Get ready for a double bill. “my choice, my body,” is a must-see work that represents the pinnacle of contemporary dance in Japan. It won the Yokohama Dance Collection 2021-DEC Competition I and marks the current point in time in the career of its creator Nakagawa Ayane, who has recently completed a residency in France. This award-winning piece features three dancers exploring the identity of the Japanese body while reinterpreting contemporary dance, using symbolic expressions from Japanese dance, such as sliding steps and Noh masks. This piece will be accompanied by the latest version of “Endangered Species,” performed by Nakagawa’s team ＜Suichu-megane∞＞ in the 2017 Competition II. This piece, which treats Earth as a “breeding chamber” for species, questioning the meaning of existence, will be a solo performance, choreographed, directed, and performed by Nakagawa herself.
Nakagawa Ayane ＜Suichu-megane∞＞ “Nihondatedatte”
Dance Cross
- 12.08 [Fri] 19:00
- 12.09 [Sat] 16:00
“my choice, my body,”
- Direction, Choreography： Nakagawa Ayane
- Performance： Kim Aeju, Nemoto Shimpei (＜Suichu-megane∞＞), Nakagawa Ayane (＜Suichu-megane∞＞)
- Music： OKSS
- Co-Organizer： Ambassade de France au Japon / Institut français
- Support： Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, The Saison Foundation
- Cooperation： Centre National de Dance (CN D)
New work (title to be determined)
- Direction, Choreography, Performance： Nakagawa Ayane
- Co-Organizer： Ambassade de France au Japon / Institut français
- Support： Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, The Saison Foundation
- Cooperation： Centre National de Dance (CN D)
Nakagawa Ayane
A director, choreographer, and dancer, Nakagawa Ayane has a diverse background in classical dance, including ballet and Japanese traditional dance, as well as street dance. She majored in theater at the J. F. Oberlin University, where she founded the ＜Suichu-megane∞＞ dance company in 2011 and began presenting choreographed works. Her work has drawn attention for its exploration of the relationship between the individual and society, historical perspectives that have settled deep in the body, and fearless expression of taboos. She was selected as a finalist in the 2017 YDC Competition II and the 2018 Competition I. In December 2021, she performed “my choice, my body,” which earned her both the Jury Prize and the French Embassy Prize for Young Choreographer at the Competition I. Ayane Nakagawa is highly regarded for her choreography and direction which encompass a diverse array of dance and theatrical perspectives.