Chihan Art Project

News from Chihan-an 20100908_02

2010-09-08T04:14:00.009+09:00

The five artists who performed the site-specific contemporary dance work Izu House for Chihan Art Project 2008 will re-unite in Philadelphia this week to create a new site-specific piece at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Philadelphia, USA (http://www.shofuso.com/). Tokyo artists Hideo Arai and Mika Kimula will once again work with American artists Leah Stein, Roko Kawai, Toshi Makihara and several members of the Leah Stein Dance Company. Japan House/Philadelphia will premiere as part of The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Sep 9 -11. For more information, please go to: http://leahsteindancecompany.org/

From Tokyo dancer/performance artist Hideo Arai:

"The bonds and connections that we created at Chihan-an will travel across the Pacific Ocean. I believe that this is just as Mr. Chihan hoped -- to keep art making and collaborative searching moving forward, like the passing of the baton in a lively relay race. Also, we are delighted that Mr. Shiba will be attending Japan House/Philadelphia! We all look forward to hearing his report!!"

From Philadelphia/San Francisco artist Roko Kawai:

"Leah and I are thrilled to welcome Hideo and Mika (and the Chihan spirit!) to our 'native' Philadelphia. While on the surface the similarities between Chihan-an and Shofuso are strong, our research reveals a different story. First of all, Shofuso was never lived in! It was a gift, a 'good will gesture,' a political maneuver in 1953 between Japan and the U.S., just a year after General MacArthur's occupation ended. It was designed as 'the ideal' traditional Japanese home from circa 16th century and built by master craftsman from Japan. First on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it found its a permanent home in Philadelphia's renowned Fairmount Park. It has, and still remains, a beautiful 'symbol,' a place to visit and be curious about. In contrast to Chihan-an, there is no family oral history, no birthing room for successive generations, no memories of a returning sister or a community funeral or an art piece left behind by a grateful guest. Language like 'tadaima' and 'okaeri' have no place here. Thus, Leah and I felt that it would be impossible to 'import' entire sections of choreography from Izu House to Japan House/Philadelphia, even though it was tempting to re-utilize our 'favorite' scenes.

On the other hand, Shofuso's history offers new possibilities. It harkens to the surprising connections between Meiji-Taisho Japan and Philadelphia, the birthplace of the United States. For instance, the Mississippi, one of the four ships that Commodore Perry steamed into Uraga Bay in Shimoda, was built and launched from Philadelphia. The Iwakura Mission, during their symbolic tour to the West, stopped by Philadelphia for four days in 1872. Now, for this new project, we are exploring themes of embarkation, gifting, negotiation, disorientation, curiosity, encounters, retreating, relationship break-throughs and good-byes.

One thing is certain -- that the many hours and days and nights we spent at Chihan-an gave us an intimacy and understanding of the traditional home in ways that otherwise would never have been accessible to us. For that and more, we want to thank Nobuko-san and Junji-san and everyone at the Chihan Art Project!!!! Sending hugs and kisses from Philadelphia!!!" -- Roko Kawai

*

For those of you who missed Izu House 2008 at Chihan-an, please read more about the history of the project in both Japanese and English at our Chihan Art Project blog, go to the Leah Stein Dance Company website (http://leahsteindancecompany.org/)
or check out creative process and artist interviews on YouTube:

News from Chihan-an 20100908_01

2010-09-08T04:11:00.004+09:00

Christopher Yohmei and Zenpo Simura who played together at Chihan-an in 2009 for the 3rd Chihan Art Project, recently were in Prague to perform in European Shakuhachi Festival 2010. 　
They gave several concerts from August 26~31 and also tought master classes of the students from different part of the globe during the period.　This is annual international shakuhachi festival held in Plague which began 8 years ago and Christopher has been very active as senior artistic director.
For the detail of ESF, please visit
http://www.komuso.cz/en/festival

02-1_ Myôan Taizan Style Honkyoku: Takiochi

2009-10-10T10:29:00.010+09:00

SIMURA Zenpo Satosi

Takiotoshi, (The Waterfall) is one of the thematic pieces for today’s concert. SIMURA Zenpo Satosi performs this old version with a ji-nashi (no lacquer in the inner bore) shakuhachi, a simply made instrument without the resilient urushi lacquer coating on the inside bore.

