Noism × KODO "ONI"/"Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème" by Stravinsky

INTRODUCTION

Collaboration Program of RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center × ROHM Theatre Kyoto × AICHI PREFECTURAL ARTS THEATER × SHOGIN TACT TSURUOKA

Joint performance of Noism Company Niigata, the exclusive dance company of RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center and Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble based in Sado island, will finally be realized!

Both groups that continue to create contemporary works from Niigata to the world, will perform a new work from Niigata with a new music composed by composer Keiko Harada.

[Niigata]　　Friday, 1st July – Sunday, 3rd July 2022　　RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center

[Saitama]　　Friday, 8th July – Sunday, 10th July 2022　　SAITAMA ARTS THEATER

[Kyoto]　　Sunday, 17th July 2022　　ROHM Theatre Kyoto

[Aichi]　　Saturday, 23rd July 2022　　AICHI PREFECTURAL ARTS THEATER

[Yamagata]　　Saturday, 30th July 2022　　SHOGIN TACT TSURUOKA

Co-production:　RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center, ROHM Theatre Kyoto, AICHI PREFECTURAL ARTS THEATER, SHOGIN TACT TSURUOKA

Cooperation:　Kitamaesen Co., Ltd.　　Subsidy:　Japan Foundation for Regional Art-Activities

Niigata and Sado island, where Noism Company Niigata and Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble are based, have prospered as the core point of the port of call for Kitamae ships that used to come and go in the Sea of Japan with various "things" and "cultures", and as an entrance to the continent. This time, through the co-production of four theaters, which play a central role in various places as a base for Japanese art and culture, two new performances will be presented in five cities -- Niigata, Saitama, Kyoto, Aichi, and Yamagata; "Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème " Noism version, with the music of Stravinsky, and "ONI" newly created by Noism × Kodo. We are very excited to present the first joint performance of both groups that continue to create contemporary works from Niigata to the world.

Noism × Kodo "ONI"

Noism × Kodo's new work directed/choreographed by Jo Kanamori will finally be realized. Composer, Keiko Harada created a new music after research in Sado island and Niigata, and Kodo plays it live together with the performance of the dancers from Noism0 and Noism1.
Noism, which does not have a specific principle and is trying to re-examine all “ism” using various physical knowledge accumulated in history, replaces it with a new form useful in this era and conveys body expression as present generation to future generations.
Kodo presents, not just a reproduction of the traditional form, but also the possibility of learning from tradition by replacing the universal spirit and energy accumulated in it with a new form through their bodies and showing it on the stage without losing respect for the performing arts which are the starting point.
It is not an easy collaboration, but a joint performance that can be achieved only by "groups", both of which share daily training and creation based on their activity philosophy. Keiko Harada, a world-renowned composer, wrote a new music for this new work. Noism and Harada had worked together for Noism0 "still/speed/silence" performed at the 9th Theatre Olympics, the international performing arts festival held in Toga Village, Toyama Prefecture in 2019.

The 150th anniversary of Diaghilev's birth
“Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème” by Stravinsky

Stravinsky's ballet work “Les Noces” premiered in Paris in 1923 by Ballet russes, which established ballet as a comprehensive art in the early 20th century. Since then, choreographers representing the 20th century such as Nijinska, Kylian, and Preljocaj has created with this masterpiece and it has been performed by various dance companies.
In 2022, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Diaghilev, the founder of Ballet russes, we will perform "Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème" Noism version directed by 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 continued to communicate by saying "let’s perform together someday".
However, Kodo and Noism have been busy creating and performing from Niigata to the world, 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 Noism activity continuation. 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 a project called the dialogue with the artistic director under the COVID-19 circumstances, 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 this country. 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 was connected, and my delusion (cave where light does not shine / something shining in the rift) gained synchronism. And as metalworker connects 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 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 1The 150th Anniversary of Diaghilev's Birth
“Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème” by Stravinsky
Direction, Choreography: Jo Kanamori

Music: I. Stravinsky (recorded music used)

Costume: Kyoko Domoto

Performance: Noism0, Noism1

“Les Noces de Madame Chrysanthème”
Pierre (naval officer)：Geoffroy POPLAWSKI
Madame Chrysanthème (harlot)：Sawako ISEKI
Brothel’s master：Yuki YAMADA
Wife of brothel’s master：Sena IMOTO
Son of brothel’s master：Kota NAKAO
Harlots：Rio MIYOSHI / Sumire SHOJIMA / Tomomi NAKAMURA / Karin SUGINO
Young men：Hikaru TSUBOTA / Akira HIURA
Youth：Yuki ITOKAWA
Pierre’s mother：Sakura SHOJIMA

Part 2　Noism × Kodo "ONI"

Direction, Choreography: Jo Kanamori

Music: Keiko Harada　　Performance: Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble

Costume: Kyoko Domoto

Dance: Noism0, Noism1

“ONI” (ogre)
Nun Seion/ONI：Sawako ISEKI
Ennogyoja (Mountain practitioner)：Yuki YAMADA
Handmaids/Harlots/ONI：Sena IMOTO / Rio MIYOSHI / Sakura SHOJIMA / Sumire SHOJIMA / Tomomi NAKAMURA
　　　　　　　　　　　　/ Karin SUGINO
Practitioners/Miners/ONI：Geoffroy POPLAWSKI / Kota NAKAO / Hikaru TSUBOTA / Akira HIURA / Yuki ITOKAWA
ONI：Jo KANAMORI

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.

