Theater

YCAM InterLab + Yoko Ando Joint Research and Development Project "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" Workshop

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:00:00 +0900

The evolving relationship between body and perception mediated by technology
Introducing the outcome of YCAM's Joint Research Project with Yoko Ando

Yoko Ando + YCAM InterLab "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" promotional video from YCAM on Vimeo.

With the aim of exploring new possibilities in dance and technology, YCAM, together with Yoko Ando, a leading dancer from The Forsythe Company, and software development experts from US and Japan, carried out the "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" project, focusing on the research and development of tools for dance creation. A workshop in which participants create a dance piece using the tools developed in the project will take place as well.

YCAM InterLab + Yoko Ando Joint Research and Development Project "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" Presentation

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +0900

The evolving relationship between body and perception mediated by technology
Introducing the outcome of YCAM's Joint Research Project with Yoko Ando

Yoko Ando + YCAM InterLab "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" promotional video from YCAM on Vimeo.

With the aim of exploring new possibilities in dance and technology, YCAM, together with Yoko Ando, a leading dancer from The Forsythe Company, and software development experts from US and Japan, carried out the "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" project, focusing on the research and development of tools for dance creation. Research participants, including Ando and YCAM InterLab, will present results from the project, inviting Cyril Baldy as a guest demonstrator.

Keiichiro Shibuya + Toshiki Okada Opera Performance "The End"

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:00:00 +0900

Examining possibilities of vocaloid performers in the most cutting-edge opera currently feasible

Musician/artist Keiichiro Shibuya and stage director Toshiki Okada present a new opera work realized during both artists' residency at YCAM. No human singers or orchestra appear in this piece, but aria and recitativo parts are performed by vocaloid engine, is a singing software application, and video characters instead. In a scenario that progresses without any humans on stage, "The End" from Japan shakes up the human-centered conception of the opera format in Europe, while generating and traversing all sorts of underlying dichotomies in art - life/death, natural/synthetic voice, public/private, part/whole, line/layer, etc. - to make this opera a totally new emotional experience for the spectator.

Gob Squad & CAMPO "Before Your Very Eyes"

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 19:30:00 +0900

"We are all speeding towards death"
Witness 7 lives lived in fast forward

British-German performance company Gob Squad present their first theater production in Japan at the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM].

YCAM performance lounge #6Tadasu Takamine "How not to think ?"

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0900

A peculiar performance starring senior citizens of Yamaguchi, created by spectators and performers

This event takes place in a tent set up in the Chuo Park in front of YCAM. All performers are Yamaguchi residents that were selected from among applicants aged 60 and above. Positioned behind a screen, they respond with improvised silhouette performances to "requests" sent from visitors via a control panel installed in the audience.

YCAM performance lounge #6Tadasu Takamine "Japan Syndrome in Yamaguchi"

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 11:00:00 +0900

Up-and-coming artists and their takes on "life thereafter"

This video work deals with the vague sense of anxiety that has been infused into our lives since the nuclear accident in Fukushima in March 2011, and the fissures the incident has caused to arise between human individuals. The movie shows local residents selected from among applicants conducting interviews in the streets of Yamaguchi. The sensitive conversations reveal subtle aspects of "life thereafter" in Yamaguchi.

Symposium "Forsythe Dance Study Exchange"

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0900

Born from the ideas of choreographer William Forsythe
A long-term project exploring the potentials of dance and media technology

The Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] is carrying out the "Reactor for Awareness in Motion" project focusing on the research and development of tools for dance production built upon the ideas of William Forsythe, a choreographer who has had a profound impact on the realm of contemporary physical expression, as a basic concept, with the aim to explore new possibilities in dance.
Coming up next is a symposium with guest speakers that serves at once as an occasion for an interim report, and an opportunity to introduce study cases of the Ohio State University's research and development team, dealing with common themes surrounding William Forsythe, dance, and technology.
The project is designed to investigate ways of technically understanding the act of dance through observations of the body and how it receives and processes environmental information, as well as working out possible future approaches from the creative side.
This event will showcase the present state of physical expression, while interpreting the endeavors of research and development teams from Japan and the USA in comparison with historical examples related to the combination of dance and technology; all from the viewpoint of dance defined by the mechanisms and perception systems of the human bod
Presenters:
[Synchronous Objects]
Benjamin Schroeder (Researcher in computer science / Graduate Researcher of ACCAD at The Ohio State University)
[Reactor for Awareness in Motion]
YCAM InterLab＋Yoko Ando（Dancer / The Forsythe Company）
*Riley Watts（Dancer / The Forsythe Company）as a guest dancer
Guest Speakers：
Takashi Ikegami（Researcher in complex systems / Professor at University of Tokyo）
Johannes Birringer (Media choreographer / Professor at Brunel University)

Organized by: Yamaguchi City Foundation for Cultural Promotion
In association with: Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi City Board of Education
Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan in the fiscal 2011
Cooperation: Goethe-Institut
Produced by: Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media[YCAM]

Yoko Ando Dance demonstration

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:35:26 +0900

The artist herself will show a demonstrative performance staged in the setting of the Reacting Space for Dividual Behavior installation.

*As a related event, a body workshop with Yoko Ando based on the exhibition is scheduled to be held the event period.

Android-Human Theater "Sayonara (Good-bye)" / Robot-Human Theater "I, Worker"

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:56:03 +0900

Collaboration between theatre and cutting-edge robot technology
A two-day opportunity for close encounters with robots and theatre entertainment of the third kind

This event comprises performances of two pieces realized as part of the Robot-Human Theatre project by Oriza Hirata, a Japanese leading playwright and director, and internationally renowned roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro. The theatre play I, Worker features a communication robot named "wakamaru", while the android "Geminoid F", modeled on and bearing an astonishing resemblance to a real person, appears alongside a (human) actress in Sayonara. Illustrating a new kind of relationship between man and robot, this piece aims to encourage the viewer to ponder such concepts as "humanness" and "human soul". Each of the two performances will be followed by a different related event, including a talk event with special guests discussing the Robot-Human Theatre project and its evolvability, and on day two, an occasion for visitors to experience robots at close range.
The event will at once be an opportunity to familiarize with cutting-edge technology, and explore new creative territory ushered by the combination of robotics and theatre.

The World of Dance in Word and Image vol.2"Talk and Screening: A Tribute to Tatsumi Hijikata"

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:42:31 +0900

Rediscovering the history and fascination of performing arts
Tatsumi Hijikata - A Butoh dancer who continues to inspire artists around the globe

This second installment in a series of special screenings focusing on the history of performing arts, and the allurement of body-based expression as illustrated in moving images, is dedicated to Tatsumi Hijikata (1928-1986), whose influence as a dancer and initiator of Ankoku-Butoh has been affecting not only the realm of body expression, but also such varied fields as art and literature. In a dance performance inspired by and adopting the title of Hijikata's writing Yameru Maihime (Ailing Dancer/La Danseuse malade), up-and-coming choreographer Boris Charmatz adapts the philosophy of Butoh, a performing art that has been fascinating numerous dancers in Japan and around the world. In addition, specially invited talk guests will offer a broad introduction of one accomplished artist and his great achievements during the event period.
[Details will be available from announced in late July]

Rihoko Sato "SHE"

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:16:20 +0900

Solo dance performance directed by Saburo Teshigawara
A new dimension in body expression highlighted in a refined mixture of physical expression and spatial composition

This solo performance is directed by Saburo Teshigawara, a choreographer and dancer with a growing worldwide reputation also in the realms of visual and video art. Next to appearing in all group pieces staged under Teshigawara's choreography since 1996, Rihoko Sato has also been a solo dancer in some of Teshigawara's works. Her dance emphasizes a highly physical form of expression with a feeling of blending with the stage environment while freely changing the textures of her movements. Continuously fascinating audiences around the world since its first performance in 2009 with a refined spatial composition balancing aspects of noise and silence, narration and music, imagery and light, this piece ushers in a new dimension in body-based expression.

* Planned as an associated event is a workshop with Rihoko Sato.
* The performance will be followed by a talk session with the artist.

Zan Yamashita new performance piece"It is something like a garden"

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:53:00 +0900

Uniquely experimental modes of creation come together in an original co-production
A new encounter of "body and language"

The latest creation of Zan Yamashita, a choreographer/dancer who has been showing performances revolving around uniquely structured dance inspired by language, is a co-production with theatre facilities at YCAM, ST Spot (Yokohama) and AI-HALL (Hyogo). This time Yamashita challenges an experimental performance format that incorporates text elements by methods much different from orthodox theatre. Look forward to witnessing a form of communication that is razor-sharp and sometimes quite humorous, by an artist who is noted for his various creation methods and production processes, and in recent years especially also for his collaborations with several creators from across Asia.

Tsuyoshi Shirai×YCAM video dance project"Choreography filmed: 5 days of movement"

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:51:57 +0900

Original video piece co-produced by YCAM
Exploring relevant possibilities of "video and the human body" through live Internet streaming

Continuing our pursuit of new forms of artistic expression focusing on body expression and current film culture, the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] is currently producing the second video (dance) piece since the Center's opening.
Based on the idea behind one of choreographer/dancer Tsuyoshi Shirai's most well-known dance pieces, "mass, slide, &." (first staged in 2004), this project is an attempt to reconstruct the piece into a video in a collaborative process with the YCAM staff and the artist. The half-year-long project includes five days of filming and Internet streaming of all footage, and will culminate in a screening event with the artist, scheduled for January 2011. The idea is to pursue new forms of dance/video expression that emerge in the process from production to presentation from video images of the body, and from the choreographic component in the visual composition. In addition, the project's outline embraces technical aspects of filming and editing, as well as audio-visual environments including issues of distribution and access, with the aim to a examine the relationship between video and dance in the present age.

* The progression of the entire project can be followed via a special website (http://c-filmed.ycam.jp/) that is now open.

Filming & Internet live streaming:
August 24 (Tue) - 28 (Sat) 13:00-20:00
http://c-filmed.ycam.jp/
Performance: Tsuyoshi Shirai(choreographer/dancer)
* Please understand that we might not be able to respond to inquiries on Tuesday, August 24, as YCAM is closed that day.
Screening of a new video piece:
January 23 (Sun) 14:00
Venue: YCAM, Studio C
Guest: Tsuyoshi Shirai Admission free

"A Tribute to Pina Bausch - The World of Dance in Word and Image"

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:17:45 +0900

Special event illustrating the history and fascination of dance in conversations and rare footage of Pina Bausch

This special program consists of three documentary films and a talk event recapitulating the achievements of the world-renowned choreographer who suddenly passed away in June 2009. In various rare footage, and a conversation with her former manager and supporter for 16 years, the event portrays a unique artist whose continuous impact exceeded by far the boundaries of dance, theatre and art, since the 1970s, and even after her death. While looking back on the transition of performing arts from modern to contemporary, visitors will be invited to surrender to the irresistible charm of Pina Bausch as a choreographer and as a person, and explore the possibilities of the human body as captured on video.

YCAM Performance Lounge #5 faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock"+ contact Gonzo's Performance

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:39:40 +0900

"YCAM Performance Lounge" is a series of events designed to convey the fun and fascination of a stage production, allowing the audience to experience dancers and actors up close. Held every year in the spring, the program aims at once to function as a stimulator encouraging people to come back and watch dance and theatre performances at YCAM, and to communicate in a direct manner the power of an up-and-coming new type of physical expression. As an additional gateway enhancing the enjoyment of performing arts, a temporary café invites visitors to exchange with the artists after the performances.
(faifai "A Story of Y O'Clock": Performed in Japanese with English supertitles. )