at "Chihan'an", Izu-Oohito, Shizuoka, Japan on 3/October/2009
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

02-2_Myôan Taizan Style Honkyoku: Takiochi

2009-10-10T10:28:00.010+09:00

03-1_Kinko Style Honkyoku: Takiotoshi no Kyoku

2009-10-10T10:27:00.003+09:00

Christopher Yohmei

This version, from the more refined Kinko style, differs considerably from the previous Myôan version and is played on a modern shakuhachi with the inner bore coated in urushi lacquer. The difference is a brighter, more penetrating sound.

at "Chihan'an", Izu-Oohito, Shizuoka, Japan on 3/October/2009
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

03-2_Kinko Style Honkyoku: Takiotoshi no Kyoku

2009-10-10T10:26:00.003+09:00

03-3_Kinko Style Honkyoku: Takiotoshi no Kyoku

2009-10-10T10:25:00.003+09:00

05_Taizôkai

2009-10-10T10:22:00.003+09:00

composed and performed by Christopher Yohmei

The Taizôkai is one of two seminal mandalas used in the esoteric (mikkyô) sect of Shingon Buddhism. A central figure (Dainichi Nyorai) is surrounded by 12 radiating sections, each filled with various Buddhist deities. When Yohmei first saw this mandala, as a young man, he experienced the repeated images as tones; each one a reflection of the other and the total mandala as a composition reflecting the self. This piece is performed on a modern ji-nashi shakuhachi.

at "Chihan'an", Izu-Oohito, Shizuoka, Japan on 3/October/2009
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Christopher Yohmei Blasdel comments

2009-10-08T11:59:00.009+09:00

Christopher Yohmei Blasdel comments on the concert.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Today's program

2009-10-03T02:51:00.012+09:00

1. Yobitake Uketake 　　　　　SIMURA Zenpo Satosi & Christopher Yohmei

Two komusô meet on the street corner, each one has taken a vow of silence. They greet each other through sound.

2. Myôan Taizan Style Honkyoku: Takiochi 　　　　　　SIMURA Zenpo Satosi

Takiotoshi, (The Waterfall) is one of the thematic pieces for today’s concert. SIMURA Zenpo Satosi performs this old version with a ji-nashi (no lacquer in the inner bore) shakuhachi, a simply made instrument without the resilient urushi lacquer coating on the inside bore.

3. Kinko Style Honkyoku: Takiotoshi no Kyoku 　　　　　　Christopher Yohmei

This version, from the more refined Kinko style, differs considerably from the previous Myôan version and is played on a modern shakuhachi with the inner bore coated in urushi lacquer. The difference is a brighter, more penetrating sound.

4. Kinko Style Honkyoku: Shika no Tohne 　　　　　　SIMURA Zenpo Satosi & Yohmei

Shika no Tohne (The Distant Cry of the Deer) is one of the most famous of all shakuhachi pieces. Composed as a duet, it programmatically depicts two deer, male and female, calling out to each other in the through the Autumn forest.

　　　　　　　　　　　*** 15 minute intermission ***

5. Taizôkai 　　　　　　composed and performed by Christopher Yohmei

The Taizôkai is one of two seminal mandalas used in the esoteric (mikkyô) sect of Shingon Buddhism. A central figure (Dainichi Nyorai) is surrounded by 12 radiating sections, each filled with various Buddhist deities. When Yohmei first saw this mandala, as a young man, he experienced the repeated images as tones; each one a reflection of the other and the total mandala as a composition reflecting the self. This piece is performed on a modern ji-nashi shakuhachi.

6. Kokû 　　　　　　SIMURA Zenpo Satosi

This old honkyoku is one of the most sacred in the shakuhachi repertory and is performed on various historical intstruments by SIMURA Zenpo Satosi .

Information about the live broadcast

2009-10-02T21:34:00.004+09:00

Today we are streaming the live concert from Chihan'an.
For those of you who cannot attend the concert because of the limitations of time or distance, please log onto the site listed below. The visual and sound quality may be a bit diminished, but we hope you enjoy the concert! The concert will be streamed live and then archived for a period of 48 hours. Please have a look and enjoy the music! The concert begins at 4 PM, Japan Standard Time.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chihan-art-project

The Third Chihan Art Project

2009-08-23T11:48:00.001+09:00

Edo Shakuhachi—Transcending Time & Space

The Third Chihan Art Project

2009-08-02T12:06:00.008+09:00

Edo Shakuhachi—Transcending Time & Space

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

This concert, taking place in an elegant 201 year old Izu townhouse, will feature Edo period honkyoku, performed on both modern and period instruments. The program also features a contemporary composition in the deep meditative style of traditional honkyoku.

