- Title: JAPAN/UK: JAPAN'S ISHIGURO DANCE THEATRE PERFORM AT THE ICA IN LONDON.
- Date: 8th November 2000
- Summary: DANCERS REHEARSING LONDON, UK (NOVEMBER 20, 2000) (REUTERS) ISHIGURO DANCE THEATRE PERFORMING "WHITE ANIMALS"
- Embargoed: 23rd November 2000 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN AND LONDON, UK
- City:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAB8SOLJI7EU2TOPHP9VF9XQ21F
- Story Text: There are many styles of dance, but swinging leisurely on walking frames is probably something you haven't seen before. This innovative method is the brainchild of Japanese choreographer Setsuko Ishiguro who uses new forms of expression to turn ancient Japanese fairytales into a visually stunning performance of modern dance. Reuters took a closer look at the Ishiguro Dance Theatre at their home in Tokyo and during their recent visit to London's Institute of Contemporary Arts.
It may look bizarre at first - but you soon get the hang of it.
These gifted young dancers moving about on Zimmerframes are the Ishiguro Dance Theatre - an innovative dance company from Japan, and they recently came to London to present their triple bill of classical and contemporary dance fusion.
The choreographer and artistic director is Setsuko Ishiguro. She says she's heavily influenced by the Japanese dance traditions of Butoh and Kabuki and often takes fables, poems, plays and other narratives from ancient Asian cultures as her inspiration.
The main bill of Ishiguro's performance is "White Animals", inspired by a famous Japanese picture scroll depicting monkeys, rabbits, frogs and other animals playing in a mountain stream.
The picture scroll portrays a relationship of physical contact which according to Mrs. Ishiguro is found less and less in our society.
"I was inspired by an old Japanese picture scroll, one of Japan's national treasures, which shows many animals playing by the river. I wanted to express the joyfulness of life, by comparing the present time with the past represented by those animals" says Setsuko Ishiguro.
The idea to use walking frames to show modern-day people destroying themselves came to Mrs Ishiguro after she spent the last five years in hospital looking after her late husband and parents. For the dancers, it was a novel way of movement that took some practice to do.
Back home in Tokyo, Ishiguro prepared the dancers for their forthcoming performances and was particularly keen to portray Japanese people as playful, fun-loving creatures.
She says "The Japanese are often overwhelmed by their emotions and they express these emotions through dance.
That's what the classical ballet dancer, the contemporary dancer and the Japanese butoh (correct) dancer (all of whom appear in the performance) have in common.
"By portraying the various sacred animals which are shown in the painting in my performance, I want to express the sense of humour and the joy that the Japanese people have within them.
"I don't want the Japanese people to be seen as economic animals or people who like money. Japanese are by nature, people who like to have fun by playing in the mountains and fields," Ishiguro adds.
And that's what mostly matters to Mrs. Ishiguro as she travels to Europe to show Western audiences the other side of the diligent, hardworking Japanese.
"Japanese dance and attitude come from the inside, so even when the dancers aren't really moving they are expressing emotions from the inside. Japanese people are very playful and I want to show this playfulness to Western audiences."
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