of local people (look like lots of Asian?), I have found interesting.

The work, Catch,we are performing has been touring for more than 3 years so you may have seen it before, but in this site, the abstract work started having completely different meaning, which I found from the rehearsal.

It had been a great fun to adapt the movement in order to fit into the different shape of the space with some pillars that the viewers naturally read the relationship to the dancers.

Despite the hard floor and other lacking facilities, I love performing in this kind of space and more cusual settings.

And people...

From the conversation of Fearghus talking to the audience as introduction.


Furghus: Have you been to a real theatre?

Kids: Noooo.

A kid: Popcorn!!


It is not bad feeling to have an idea that we are influencing people.

I would love to have more of this kind of opportunities.

Documentation, score and creation

Last evening, I went to a seminar at London Metropolitan University.

---
Recording the Performance
Investigating Performance and its Documentation

-Is it possible to effectively and truthfully document the live performance?
-Is this process different for performance based research than for other performance?
-Can the work, as documented, stand alone without further academic writing to support it?
-What does the process of documentation reveal about the work?
-What are the ethical and legal implications?

---

Last May, I was part of Weave research project, which is part of this whole series of researches into documentation. I know 'documentation' is a large issue among academics in performing arts, and I don't know too much about it.

How I am related to the issue is; when I was finishing MA in 2002, I had to show the documentation of the process and also the final performance. There was a question about how I can document- writings, journal, video footage, drawings etc. Then I had a big struggle of translating what I have gone through into what other people would understand. It was a headache.

While I was listening to the presentations and discussion in the seminar, I have realised that this blog is also a documentation. A documentation of events and thoughts I have gone through.

By the way, Documentation is not equal to presentation. There are two kinds of documentation: one is to present my idea to someone. The other is to digest my experience and to go further from there. I see more potential in the latter. The idea agrees with a focus on the process rather than the product, which has lots to do with dance creation.

Deborah Hay, an American choreographer, makes written score as part of her dance practice. Move-write the score- move again- write the score again... the activitiy goes on and goes up like a spiral.

A British choreographer, Rosemary Butcher also uses a kind of score, but for her it tends to be pictures or drawings to start with then once you had a departure, your memory makes a score. The moments you remember are the source for next move, then new things come in, then you have another moments you remember... and the activity goes on and the moements remained get compressed and crystallised.

The potential and importance of documentation are so huge. I have been trying to find my own way of blogging but it is actually means my own way of documenting. It reminds me my old day when some one taught me how to take notes in classroom. It is like that. How you document really matters.

Dance improvisation blogs

I have been looking for a way,
- a way to explore my improvisation practice further
- a way to feel happy with my dance practice and myself
- a way to keep my interests in dance, movement, space and the body

After some internet-surfing, I have found these blogs:

dance improvisation practices
http://slightly.net/improv/

Daily Practice
http://dailypractice.wordpress.com/


It is fresh for me to see a couple of practitioners having conversations and deepening their thoughts through a blog. They are extremely open to let other people read and join in their thinking process. It is a real exploration into a matter without competitions of power, money or career.


My internet-surfing started in the confused state when I started looking at some pictures and video footage from Fragments. My own experience was profound during the creation and the performances. I have had so many discoveries on the construction of the narrative of the performance in relation to the original novel by Gogol, the architectural space in the family room at Clarence Mews, the installation by Jairo and Nicola and my own moving body. The process was like unfolding a secret that has been hiding under all the clutters of these objects. As repeating the improvisation performance, I started seeing "the truth" of this performance.

What I saw in still and moving images three weeks after the actual performance was very different. I was rather disappointed since I did not feel the images reflected my subjective narrative that I was so engaged to unfold.

I was also thinking the practicality of development and continuation of this project; looking for opportunities for funding and performance.

These two experiences of looking at a work from outside did not please me very much. I felt my mood getting low and low.

Then I ask myself "Why do I dance?"

When I started dancing, I enjoyed every single class I took. A class for 1.5 hour contained full of discoveries. I did not think where those classes would take me. I just enjoyed myself in the moment.

After 20 years (oh my god!), now I think a lot where my practices will take me and how my project can go further. And this is no fun.

I think my attitude now is no right. It does no good either.


Two blogs I mentioned at the beginning give some excitement to me. Yes I do enjoy the process of dance practice, rather than dance as product. And that's why I have been interested in improvisation these years. There are so much I can explore.

