ジェローム ベルの『ザショーマストゴーオン」は久々の快挙でした。「まさかやらないだろう」ということを次々と、この大きなリッチな劇場でやってくれたのは、スカーッとしました。ローメインテナンス、ポータブル、アクセシブル、とツアーの難点３つを満たしていて、このショーが何年もいろんな国で、ヴェニューで続けられて来たのはわかる気がします。
Space. Dance. Love.
久しぶりにシアタープロジェクトにダンスを見にいく。空間を多彩に使ったパフォーマンスと聞き、少し期待して行った。７時半から１０時半の間のいつ来てもいいという設定だったので、８時半頃着く。確かに空間は変わっていた。そして、ダンサー達は一生懸命にやっていた。ライブ音も悪くなかったし、照明や衣装もちょっとちゃんとしていた。だが、何かが起こっていたのか？うーん。やはり印象としては、いま一つ意図が掴みかねたというのが、正直な感想である。どうしてなのか？いろいろ理由はあると思うが、「筋肉と感情で押す」ダンスに魅力が感じられないのがまずひとつ。そして、空間は変えているが、がんばり過ぎていて、空間への愛が感じられない点である。ダンサー自身の踊りと私はどう関係しているのかもわからなかった。どうして私がそこにいなければいけないのか？見たことで何を感じているのか？疑問はつきない。 I visited Theatre Project after a long absence. I have been hearing about this site-specific performance and have been curious about it for a while now. Since the performance was set up in a way that the audience can come and go anytime between 7:30 and 10:30pm, I arrived at around 8:30pm. They surely changed the space. The art gallery was turned into a dance space. They built a platform inside the audience and placed chairs on the stage, etc. Dancers were committed fully to venture into this experimental 3-hour marathon. Live music played at different spots in the house was decent and fit the movements. Lighting and costumes also supported the dance, it seemed. But I wonder...was there something happening? Not sure. My honest impression was that I had difficulty understanding their intension. Why is that? There are several different reasons for that. One of them surely is my lack of interest in the 'muscle and emotion' dance. Another reason is about the space. The space was transformed, but it seemed like 'transformed'. The space didn't transform, but was transformed. There was much 'doing' and I was having a hard time feeling the love for space. I was also not sure what I have to do with the dance that was happening in front of me. Why did I have to be there to witness it? What am I feeling while watching it or after I watched it? My inquiries continue...
Beautiful garden
Recently, I saw Tarkovsky's "Sacrifice". As usual, I was drawn into this long movie with no effort. This movie, which was the last piece of work by him, is full of stories told by the characters. Not much happens through actions. One of the stories stood out for me. The protagnist starts talking about his sick mother who always sat by the window which looked down the garden. He tells his friend how much she enjoyed seeing the garden. Being a good son, he wanted to clearn it up for her birthday. While his mother was getting weaker and having to stay in her bed, he kept working on the garden, trimming the trees and mowing the grass. The garden was ready. Being extremely proud and excited, he sat by the window to look over the garden. With a painful look on his face, he confesses to his friend, " it was disgusting." Being changed through a man's hands, the garden has lost its wild nature.
what we see, why we see
On July 11th, I went to NY to see "Miroku" by Saburo Teshigawara. The dance was beautiful - his use of the body was amazing and the whole production was highly sophisticated with a well-thought out lighting which he also designed. I was mezmerized about what was happening on stage for the first 10 minutes. The lighting slowly shifted from one place to another. He was just standing and sensing the place where he was. The mystery drew me in. After this initial exploration, he kept dancing as if some outer force had possessed him. I did feel some sort of spirituality and a man's struggle. But somehow, I kept being disengaged. It was as if I were witnessing this whole journey that was happening in a white box on display. It could be because I was sitting rather far away from the stage. Stunning images were constantly created with dynamically changing lights. At one time, layers of blue light covered the whole white box and he looked like he was in a deep water. At another point, small negative spaces kept opening up on the wall and on the floor, creating portals to escape or enter. Sound generally supported the actions on stage and the simple costume was in line with the concept. He was such a virtuoso in his movements - connected with every bit of his body. But somehow, after seeing the performance, I felt a little unsatisfied. I had lost a sense of him and the place. It wasn't dangerous. Maybe I was searching for something else. Something beyond dance. Something beyond art. This question generates another very important question - what am I seeking in a performance? A life-changing experience? New perspective? Or assurance of existing value of mine? Sense of being alive? If a performance can evoke a new beginning of a long lasting search, that would be powerful.