Asahi Newspaper 23/01/19 | K-Ballet Dances Social Issues

Well-trained technique and adult wit are richly intertwined. Two new works by K-BALLET Opto, a new project created by the K-Ballet Company led by Tetsuya Kumakawa and Bunkamura, which has a franchise agreement with the company, open up new horizons in the Japanese ballet world in terms of maturity and diversity. (KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre on January 8th).

Alessio Silvestrin created "Plastic Bottle Labyrinth" and Rei Watanabe created "Plastic Umbrella Komachi" under the theme of "Plastic. The titles are already dancing.

In the former, the bodies of human beings and creatures that have been eroded by plastic bottles and "evolved" play with each other. It is both futuristic and ancient. Alessio's fertile background as a dancer and choreographer trained with Béjart and Forsythe, and as a harpsichordist and composer as well, contributes to the creation of a unique utopia. What is caricatured and confronted in this work is our own preference to fall into the trap of convenience that we have set for ourselves and unilaterally eliminate those who stand in our way.

Inspired by Yukio Mishima's "Sotoba-Komachi" and Shogo Ota's "Komachi Fuden," the latter is described as "pop and kitsch. The aloofness of the old woman, reminiscent of a homeless person, gives birth to a new contemporary fable," said dance critic Tatsuro Ishii.

What is noteworthy about both works is the treatment of music. Kumakawa's belief that "first there is music" is reflected in the uncompromising dialogues with the "words" of Bach, Ligeti, Beethoven, and others. How much the work of "translating" them with their own bodies becomes the flesh and blood of the dancers.

Dance has the power to scoop out and visualize the mass unconsciousness that flows in the undercurrent of society. Like journalism, there is no dance without a critical view of society. Mr. Ishii said, "For many dancers in ballet companies, working on such a contemporary new work leads to broadening their range of expression in the classics. It is also an opportunity for them to think about how they feel about the times in which they live and how they face them, rather than just spending all their time training.

Kumakawa hopes to bring to Japan a culture in which dancers and audiences can nurture each other. I saw Kumakawa's seriousness.

(Editorial board member: Junko Yoshida)