Performers:
SIMURA Zenpo Satosi (Shakuhachi performer, Professor, Osaka University of Arts)
Christopher Yohmei Blasdel (shakuhachi performer, Artistic Director, The International House of Japan, Inc.)
　　　　　
Date & Time: Saturday, Oct. 3rd, 2009
Doors open at 3:30 PM, Concert begins at 4 PM.
Place: Chihan’an (an authentic example of traditional townhouse in the Izu Penninsula, built over 200 years ago. Seven minute walk from Oohito Station about 2 hours from Tokyo. Detailed instructions and map will be sent to those who make a reservation).
Admission: Advanced reservations ¥3000, At the door, ¥3300 (students receive a ¥1000 discount from the above prices).
Sponsored by: Chihan Art Project (Nobuko Awaya, Sayuri Toki, Ei’ichiro Iwasa)
Supported by: The City of Izunokuni
Inquiries & Reservations: chihan.project@gmail.com Tel:090-8360-9766
A Reception will follow the concert.
Blog address: Chihan Art Project (English) http://chihanartproject.blogspot.com/
Chihan Art Project (Japanese)http://d.hatena.ne.jp/chihan_project_jpn/

Program:
Yobitake Uketake, SIMURA Zenpo Satosi & Christopher Yohmei Blasdel
Myôan Taizan Style honkyoku: Takiochi, SIMURA Zenpo Satosi
Kinko Style honkyoku: Takiotoshi no Kyoku Christopher Yohmei Blasdel
Kinko Style honkyoku: Shika no Tohne, SIMURA Zenpo Satosi & Christopher Yohmei Blasdel
Taizôkai, composed and performed by Christopher Yohmei Blasdel
Kokû, Performed on various historical instruments by SIMURA Zenpo Satosi

Special thanks Izu House 2008

2008-11-03T10:46:00.002+09:00

The artists of Izu House dance project would like to thank all Ohito who supported our creative process at Chihan-an this fall. With spectacular weather and Ohito town's sounds of buzzing traffic and festival firecrackers, we enjoyed each presentation as its own story. We'd like to extend our special thanks to Nobuko Awaya, Chihan-an's caretaker and project director, for her vision and generosity. In addition, we owe much to the greater Chihan Art Project staff and board, its community and the Suganuma family. Please stay tuned to new blog updates such as video interviews with audience members and beautiful photos by our resident photographer and blog-master Eiichiro Iwasa.

Roko Kawai comments

2008-11-03T01:21:00.009+09:00

Roko Kawai comments on the performance.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Leah Stein comments

2008-11-03T01:19:00.009+09:00

Leah Stein comments on the performance.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Hideo Arai comments

2008-11-03T01:17:00.004+09:00

Hideo Arai comments on the performance.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Mika Kimula comments

2008-11-03T01:13:00.019+09:00

Mika Kimula comments on the performance.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Toshi Makihara comments

2008-11-03T01:11:00.003+09:00

Toshi Makihara comments on the performance.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Chirstpher Yohmei Blasdel comments

2008-11-03T00:53:00.009+09:00

Christpher Yohmei Blasdel, Shakuhachi player and performer of the first Chihan Art Project, comments on IZU HOUSE 2008.

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

KYOTO Journal

2008-11-01T17:16:00.011+09:00

The performance "IZU HOUSE" is appeared on the article of Ten Thousand Things, KYOTO Journal.
This article is on the following web page of KYOTO Journal;
http://www.kyotojournal.org/10,000things/218.html

IZU HOUSE

2008-10-31T23:26:00.001+09:00

IZU HOUSE

2008-10-31T23:22:00.001+09:00

Schedule

2008-10-31T23:22:00.000+09:00

Sat. November 1, 2008 @ 1pm and 4pm
Sun. November 2, 2008 @ 1pm and 4pm

For reservations, please send a fax or email with the following information:
1. full name of contact person
2. number of tickets you wish to reserve
3. your email address or fax #
4. which performance(s): specify date/time
5. alternate date/time, just in case we cannot accommodate your first choice.

