INTRODUCTION

Noism×Kodo "ONI"

The long-awaited replay.

Noism Company Niigata, the exclusive dance company at the RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center, and Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble based in Sado island.

The work created in Niigata is coming back again.

[Niigata] Friday, 15 December – Sunday, 17 December 2023　RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center

[Kanagawa] Saturday, 13 January – Sunday, 14 January 2024　  KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater

[Okayama] Saturday, 20 January 2024　Okayama Arts and Crafts Theater “Harenowa”

[Kumamoto] Thursday, 25 January 2024　Civic Auditorium Sears Home Yume Hall

ABOUT

Founded in 2004 as Japan's first dance company with a permanent residency at a theatre, basing its activities at RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center, Noism Company Niigata is celebrating its 20th season. The commemorative 20th season will start with Noism×Kodo "ONI" which premiered in the summer of 2022, performed with Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble based in Sado island.
 
The performance that Kodo played live the music piece ["ONI" for Dance and Percussion Ensemble (2020-22)] specially composed for the performance by composer Keiko Harada after her research in Niigata and Sado, and that Noism0 and Noism1 dancers danced lively with the direction and choreography by Jo Kanamori, was highly acclaimed for the strength of the energy that amplified by the tension and the mutual resonance between the players and dancers possessed by “ONI(ogre)”.
 
The work, which has been performed in five cities (Niigata, Saitama, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Tsuruoka) and has attracted a lot of attention, is already returning to theaters again.
 
This time, after the Niigata performance, we will visit three cities: Yokohama, Okayama, and Kumamoto. We look forward to meeting as many audiences as possible at theaters around the country.

On the occasion of the performance

Sawako Iseki
Artistic Director
International Activities Division

On this occasion, I decided to replay "ONI", which had its world premiere in the summer of 2022.

At the last performance, as it was the first time to perform with Kodo, tickets were sold out early on, and there were many people who could not see it. We received many voices hoping for a replay. Based on my own experience as a dancer, I also wanted to present it again at an early stage.

The reason for this is that Noism has a quick turnover of members, and in recent years, even if it is called "replay", the members have been dancing more often in the form of "premiere". I wanted the members to experience the real thrill of a replay that only those who have experienced the premiere can get.

And when it comes to replay, recorded music is often used, but we are delighted to be able to perform with live music by Kodo this time again.

The sound of drums. The sound that is not heard by ears, but reverberates and trembles deep inside the body. The overwhelming energy hidden by the players. Dancers who embody them and expresses them on stage.

I believe that even if we have already experienced the work, by living in the present with a sense of tension, new sounds and new bodies will be born and merged.

In the modern world of dance, I feel that there is a tendency to place less emphasis on "replay". However, historically, it is clear that works of art do not belong to a consumer society, but are something perpetuable, and I always want to leave something that will be passed down as Noism.

Those who saw the premiere, the Kodo members, and the Noism members are no longer the same as they were then. I would like to revive the "work" that exist only in memory now on stage again and leave down the “work” with those who see them for the first time.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

DIRECTOR'S NOTE
From Noism×Kodo "ONI" premiere in 2022

Jo Kanamori

Noism×Kodo

It will be our first joint performance with Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble based in Sado island, Niigata. In the past, we have participated in the same charity program and I also bought and listened to Kodo CDs, and created a piece using their music. Of course, I have been to their concerts, and have stayed in Kodo village in Sado island and had workshops. And each time, we have continued to communicate by saying "let’s perform together someday".
However, Kodo and Noism have been busy creating in Niigata and disseminating on a global stage, and we certainly have our own artistic and activity policies. Above all, if the will of the representatives (artistic directors) does not match each other, there is no way to hope for a meaningful co-production. Then, what is a meaningful co-production? It is not a sell-off of each other's past or a collaboration with known skills, but a co-production that leads to each other's future, like diving into the unknown together.

Work with the theme of Niigata

It all started two years ago when I wanted to create a work with the theme of Niigata. I have had that idea several times during Noism's 18 years of activities, but I have never been able to get a timely chance in myself - I was not sure. Then, what emerged there is the problem of whether Noism can continue its activity. If the continuation of our activity had not been decided, this program should have been Noism's last program in Niigata, and I must say that the above-mentioned chance has come.
At the same time, in the dialogue with the artistic directors under the COVID-19 circumstances project, I had a chance to discuss with Mr. Funabashi, Kodo’s new leader and who is coincidentally the same age, and it has also influenced the idea. Kodo is on a new departure with a new leader. Noism will build a new structure from next season. There is no other theme except for "Niigata" for the first co-production by two Niigata-based art groups, which are both in transition.

