An international joint project by New York-based musician Gelsey Bell and Kyoto-based choreographer Yokoshi Yasuko. Set along the storyline of Yamamba, a Noh piece, it asks what contemporary dancers can learn from physical training in traditional performing arts based on the male body, and whether they can reflect that in their own aesthetics? Overcoming the differences in origin and formality, this piece penetrates the walls that stand between men and women to explore the resonating physicality that resides there. It poses questions about the empowerment of female artists in all fields of performing arts, including dance, music, classical performing arts, and theater.
PROGRAM
3
Yokoshi Yasuko with Gelsey Bell in
“shuffleyamamba: YAMAMBA AS A BEAR”.
『shuffleyamamba』（2019）Photo: igaki photo studio
- 12.9 [Thu] 19:00
- 12.10 [Fri] 19:00
- 12.11 [Sat] 13:00
@Yokohama Nigiwaiza Small Hall
Yokoshi Yasuko
Lives and works in Kyoto. Choreographer and director. Her daily training includes the archiving of Traditional Japanese dance and Noh from the perspective of contemporary dance. Since 2003, she has been continuously trying to explore the physicality that transcends culture by importing traditional performing arts into the context of modern dance. She was based in New York from 1996 to 2015 and was awarded the Bessie Award for Best Choreography in 2003 and 2006. She became a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow in 2009. From 2009 to 2013, she was a curator at The Kitchen in New York. Since moving to Kyoto in 2015, she has been fostering young Japanese dance artists as a part of her artistic awareness campaign.
Gelsey Bell
Lives and works in New York. Vocalist, lyricist, composer and folk music researcher. This marks her third co-production with Yokoshi. Her performances have been described as boasting “advanced technique” and “glowing voice”, and was praised by the New York Times as “the future of experimental vocalism”. She is currently a core member of thingNY, Varispeed and the Chutneys. She also appeared on Broadway, performing lead in “Natasha, Pierre, the Great Comet Of 1812”, directed by David Malloy, which was nominated for the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical. Received the 2018 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award.
Arai Mio
Born in Hyogo Prefecture. Dancer, costume artist. Studied under Higashino Shoko. Since 2019, she has participated as a dancer in many performances and video pieces by the ANTIBODIES Collective. In 2019, she appeared as a dancer in “About death”, by butoh dancer Ishii Norihito. She provides costumes and costume workshops for the <Tokotoko Dancers>, a dance company comprised of only children in Kinosaki.
Shinoda Shiori
Born in Nara. Freelance editor and writer, voice performer. She has been on the theater stage since childhood and was introduced to Noh while at Kyoto University where she started her studies, attracted to the physicality of Japanese performing arts. As an editor, she is involved in fields such as welfare and art, is a devout admirer of temples, shrines and nature, and collaborates with different artists. She studies the Kanze school of Noh and Kiyomoto of Kabuki.
Terada Misako
Choreographer and dancer. Studied ballet from an early age. In 1991, she formed a dance unit with Jareo Osamu. At the Toyota Choreography Award 2002, she won the Choreographer Award for the Next Generation. In addition to creating her own works, she appeared in works by various choreographers such as Ishii Jun, Yamada Setsuko, Shirai Tsuyoshi, Kasai Akira, etc.. She has a sturdy reputation for “high-resolution” dance that sublimates academic techniques into originality.
Nishimura Mina
Choreographer and dancer. Studied under Yamazaki Kota. She has performed with the artist SIA, in short films for PRADA, and avant-garde films, plays, and dance works, including John Jasperse and other leading choreographers based in New York. She has won the 2017 Dance Magazine Best Performance Award, and 2019 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award. She is currently a resident artist at the Danspace Project in New York and a full-time lecturer at Bennington University.