Tickets: ¥3000 (advance reservation); ¥3300 (day of show)
We will accept payment in cash at the box office on the day of the show. Doors open 30 minutes before each show. Please be sure to arrive by the start time. No latecomers will be admitted.

Directions to Chihan-an will be included via fax or email when we confirm your reservation.

For more information (English):
Tel 090-8306-9766
Fax 03-3718-4666
Email chihan.project@gmail.com

About Chihan Art Project

2008-10-31T23:21:00.001+09:00

Since the Edo Period (1603-1867), Chihan-an has been home to the Suganuma family. The Suganuma's were wealthy landowners, and Nobuko Awaya's maternal ancestors. 2008 marks the 200th anniversary of their residence at this home. It takes its namesake after “Chihan,” the pen-name of Nobuko's grandfather, who was a patron of the arts with a special love of poetry. Located two hours south of Tokyo in the tiny town of Ohito on the Izu peninsula, Chihan-an still faces Shimoda Kaido, the famed road taken by U.S. emmissaries in 1854 who had forcibly entered Shimoda port to demand that the Japanese open its territory for foreign trade, effectively catapulting the country into an overnight “westernization.” The area is also well known for the novel “Izu Dancer” by Yasunari Kawabata whose story takes place just a few hours south of Chihan-an.

Chihan-an still retains its original footprint amidst beautifully designed modern additions. When entering the large foyer, one's attention is drawn high up toward the thatched roof interior. From a spacious, contemporary kitchen, the eye can follow dark, gigantic ceiling beams undulating through the house into the room with traditional hearth and ancestral altar, all visible by sliding open the shoji (rice paper) and wooden screen doors. In fact, the vast interior space can be enclosed or expanded by sliding or removing these screen doors and walls.

Privately, the Suganuma family gave birth, celebrated weddings, and held funerals here. Publicly, as community patrons, they provided a center for town meetings and important gatherings. As a philanthropist, Chihan invited artists to come for creative retreats, haiku contests, and cultural exchanges amongst one another. Today, we can see some of the work they left behind as a “thank you.” For example, 91 year old monk , Yuinen left his painting of snake. The “an” of Chihan-an, means “retreat” or “sanctuary.” Among his guests were such luminaries as playwright Mantaro Kubota, novelist Fumiko Hayashi and filmmaker Heinosuke Gosho.

In 2000, Chihan-an was passed on to Nobuko. While there was some discussion about whether to bequeath the property to the state as a historic site, Nobuko decided to carry on her grandfather's vision: to use it both as a home and a place of creative inspiration. In an interview for the International Herald Tribune, she said: "I didn't want to keep the house, where my maternal ancestors had lived and where I was born, just as a museum. I wanted to restore its cultural vitality by actually using it…I started thinking of the meaning of the house when my uncle died and I came to take care of the house." (10/10/08 by Kazue Suzuki).

Beginning in 2003, Nobuko began planning the “Chihan Art Project,” an ongoing artist series that includes live-in workshops, performances/installations on site, and the space for good food, drink and company. The first Chihan Art Project event was a music concert featuring shakuhachi player Christopher Yomei, vocalist Mika Kimula, and pianist Ayako Ono on April 14, 2007. In October 2007, U.S.-based dancers/choreographers Roko Kawai and Leah Stein came to begin collaborating with Tokyo artists Hideo Arai (movement artist) and Mika Kimula. This fall, these three collaborators are joined percussionist Toshi Makihara who is also based in the U.S. Called “IZU HOUSE,” this site-specific dance/sound piece will be performed on November 1 and 2, 2008. Next “Chihan Art Project” will feature Koji Ono who will create sculptural installation around the exterior of the house.