Original music

For the first time, I dared to commission composer Ms. Keiko Harada an "original music", not Kodo's existing music and not Kodo's new music. Two years ago, we performed together with Ms. Harada for the first time at the Theater Olympics in Toga Village, Toyama Prefecture. The influence that the creation at that time had on me still deeply influences my spirit. Not to mention that it is due to the spiritual world that Ms. Harada's music dwells, it is by Ms. Harada as the artist to have inspired me by her creative challenge.

For an artist, challenge is another name for creation. However, it is not easy to keep imposing it on oneself by oneself. And nothing is more than inspiration from other artists to be more than a driving force that surpasses oneself. I am convinced that this work with Ms. Harada will be an artistic inspiration not only for Noism but also for Kodo. And that will lead to a meaningful co-production as I mentioned at the beginning.

The theme “ONI”

While waiting for the music from Ms. Harada, I was inflated with delusions in my own way. The bodies (Kodo) playing the sound of Ms. Harada, the possessed bodies (Noism). What is the spatiality (spirituality)? "In the jet-black darkness, you can see the body that wriggles, as if it were a fetal movement. Then, the darkness suddenly tears, and dazzling light shines in. It is not the light of the Sun, it is something that shines in the rift of the rock wall.” I write it to its credit, but this has been my selfish delusion, and at this point Ms. Harada's music has been unlistened to. The theme of the music arrived there from Ms. Harada. “The theme is ONI (ogre)".

There are surprisingly diverse variations of the concept of “ONI” in Japan. It is often used not only for mythology and folktales, but also for performing arts such as Noh (Ondeko, etc). It has been often used in Japanese paintings and animation as well. Needless to say, it is also used in the idioms and the prefixes. I went on a journey around “ONI”. And I encountered a certain research book soon. It was the one that tells the origin of “ONI” legend (existence of “ONI”) must be in metalworker. It inevitably leads to the history of mines in various parts of Japan.

There is no Niigata citiznes who cannot think of Sado island when they hear mine. At this point, ONI= Ondeko = Sado island= mine were connected, and my delusion (cave where light does not shine / something shining in the rift) gained synchronism. And as metalworker connected to mine speculator and Ennogyoja - mountain practitioner, my inspiration was converging, from Kodo (Ondeko), Niigata (Sado island), Noism (Shugendo: Japanese mountain asceticism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts). I dig deep and deep into space, music, and body. In search of gold (the light of the spirit) that may be in the future (depth).

Double feature

This year, 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Diaghilev, a genius producer who is said to have changed the history of dance in the 20th century. Then, I began to listen to Stravinsky’s music somehow. Then it happened again. The synchrocism. Ever since I returned to Japan 20 years ago, the basic theme of my creation has been "Fusion of Eastern and Western cultures." It has grown stronger these several years, and the books I read, the music I listen to, and the awareness of the problems I have are converging on that. In the process, I got the novel of Pierre Loti “Madame Chrysanthème” (1887) which became the base of the opera “Madame Butterfly”. The Eastern (Japanese) seen by Westerners is depicted in a grotesque depiction.
For the Japanese of old, foreigners are heteromorphic, that is “ONI”, and it is a Tsunokakushi（a bride’s head-dress, literally means “corner concealment“=hidden-oni) that the bride wears in the Shinto wedding ceremony. And most of all, dancers who dance with the strange Stravinsky tone linked to the Japanese that Loti portrayed (regarded with contempt). It's like a doll. And, for Japanese, when you hear “Okiku: Madame Chrysanthème“, it means the ghost story “Bancho sarayashiki”. Love and hate that everyone has deep in the spirit. A ghostly obsession. I don't have to say any more. The title of this work is "Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème", the theme is of course, ONI.

From Niigata to the World

In the end, I am pleased that this work with the theme of Niigata by art groups in Niigata will be toured in Saitama, Kyoto, Aichi, and Yamagata through a co-production with theaters in Japan. However, if I dare to write, this work is created "from Niigata to the world". Because that is the ambition of the artists in Niigata who dare to turn their back on Tokyo, stand up against the cold winds of Echigo(Niigata), and boldly challenge the continent, instead of turning their back on the opposite continent and paying attention to the trends in Tokyo. And that is because Kodo and Noism share the aspirations of artists in Niigata.