It is about the journey, not where I reach.

Fragments photos

自分に良いこと，悪いこと

頭の中がごちゃごちゃしていたので，
とある本に基づいて，
何が自分にとってプラスになって，何がマイナスになるのか，
というのを探ってみた。

＜良いこと＞
1　ダンス，エクササイズ
2　休暇，旅行
3　新作のダンス創作活動
4　書くこと
5　夜寝る前にシャワーを浴びること

＜悪いこと＞
1　長時間コンピュータをやること
2　考えすぎること
3　だらけて何もしないこと
4　働きすぎること
5　身なりかまわなくなってしまうこと

でした。

とりあえず本当は2，3週間，どこかへ旅に出かけたいかも。

公演Fragmentsとその次

もう１０日ほど前の話になるけれども、
週末に３日間、６回公演、１８回上演、
というパフォーマンスをしました。

InsideOutsideという建築とダンスの催しで、
私はFragmentsという、版画家とのコラボで作ったインスタレーションの作品を主催者のお家のFamily Roomでやりました。

Fragments自体は今回で４回目の上演なのだけど、インスタレーションというものの性質と、私のインプロが好きという性質上、毎回全く違った空間と構成に仕上がります。

今回は部屋が小さいので一回の上演につき観客６名限定。
いつもよりもintimacy（親近感？）の面を押し出し、見ている人の経験を中心に考えて作ってみました。

１８回も通せたのはラッキーでした。こんな経験はあまりない。

まずお客さんの持っているエネルギーやムードが毎回違うので私はそれに影響され、お客さんの反応を楽しみました。

それから、こうゆうインスタレーションの作品はすべてのものを本番通りに整えてリハーサルをするというのが難しく、今回も本番前に半日だけ通す機 会があったのみ。だいたいの流れは頭の中でわかっているのだけど、それに伴う自分の中の感情の流れみたいなものは、実際にその環境で身体を動かしてみない とわからない。１８回、毎回やっているうちに発見があり、だんだんと自分で漠然とした意味がわかっていく、という過程はエキサイティングでした。

私としては今回すべてが非常におもしろい体験だったので、お客さんの反応はそれほど気にしていなかったのですが、話しかけてくれた人はとてもよい 評価をくれました。ちょっと気違いじみてて、きわどい部類に入るパフォーマンスだったので、嫌いな人は嫌いだったと思いますが、いいんです、それで。

そういえば、上演中に突然泣き出して、部屋の外に出て行った女の人がいました。まあその人いろいろ事情があって、精神的に不安定な日だったようで。
パフォーマンスしている方としてはちょっとビビりました。

あ、別にお化け屋敷していたわけでは、ないのです。
そうゆうのではなくって。

まあこの公演では大きな収穫を得て、ちょっと自信もできて、余韻にひたっているうちに１０日過ぎてしまいました。

次は何やるかなー？
とずっと考えているのだけど、これと行って思い浮かばない。

おととい、偶然知り合いの中堅振付家に出会って、おしゃべりをしていたのだけど、ちょっと気がめいった。ロンドンの今時は、小規模のカンパニーやプロジェクトに対して助成金がおりることが難しく、彼女のカンパニー（私もメンバー）も行き詰まっている。
どうしたらよいのだろう？
どうしたらいいんだろうねぇ。。。

こうゆうときは思考回路を全くかえて、全然違った方向から物事眺めてみると、違った道が開けてきたりするんだけど。

今その作業中。

ある朝突然ひらめくから、きっと。

それまで、今までの古い慣れしたんだ見方の泥沼にはまらないように気をつけたいところ。

いや、ポジティブに行きましょう、ポジティブに。

Merce Cunningham

Merce Cunningham, the revolutionary American choreographer, died 26th July at his home in Manhattan. He was 90.

I have been impressed and inspired by his thinking and his works now and then. Here are some words I have seen this time.

"For a dancer, dance is an adventure in time and space. A choreographer is an observer."

Mr. Cunningham often spoke and wrote movingly about the nature of dance and would laugh about its maddening impermanence. “You have to love dancing to stick to it,” he once wrote. “It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.”

Original article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/arts/dance/28cunningham.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

What is dance?
Why do I dance?

These are the questions to be asked and to be explored, forever.