"Izu House" creative process #02, 2007

2008-10-31T23:20:00.007+09:00

October, 2007
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

INTERNATIONAL Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun

2008-10-11T22:42:00.014+09:00

The performance "IZU HOUSE" is appeared on the article of Weekend|
arts & MORE, INTERNATIONAL Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun on October 10, 2008.
This article is also on the following web page of The Asahi Shimbun;
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200810100054.html

"Izu House" creative process #01, 2007

2008-10-11T02:25:00.008+09:00

October, 2007
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Views of Chihan-an, Kano-gawa, Joh-yama

2008-10-11T02:16:00.009+09:00

Leah Stein

2008-10-11T01:40:00.013+09:00

Roko Kawai

2008-10-11T01:27:00.013+09:00

Roko Kawai (dancer/choreographer and project leader)

2008-10-11T01:20:00.005+09:00

Roko Kawai investigates the relationship between the specificity of traditional dance and the craft of improvisation. Her work includes international collaborations in Bali, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Japan, and she has performed nationally in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Hawaii, New York, Chicago, at the Florida Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out. Roko has been supported by the Artists Exploration Fund of Arts International, Dance Advance, Independence Foundation, the PA Council on the Arts, DanceLINK, and others. In 2003, she was awarded The Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Choreography and, in 2005, a 7-month Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Fellowship in Tokyo during which she trained in Classical Japanese Dance with Hanayagi Kazu, and pursued artistic research on the contemporary dance scene in Japan as well as on kagura in Shimane prefecture. This Fall, she performed as part of the Philadelphia cast in Jerome Bel's The show must go on at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. She is also currently working on a writing project, an 'Artist's Workbook' to be published on the web, that reflects upon issues of “categorizations and collisions,” “belonging and longing,” in the 15 year arc of her career.
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Leah Stein (dancer/choreographer)

2008-10-11T01:18:00.004+09:00

Leah Stein has been living and making dances in Philadelphia since 1987. She has created dances on site and on stage in Indonesia, Canada, Poland, Romania, Japan and Scotland. She founded the Leah Stein Dance Company in 2001 and in 2004 established a program for annual local on site performance projects called “On Site Philadelphia”. In 2007 she collaborated on a film documenting the making of GATE, a seminal site work at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site in Philadelphia. She has been awarded grants from Dance Advance, the Leeway Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts including three Fellowships in Choreography.She has been in residence at Yellow Springs Art Institute, the American Dance Festival and Djerassi Resident Artist Program in California where she received an honorary award for her work “Barn Dance”. In 2001, Stein was awarded a Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland for In Situ. Stein has collaborated with dancer/choreographers Sean Feldman, Roko Kawai and Gus Solomons jr, sculptors Jeanne Jaffe and Edward Dormer, poet Josie Foo, and composers/musicians Pauline Oliveros, Robert Maggio, Mark Weber, David Forlano, Dave Burrell and Dan Peterson. She has been collaborating with percussionist Toshi Makihara since 1989. She currently teaches at Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges. http://www.leahsteindance.org
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Hideo Arai (movement artist)

2008-10-11T01:16:00.001+09:00

Hideo Arai was trained by the well-known Japanese movement and body expert Michizo Noguchi in whose technique he is ceritfied. Noguchi taught Hideo how to artistically express his unique dance impulses through efficient body kinesthetics. Hideo also learned how to link his personal artistic yearnings with the greater surrounding forces of nature. Taking place in temples, shrines, fields and streets,
Hideo’s work may be accompanied by live musicians and variously concocted sets, or they may occur in complete silence, punctuated only by ambient noise and wild grasses. His dance is intensely shamanistic yet playfully light. In 1997, Hideo created the dance project-office KARADAKARA, joining two Japanese words, “body” (karada) and “therefore” (dakara). Hideo has performed throughout Japan and in Canada, Hungary, Malaysia, Germany and Austria. Hideo has done extensive field work in Japanese folklore, traveling throughout the countrysides of Japan to learn about folktales, beliefs, festivals and language. He is also a big fan of “Rakugo,” the traditional form of one-man comedy. http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~hideo-a/
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Mika Kimula (vocalist)