CREDIT

Part 1“Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème”Direction, Choreography: Jo Kanamori

Music: I. Stravinsky (recorded music used)

Costume: Kyoko Domoto

Dance: Noism0, Noism1

Part 2　Noism×Kodo "ONI"

Direction, Choreography: Jo Kanamori

Music: Keiko Harada　　Performance: Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble

Costume: Kyoko Domoto

Dance: Noism0、Noism1

Jo Kanamori 　www.jokanamori.com

Choreographer, Dancer. General Artistic director of Noism Company Niigata. Moved to Europe when he was 17 years old, he studied under Maurice Béjart and others. He began creating while studying at Rudra Béjart School Lausanne and made his debut as choreographer at the age of 20 while enrolled in NDT2. After ten years of playing an active part as dancer and choreographer for several dance companies in Europe, he returned to Japan. In April 2004, he was appointed as artistic director of the Dance Division of RYUTOPIA, and established Noism, Japan’s first residential dance company of a public theatre. He is active in a wide range of activities, such as directing and choreographing an opera conducted by Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto. He has won many awards, including the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Artistic Encouragement, and the Niigata Nippo Culture Award both in 2008, and the 60th Mainichi Art Award. He received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2021.

Keiko Harada

Composer. Based on her own idea of "creating an internal situation when performers play", she has been commissioned by music festivals, broadcasting stations, performance groups and soloists in Japan and overseas, including collaborations in different fields. She has won the first prize of the Music Competition of Japan, Yamaguchi-Prefectural Governor's prize,Yasushi Akutagawa Suntory Award for Music Composition, Nakajima Kenzo Music Prize, Otaka Prize, Shining Women's Award and others. In addition to the invited solo exhibition in Europe and East Asia, in 2022-23 season, it will be held in Canada and Bulgaria. Since 2012, she is the representative of the "Body of Tradition/ Breathing of Creation" group that creates and promotes the succession of the aesthetics of sound culture nurtured in the Japanese region through new sound and body expression. Four CDs of her own works have been released both domestically and internationally. Associate Professor of Tokyo College of Music, lecturer at Toho Gakuen University and Concert Hall Shizuoka AOI.

Kyoko Domoto

She designs costumes for contemporary dance, butoh, theater, kabuki, opera, etc. In 1999 and 2003, she exhibited at the Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2000, she studied under Rakefet Levy, a costume designer of the Batsheva Dance Company, as the Artist Overseas Training Program of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. In 1999, she received the Ito Kisaku Award and the 36th Tachibana Akiko Award for Stage Creative Award.

Noism Company Niigata　www.noism.jp

Noism is Japan’s first dance company with a permanent residency at a theatre, basing its activities at RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center. There are three groups: Noism0 consisted of selected professional members, professional company Noism1, and trainee company Noism2. Dancers selected through auditions from Japan and around the world move to Niigata and work throughout the year. Since its establishment in 2004, Noism has been performing works created at RYUTOPIA both domestically and internationally, and in addition to activities to develop globally from Niigata to the world (International Activities Division), it has also been engaged in community-based activities such as open classes for citizens and outreach to schools (Community Activities Division). The origin of Noism is “No-ism”. Without having a specific principle, it tries to pass on to future generations the various physical expressions that have been accumulated throughout history.

Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble　www.kodo.or.jp

Based in Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, the group discovers infinite possibilities in traditional musical arts focusing on taiko drums and attempts to re-create it for the present day. After 10 years of activity as "Sado No Kuni, Ondekoza" since 1971, Kodo made its debut at the Berliner Festspiele in 1981. Since then, the group has performed more than 6,500 times in 53 countries and regions. In addition to theater performances, Kodo has participated in many "School workshop performances" aimed at interacting with elementary, junior high, and high school students, performed with artists of various genres, participated in film music, etc., and has been hosting the international art festival "Earth Celebration" in Sado island, Kodo’s home base since 1988, contributing to international exchange and regional development.
In recent years, Kodo has performed with Sayuri Ishikawa, Miku Hatsune, AI, Chitose Hajime, BRAHMAN, MIYAVI and others. They collaborated with the Yomiuri Giants, and participated in the music of the online game "Genshin".
In 2023, they also performed together in "Yugen" and "Amaterasu" with Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando.