Currently I live in Kyoto, Japan where I moved two years ago in order to get in touch with my roots. My mother is originally from Japan, but moved to the USA as a young child. Kyoto is an exquistely beautiful place and I constantly struck with the gorgeous details in daily life, from the packaging of my food to the ordaments in a women`s hair.
One of my main ways to enter the culture is by studying butoh dance with Ima Tenko. She was a former member of the company Byakkosha. A company I grew up looking at pictures of in my father`s books on butoh. She tells me stories of Japan during its heyday in the 1980s before the bubble burst and avant garde artists were funded. She has introduced many folktales and symbols of Japan to me. I am in her company Ima Tenko and Kiraza. Currently we are working on the piece, The Peacock Boat.
I am currently collaborating with ryotaro, an accordion player , composer and performer. His playing is stunning, fierce and at moments beautifully melancholy. We have performed together in Europe and the USA.
Our work is a series of intimate segments, both choreographed and spontaneous. Music and dance are the essential elements in the pieces. We also use text, comedy and surrealistic imagery to create work, which examines universal and complex issues, particularly the theme of belonging and longing.
http://www.ryotaro.info/
Links
I have previously worked with the following artists and companies.
Open Gate Theater
Los Angeles, USA
The Solvents
Berlin, Germany
Totnes, England
I have previously worked with the following artists and companies.
Open Gate Theater
Los Angeles, USA
The Solvents
Berlin, Germany
Totnes, England
John Jesurun
New York, USA
Bread and Puppet Theater
Vermont, USA