2008-10-11T01:14:00.001+09:00

Mika Kimula has a keen interest in the use of voice and Japanese language in contemporary theater and music. She majored in voice at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. She has also studied with Michizo Noguchi, the founder of Noguchi Taiso (body training), in exploring how language is affected by the voice and one’s inner image, and with Dr. Shigeo Miki, M.D. to investigate “life morphology” (how live beings respond to the voice). In1997-98, Mika was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to travel to the United States. Presently, Mika performs, records, teaches, writes and gives workshops throughout Japan and internationally. Most recently, she is featured in the book/DVD, “Japanese Voice —A Video Archive of Singing and Techniques in the Japanese Language” (compiled by I. Nakayama, Osaka Univ. of Arts, AD POPOLO Inc., 2008 http://www.geocities.co.jp/nihonngo2002inkym/DVD/), for which she has also translated an English supplement with explanatory notes on 79 singers from 32 genres.
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Toshi Makihara (percussionist)

2008-10-11T01:12:00.000+09:00

Toshi Makihara studied drums, percussion and improvisation with Sabu Toyozumi, a prominent percussionist in Tokyo. Since arriving in the United States, he has worked with various new music ensembles as well as with numerous dance and theater companies internationally. Makihara has provided original music to Arden Theater Company, Diversions Dance Company (Wales), Pennsylvania Ballet, ZeroMoving Dance Company, Merian Soto / Performance Practice and Leah Stein Dance Company, and has worked with musicians including Steve Beresford, Peter Brotzmann, John Butcher, Nels Cline, Eugene Chadbourne, Tom Cora, Amy Denio, Thurston Moore, William Parker and John Zorn. He has also collaborated with poets, visual artists, filmmakers and performance artists widely.

Makihara's recordings include Grammy nominated "Another Shining Path" (1998 Drimala Records) in trio with Gary Hassay (alto saxophone) and William Parker (bass), and "Hurricane Floyd" (Spring 2000, Sublingual Records) in trio with Thurston Moore (guitar) and Wally Shoup (alto sax).
http://www.toshimakihara.com
photo: courtesy of Toshi Makihara

Nobuko Awaya (Izu House owner)

2008-10-11T01:10:00.003+09:00

Nobuko Awaya is a professor of Intercultural Communications with a special interest in gender issues and media at Shoin University, Japan. She has also served as co-chair of the Research Organization for Asian American Experience since 2000, and she is a freelance journalist/author. Nobuko introduced "men's issues" (vs. “women's” issues) in Japan and translated Shy-Man Syndrome, by Dr. Brian Gilmartin in 1990. Using a cross-cultural framework, she has interviewed visual artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, cellist Yoyo Ma, and actor John Lone, and has written articles on Bruce Lee and Gordon Hirabayashi. Since 2004, the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science has included her essays in public high school textbooks. Other publications include: “Onna Kodomo Ga Nihon o Kaeru (Women and Children Change Japan)” 1991 PHP, “Re-Imaging Japanese Women”1996 UC Berkley Press, “Nigeru Otoko” (The Man Who Runs Away) 2000 Kosai-do Press, “Hataraku Sorezore No Riyu” (Myriad Reasons to Work) 2005 Nikkei Home Shuppan. She is a descendant of 450 years of the Suganuma family in Izu, Japan. http://home.c04.itscom.net/a-no/
© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

IZU HOUSE

2008-10-11T00:43:00.011+09:00

Last fall, Philadelphia-based dancer/choreographers Roko Kawai and Leah Stein began collaboration with Tokyo-based movement artist Hideo Arai and vocalist Mika Kimula on a site-specific dancework at Chihan-an, a 200-year-old traditional home located two hours south of Tokyo on the Izu Peninsula. “Site-specific” refers to a work that is created in and for a particular place, connecting with its sights, sounds and stories as a partner to the creative process. In site-specific dance, the audience and performers often travel through the site and become a “part of” rather than “apart from” the performance. This fall, with the addition of Philadelphia-based percussionist Toshi Makihara, these four artists rejoin to further develop and present the first public performance of “IZU HOUSE.” This American and Japanese collaboration explores Chihan-an’s architectural form, the Suganuma family’s oral histories, and the artists’ own personal connection to the space, creating a contemporary event about cultural space and memory.

"This project has been funded by The Pew Center for the Arts and Heritage, through Dance Advance."

© IWASA Eiichiro, Chihan Art Project

Chihan Art Project blog in Japanese

2008-10-11T00:41:00.001+09:00

Chihan Art Project blog in Japanese is as follows;
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/chihan_project_jpn/

Chihan Art Project blog

2008-10-11T00:40:00.000+09:00

We have started the Chihan Art Project blog.