I went to The Place to take a class this morning and unexpectedly the teacher taught Cunningham technique. if I had known, I had not gone to the class but in fact it was nice to revisit Cunningham technique and think and feel what he has done.

What a coincidence.

Chance and Event.

Very important ideas that Cunningham introduced are relevant in everyday life beyond dance, and that's what fascinates me.

Probably, Merce Cunningham has influenced me more than I am aware of.
It is a huge loss for us.

Work by Liu Bolin

Work by Liu Bolin.

I like this work the best.
I also like the fact that he has some experience of himself in the society that has lead him to start this work.

Link to Original article

教えと創作と

予想したとおり7月に入ってだいぶ調子がよくなってきた。

5月、6月と休暇中の同僚のカバーでピラティスの教えが余計に入っていて、
はっきり言ってこれに参った。

給料明細見てびっくり、の瞬間だけはハッピーなのだけど、
ほかの時間はだめ。
教えすぎると、もう楽しく教えられない。
人に与えられるだけの心の余裕がなくなってきて、人のことに興味がなくなる。
かまいたくない。

自分は今自分が受け持っている週に20時間の教えでちょうど良いのだ、
と改めて認識。

このことを忘れずに今後もマイペースにやって行ければ良いのだけど、
ついつい欲が出てカバーの仕事に手を出したりしちゃうんだよね。

ところで。

調子が良いもう一つの理由は7月17−19日のパフォーマンスに向けて、創作作業をしているから、でもある。

私がこんなに「創作」が好きだとは、今まで気づかなかった。

人のプロジェクトで創作をすることはもっと頻繁にあるけれど、
自分の思う方向に行けなかったりで欲求不満になることが常。

今回は自分のプロジェクト。版画家のカップルとのコラボで、インスタレーションの作品をつくっている。

このInsideOutsideという催し自体形式が変わっていて、お客さんは限定15名。3つのグループに分けられて、グループごとに建物内を ツアーする。この建物、というかおうちは主催者の自宅兼事務所兼ダンススタジオ。夫が建築家で、妻が振付家。4人の子供とここに暮らしている。

なので、建物自体もユニークで、日本でも中京テレビかなにかで去年紹介されたことがあるのだ。5分くらいだけど。

その建物内、私たちが使うのは「ファミリールーム」。ほかに階段や、台所や、いろいろなところで、小さなパフォーマンスが行われる。
というわけです。

私はこうゆう変わった指向のパフォーマンスが大好きで、特にサイトスペシフィックというか、建物の空間を多いに活かしたパフォーマンスはしびれる。

なので、今回は大喜びであれこれと想像して試してはまた何か考えて、
いや、楽しいです。

違ったバックグラウンドのアーティストと作業するのも、忍耐必要だけど、違ったものの見方が出来ておもしろいし。

久々に衣装作りなどしてみて、これも実は私は好きだったんだ、と再発見。

何事も自分の思い通りにできるからでしょうか。

責任を感じつつ、充実していて、ハッピーです。

自分がこうゆう状態だと、ピラティスの教えもうまくいったりする。

何事もバランスですかね。

来週は教えのほうはオフをとって月曜から木曜までSimon Vincenziという人のワークショップをとります。で、金曜日から日曜日までパフォーマンス。

ダンス漬け。

わーい！

InsideOutside3 rehearsal

Part of InsideOutside3,
we are creating Fragments
again.
We have done Fragments in three different places so far.
Everytime, we consider the space and the performance changed.
This time, the installation itself has changed its shape.
And it is going to be inside out.

I won't tell you any more.

On 22nd June, we have managed to hung most of the installation.

My performance does not exist yet.

Let the space and the installation tell their stories.
I will listen and respod to them.

I have a feeling that this is going to be very unique performance.
And hopefully I find some new ways of adding my existance that communicates to the audience.

InsideOutside3

MovingArchitecture's InsideOutside 3

'a feast for senses'
a choreographed journey of performances
moving though house and studio

40 Clarence Mews, London E5 8HL

Fri 17th 4pm/ 6.30pm
Sat 18th 1pm/ 4pm
Sun 19th 1pm/4pm


I will be performing Fragments, an installation performance created in collaboration with experimental printmakers, Jairo Zaldua and Nicola Green.

There are only places for 15 guests at each of these unique invited events so admission is by pre-booking only.

£10 contribution towards food, drink and a catalogue.

Please let me know if any of the readers would like to be invited.

Entrance to my running park
Hackney Downs
I run 20 minutes
to let stale air out
from my body

I used to teach PE in a college in Japan.
Body fat starts burning after 20 minutes of exercise.
I used to motivate young women not to give up moving by telling so.
I am not running to get slim.
And i cannot run any longer than 20 minutes.
It is not because I get out of breath. Because I get bored!
What are marathon runners thinking while running?

Lunch time dancing in the air

Yesterday lunch time
Someone dancing in the air
The wind is strong
I was bombarded in Italian class in the morning
What is waiting for me in the afternoon
Here is someone dancing in the air

---
Video is difficult...

BST 8pm

British Summer Time 8pm
after Yoga class
that I have taken
after 8 hours of teaching
Hurray!


Five days to the summer solstice.

Something I like

Hummm... I definitely would like her to be my GP.
And also it maybe interesting to work with her as a choreographer or dancer. But I am not going to be interviewed!

If a GP (General Practitioner= local doctor, for readers outside UK) is interested in this kind of things, she would be interested in human. Some people are going to see a doctor because this hurts and this body part is uncomfortable... and some doctor would give just painkillers to sort out the problems. But the true nature of the body is not like that and there are deeper connections to other body parts and systems and also the mind... It is time-consuming to see a patient in the holistic way and this way definitely does not fit the respectable free-of-charge GP system in this country. I wonder how this GP would cope with her job and her real interest.
Same can be said with my job as Pilates teacher.
In addition, I have stomachache right now.




This kind of performance, I like.
I am interested in developing very original form of performance.

... I was too late to find this notice. The show was finished yesterday.

今日の天気

ロンドンでピーカンの晴れの日も珍しいけれど，
こんな台風のような日も珍しい。

今の私の心の中も，こんな感じ。

Performance Ukiyo on 1st June

Hello Friends,

Hope you are enjoying the sunny weekend!

I would like to tell you what I am up to at the moment.
I am involved in a huge production called Ukiyo, which has a work-in-progress performance at Brunel University, Uxbridge West London on Monday 1st June.
If you are interested, please let me know. I will give you more detailed information.

Best wishes,
Katsura

WEAVE Fri 22nd May at London Met Uni

Hello everyone,

I am fortunate to have this opportunity to develop my work in conjunction with a research into Feldenkrais Method and documentation on dance practice led by Thomas Kampe at London Metropolitan University.

I will be working with a cellist Ute Kanngiesser to create a music and dance improvisation piece.

Please come to our performance at the end of a week-long residency.

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WEAVE
6.30pm, Fri 22nd May

London Metropolitan University,
Tower Building,
166 – 220 Holloway Road,
London N7 8DB

Individual events: £5

Booking is essential as places are limited.
To book a place, please email <mailto:L.Hurn@londonmet.ac.uk>
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Please see the below for more details on the research project.

I hope you are well and enjoying longer spring days!

Warm regards,
Katsura Isobe

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THE FACILITY
Performance as Research at London Metropolitan University

RECORDING THE PERFORMANCE
Investigating performance and its documentation

An exciting series of performance as research events followed by chaired
discussions and refreshments.

3rd Performance WEAVE 6.30pm Friday 22nd May.

Thomas Kampe and collaborators
WEAVE
'Weave' is a research project which brings together contemporary dance
makers and somatic practitioners to investigate the use of the
Feldenkrais Method as a tool within choreographic practice. The project
led by Thomas Kampe, includes collaborations by Simonetta Allessandri,
Katsura Isobe, Victoria Worsley, Alenka Herman, Colin Poole, and
Stephanie Schober.

Five multi-disciplinary researchers and their collaborators explore ways
of effectively and creatively documenting their work. They will perform
their work for you. During the final event of the series the researchers
and the documenters will discuss their choices and share the documentation

Experimenting with two -with Lena

Experimenting with two. from Lena Optic on Vimeo.


One morning, Lena and I had some playful time together, using her unique sound feedback system. An experiment in sound and movement.

Lena has editted the video from the rehearsal and written some thoughts on her blog.

Lena flied back to US a week later.
Thank you, Lena. Our paths will cross again in the future!

意識の闇 2

前出「意識の闇」の続き。

ロンドンでの学生生活2年目だった2002年の誕生日に、ロンドン南部はニュークロス・ゲートのフランシスの下宿に引っ越しをした。いつでもまた 動けるように、物を増やさず、こじんまりと暮らしていたが、結局2006年の夏に結婚するまで4年間余も居座ってしまった。フランシスは亡くなったインド 人の旦那さんとの間にできた4人の子供を育て上げ、かつては宗教の先生だったと言う、面倒見がよくおしゃべりで、心臓が弱いのだけが玉の傷というおばあ ちゃんである。

昨年末に突然フランシスから電話がかかってきて、何事かと思いきや「お茶にでもいらっやいよ」とのことで、なんだか寂しいのかなと思い、一月のあ る日、数年ぶりにフランシス家を訪れてみた。その一週間くらい前に小さな心臓発作が起こり、病院に駆け込んだそうで、会った時もまだ本調子ではなさそう だった。末息子が夏に結婚するらしく、それを機にこの大きなヴィクトリアン・ハウスを売って、彼とと一緒に住まないかと言っているらしい。新婚さんと、そ の親と住むのは難しくないかね、と思いつつ、まあそれは他人事だから突っ込まないことにし、でも家を夏頃売るというのはどうやらそうらしい。フランシスは どんどん弱っていくし、もう大きな家は無理、ってことらしい。

なので、これが私にとってもあの家最後になるのかな。
数年ぶりに訪れた家は、何事もなかったかのように変わってなかった。
家の周り、バス停からの道も変わってなかった。
フランシスはしぼんで小さくなってた。
やせた、というともっとポジティブ。

ほんの1時間あまりの訪問だったけど、そこから引き出された感覚、印象、記憶、とは、とても大きかったらしく。翌日までちょっとくらくらしていた。自分の過去を訪問したようだった。日本に一時帰国する時も同じような風になるけど。それで、数日間ひたすら寝ていたりする。

こうやって、表には出ていないけど、無意識の世界に潜んでいるものって、絶対あって、しかもパワフル。ミランダ・タフネルがワークショップで「ダ ンサーは身体の大使で、見えないものを見えるようにする」って定義づけていて、なるほど、とその時も思ったけど、最近はますます、その通りだと思ってき た。見えない闇の世界をムーブメントを通して、解放できる人の踊りが、パワフルな踊りなんだろうな、と。ほかのアートも、媒体や手法は違うけど、やはり自 分の闇の世界を解放し、反映された作品が良い作品なんだろうな、と。

なので。
意識の闇とか、そこに潜んでいるものって、暗くてネガティブなイメージがあるけれど、それはそこにあって当然で、きっと全ての人にそうゆうのはあ るのだろうけど、その存在に気づいている人は限られていて、まずは気づくところから初めて、それをどう消化し、反映させていくかというのがアートなのだろ うな、と思っているところ。

ところで。前出の
「シュンキン」
「春琴」でした。

3月は世田谷パブリックシアターで上演中。ぜひ行ってみてください。

http://setagaya-pt.jp/theater_info/2009/03/post_148.html

別に回し者でもなんでもないんですけどね。

意識の闇

Goldfish memoryと最近ジジから言われているように，
私は見たこと聞いたことやったこと，どんどん忘れていってしまうのです。

なので，書いておかないと。

この前の前の週末，誕生日だったのを言い訳に一泊でケントというロンドンの隣の県，みたいなところに行ってきました。なんだか疲れちゃったので，田舎にいってのんびりして，ひたすら歩いてみたかったのです。

歩くというのは不思議なもので，常に場所を移動しているのです。
普段の目的地に向かって歩くのとは違って，歩くことそのものを楽しんで。
風の強さや向きも変わっていくし，においも，足下の感触も，目に見える色，形，textureとダイナミクス。

身体全体の感覚が刺激されるからか，いろいろな思考がめぐり，話も尽きない。なんだか意識の闇に閉じ込められていたものが湧き出てきたような気がしました。


話は変わって，田舎から都市ロンドンに帰ってきた3日後。「シュンキン」というお芝居を観に行きました。日本は世田谷パブリックシアターとこちら ロンドンのバービカンとコンプリシテというカンパニーの共同制作。イギリス人の演出家サイモン・マックバーニー（私はこの人の作品が好き！）が日本の役者 さんたちとつくったお芝居。主演は深津絵里ですよ。

終演後，無口がちになりながら，やっと口にした感想は「ヘビーだったね」。お話自体もヘビーなんだけど，それ以上になにかがある。
脚本も演出も演技も，作品としては本当に良くできていて，パワフルで，だからこそ余計にヘビーさがどんとくる。

私にとっては，しばらく私が忘れていた感覚あるいは感情を見た気がしました。日本にある何か独特の。ロンドンにしばらくいてすっかり忘れてた。
それは必ずしも美しいものではなくて，なにか暗くてどすっとした。

田舎歩きに続き，再び意識の闇をかいま見る体験でした。



意識の闇。無意識の世界。
陰（イン）と陽（ヤン）のように、普段の見慣れた風景の背面にいつもそっとくっついているのか。
はたまた右脳，左脳か。

この私の半分，もうちょっと放してやらないといけないなあ。

Happy 2009!

English)
Happy New Year!
The picture is from our trip to Italy last summer. It’s Pantheon in Rome.
The trip has become one of my big memories in 2008.
In 2009, I wish your journey and mine are going to be inspiring/ creative/ exciting ones, wherever we are and whatever we do.
Lots of love xxx


日本語）
あけましておめでとうございます。今年もどうぞよろしくお願いします。
昨年のこの時期はジジと共に日本にいました。やはりお正月は日本が一番！
今年は11月頃「仕事で」日本に行かせてもらえるかも，です。テクノロジーとパフォーマンスの研究で日本の大学とコラボしている関係です。
2008年の夏はイタリアを旅行しました。写真はその時のローマはパンテオンでのものです。
皆様にとって良い一年となりますように！


Italiano)
Ciao ciao ciao :)

--
磯部　桂
Katsura Isobe
katsurabbit@gmail.com
info@katsuraisobe.net
www.katsuraisobe.net

Vanishing Point by Rosemay Butcher

I took a week-long workshop with Rosemary Butcher (15th - 19th Dec). Rosemary was one of my choreography tutors when I was studying at Laban. It was seven years ago. It was the beginning of my new life in London. And her practice has influenced me a lot in a way to understand dance. In this workshop, I felt like coming back home. Here is what I believe in. It is so honest and sincere.

The film Vanishing Point shows her aesthetics and creative process very well. From loads of movement materials they had created in a studio, spending days and hours, from 9 hours shooting, they have created this 15 minutes long short film. The final work is so simple, no waste, and so powerful.

Here are so important things that I don't want to forget....

思い立ったこと

ああしたらおもしろいかもしれない！」とか
「これがしたい！」とか
思ったことは，もう既に殻のついた玉子状態としてこの世に出てきていて、
それを一定期間暖めといて、ぴよぴよひよこが生まれてくるかどうか，
はわからない。

調子がいいとぼこぼこ生まれてくるんだけど、そうじゃないと玉子のまま死んじゃったり、変質しちゃったり。

うーん。

玉子は見えるんだけど、そこから先がちょっと。

ひよこに返すだけのエネルギーがあるかどうか。

2時間後

前の日記アップしてから2時間。

ちょっとしたwritingとシャワーをへて、一つの考えにたどり着きました。

今年はまぎれもなく多くの時間をピラティスを教えることに費やしたけど、
それは自分の知識や経験を人に伝える方法を探るよい勉強だったかな、と。

何か新しいことを学ぶことはある意味得意だけど、学んだことを自己完結でなく、さらに噛み砕いて自分のものとし、それを人に伝えるのは苦手かも。

話するより、聞くほうが好き。
というのと同じ。

ピラティスで何度も何度も同じことを、でも全然違った人たちに教えさせてもらったことで、その人の様子をみて，どの程度の情報を，どんなふうに教えるか、というツボがわかるようになってきた、かも。

