PROGRAM
4

Yokoyama Ayano [lal banshees] “ONI / Ghost Matter” (tentative)


  • 02.04 [Thu] 19:15
  • 02.05 [Fri] 19:15
@Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1　3nd floor Hall

Yokoyama Ayano [lal banshees]

Alongside creating and performing works that weave an abstract vocabulary of street dance into urban narratives, Yokoyama has recently turned her attention to the folklore of her native Nagano. Exploring movement rooted in East Asian bodily sensibilities, she is carving out a distinctive artistic territory. Her research into dance as communal celebration and traditional performance culminated in the masterful “YU-KEI” (2022), featuring seven dancers and live music by SuiseiNoboAz. Her new work, “ONI / Ghost Matter”, is likewise inspired by “bodies that move between humans, oni, and gods,” a notion that captured her attention through her research and practice in folk performing arts. Dance and voice gather traces of the presences around them, allowing those presences to inhabit and resonate within the body. The work explores the threshold between body and matter as bodies transform into uncanny beings beyond the communal order or enter states of self-abandonment.

“ONI / Ghost Matter” (tentative)

  • Choreography, Direction, Performance： Yokoyama Ayano [lal banshees]
  • Music, Performance： Yokote Arisa
  • Performance： Chiba Rikako, SHIon, Liel fibak
  • Lighting： Yoshida Kazuya [DEZAR inc.]
  • Costume： Tamiya Ryo [Schrödinger’s closet]
  • Production Management： Takimoto Marie
  • Support： The Saison Foundation
  • Cooperation： Saitama Arts Foundation [SAITAMA ARTS THEATER]
  • Premiere： “Ghost Matter” Solo ver. 2025 MONOTANZ SEOUL2025, South Korea

Yokoyama Ayano

Dancer and choreographer. Born in Omachi City, Nagano Prefecture. Studied modern dance, followed by contemporary dance and hip-hop, and graduated from Japan Women’s College of Physical Education with a major in Dance Studies. In 2016, she founded her company, [lal banshees]. Her solo “Suiyoubaion” won the Jury Prize at Yokohama Dance Collection 2020 Competition I, along with an opportunity to undertake training at the Centre national de la danse (CN D) in France. She has received numerous invitations to perform in Japan and internationally, including at Aerowaves Spring Forward 2022. From minimalist, urban works to recent creations informed by research into folklore, she continues to explore invisible realms through dance, focusing on bodily awareness rooted in East Asian traditions. She is a Saison Fellow I of The Saison Foundation for fiscal years 2021–2026.