ダンスでも同じようなスキルが必要なんだろうね。

ほかの人とコラボで作品をつくっているときはなおさら。
自分のアイデアをどのように提示するかによって、コラボレーターの理解度と作品への影響力が変わってくる。

人とのコミュニケーションてそんなんだろうね。

そんなコミュニケーション能力を伸ばしたいものです。

それが2009年への抱負かな？

情報を入れるばかりでなく、出すための方法探し。

「何」をやるよりも「どう」やるかが肝心、
とピラティスではいいますが，その原理（真理？）
ほかの場でも活かしていきたいです。

それで世の中果たして通用するのか？？？

2008→2009

師走に入って何となく今年一年を振り返り、新しい年を意識しだした今日この頃。

ここ数年の自分の活動状況に納得がいかないので、2009年に向けて、抱負というか目標というか、達成したいことを考えようかなあ、と思う今日この頃。

そうしたら結構どつぼにはまる。

何がしたいのかなあ。
どうしたら自分で納得できるのかなあ。
焦点がさだまらないなあ。

本当は先のことウダウダ考えるより、今日一日この一瞬を大切にしていったほうが、自然と先も開けるというもんだろうに。

と、思って数年過ごしてきたように思うんだけど、一瞬一瞬のがんばりが足りなかったのか、どうもいまいち物事開けていかんなあ。

何か大きな決断をして、大きな一歩を踏み出さなければ何も起こらずこのまま毎日流れていくような気がする。

成り行きに流され過ぎもいかんでしょ。

どうしよっかなー。

Simone Forti interview- Dance and music improvisation

I am thinking to develop the work with Ute after the improvisation performance we had last week.
Here is some hint what we can explore.
Simone also tells exactly how she works.
This may not be a right approach for us.
It's a big exploration itself to find a right way to approach.
Needs lots of hours in a studio...

I took a week long workshop with Simone Forti two years ago.
We went for a walk, write whatever comes up in mind without stopping, and 'perform' solo improvisation with movement and talking in front of peers.
It was more like 'be' in front of people, rather than 'performing'.
And she also did it in front of us.
So honest existence...

Her way of improvisation and also how she has found a way to do so are very unique.
I admire her work.

Twyla Tharp on Creativity, Failure, and Money

Do I really want to create dance for the sake of creating dance?

I don't think the passion towards creating dance cannot be 100% motivation to create dance.
Probably everyone wants recognition for what one has done.
And that's how we live in the society, isn't it?

But still it is so encouraging to see a famous choreographer talking about the honest passion.
Yes art starts from there...

FW: ID Crossing Borders - Wendy Houstoun

↑Click the image to read

I love these questions by Wendy Houstoun.
I admire her of being able to address her questions so clearly.
I love her trying to form this ‘conversation’ opportunity with different means, not only talking.
This is so inspiring!

Shame that I cannot make it for this.
I will be in Wolverhampton, performing with Stephanie Schober and Dance Company...

Cello and dance improvisation performance

On 5th November
at London Metropolitan University.

Improvisation performance of cello and dance.
Dance by Katsura Isobe
Cello by Ute Kanngiesser

Focusing on sound

This is just a beginning of our journey.

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水曜日はちょっとした会で10分発表できる機会があったので，最近交流をしていたチェロリストのウタとインプロをやることにしました。

事前に2時間ほどのリハーサルを3回。
どれだけお互いを「聞いて」、どれだけ聞きすぎずに自分の内側のリズムをキープするか、というバランスをなんとなくつかんだところで本番。

本番だけども，終着点としての本番でなくて、出発点としての本番。

インプロで10分というのはきついです。

自然にまかせると、うちらは1時間弱続けます。
相手と共通の世界を築いて，そこに入り込むのにちょっと時間が必要です。
たった10分のパフォーマンスでは，そうゆうダラダラっとした所はうまく省略して，おもしろい瞬間をどんどん出していかないとならないので、そうゆう意味で練習が必要。

けどやはり10分ならインプロじゃなくてセットしちゃった方がいいかもね、とパフォーマンス後，ウタと話していたのでした。

それはそれで大きなチャレンジ。
やっぱこのプロジェクト続けて行かないとね。

ここであきらめて終わらせてしまうのは簡単だけど，それじゃあ自分はどこにも発展していかないんだろうなあ。続けていけば、すごくたくさん発見をして，すごくさくさん収穫があるのはわかっているけど、継続というのは意外に大変なことです。

とりあえず、すごく忙しい日々を乗り越えてやっとパフォーマンスを終えたところなので，数日これは置いといて，それからリハと本番のビデオでも観て考えよう。

ところでパフォーマンス後にウタから重大報告が。
「私，妊娠してるの」

うわ。

ここにも一人。最近多いです，私の周り。

新しい世界がそこに広がっていくことに、私もちょっとドキドキするけど，このプロジェクト，どうなるのかなぁ？

未知の世界が目の前にあります。