Noism Company Niigata　www.noism.jp

Noism is Japan's first dance company to have a residency at a theater, basing its activities at the RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center. The company was founded in 2004, after the director, choreographer, and dancer Jo Kanamori was appointed artistic director of RYUTOPIA's Dance Division. Noism is composed of three divisions: Noism0 consisted of selected professional dancers, Noism1 composed of professional dancers, and Noism2 the apprentice company. Based in Niigata, Noism1 has been active in a variety of places both in Japan and abroad, working with Moscow's Chekhov International Theatre Festival and performing at the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, the prestigious classical music festival directed by Seiji Ozawa. Noism2 participates in many events held within the prefecture, and has been increasingly active in the region. Noism0 conveys not only dance but also expressions that can be created only by artists with accumulated age and experience, from Niigata to the world. With its global outlook, with the dancers' overpowering bodies and sharp critical minds behind it, the company's work has been getting attention from all quarters as a new model for Japan's theater culture in the 21st century.

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 the theater performance called "One Earth Tour" on the theme of "One Earth" where diverse cultures and ways of life resonate, Kodo has a wide range of activities such as "School Workshop Performances" for the purpose of interacting with elementary, junior high and high school students, joint performance with artists of various genres, and participating in movies and game music. In Sado island, Kodo’s home base, the group has been hosting “Earth Celebration” since 1988, contributing to international exchange and regional development.

SCHEDULE＆TICKET

Niigata Performance

Friday, 1st July 2022, 19:00
Saturday, 2nd July 2022, 17:00
Sunday, 3rd July 2022, 15:00

RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center
Admission:
All seats reserved 5,000 yen
U25 3,000 yen
Under High school student 1,000 yen (tax included)

* No admittance to pre-school children.
* U25 is for those under the age of 25 at the time of the performance (excluding preschoolers). U25, high school students and younger are required to present their ID card upon admission.
* For details on childcare services, wheelchair seats, etc., please refer to the RYUTOPIA website.

【[Click here to download flyer】

Ticket purchase and details

How to buy tickets
RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center(online, telephone, box office)
▶ Online ticket　https://piagettii.s2.e-get.jp/ryutopia/pt/ [from 11:00 on the first day of sale]
▶Telephone　025-224-5521(11:00-19:00 / except closed days) [from 11:00 on the first day of sale]
▶ Box office (RYUTOPIA 2nd floor) [No sale on the first day of both RYUTOPIA member pre-sale and general sale)]
On the first day of both RYUTOPIA member pre-sale and general sale, only internet and telephone reservations accepted. Sale from 11:00 of the following work day if there are seats available.

Release date: Tuesday, 19th April　RYUTOPIA member pre-sale,　　Saturday, 23rd April　general sale
Inquiries: RYUTOPIA Ticket Dial 025-224-5521 (11:00-19:00 / except closed days)
Organizer: Niigata City Art & Culture Promotion Foundation
Co-organizers: Broadcasting System of Niigata Inc, NST Niigata Sogo Television, Co.,Ltd., TELEVISION NIIGATA NETWORK CO.,LTD.,
The Niigata Television Network 21.Inc.

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Saitama Performance

Friday, 8th July 2022, 19:00
Saturday, 9th July 2022, 17:00
Sunday, 10th July 2022, 15:00

SAITAMA ARTS THEATER

Admission:
All seats reserved 6,000 yen
U25 3,000 yen (tax included)

【Click here to download flyer】

Ticket purchase and details

How to buy tickets
RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center(online, telephone, box office)
▶Online Ticket　https://piagettii.s2.e-get.jp/ryutopia/pt/　[from 11:00 on the first day of sale]
▶Telephone　025-224-5521(11:00-19:00 / except closed days) [from 11:00 on the first day of sale]
▶Box office (RYUTOPIA 2nd floor) [No sale on the first day of both SAF member pre-sale and general sale)]
On the first day of both SAF member pre-sale and general sale, only internet and telephone reservations accepted. Sale from 11:00 of the following work day if there are seats available.

SAF Ticket Center
▶Online Ticket http://ticket.aserv.jp/saf/
▶Telephone　0570-064-939 (10:00-19:00 / except closed days)
▶Box office: SAITAMA ARTS THEATER (10:00-19:00 / except closed days) / SAITAMA HALL (10:00-19:00 / except closed days)

Release date: Saturday, 16th April　SAF member pre-sale,　　Saturday, 23rd April　general sale
Inquiries: RYUTOPIA Ticket Dial 025-224-5521 (11:00-19:00 / except closed days)
Organizer: Niigata City Art & Culture Promotion Foundation
Co-organizer: SAITAMA ARTS Foundation

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Kyoto Performance

Sunday, 17th July 2022, 16:00
ROHM Theatre Kyoto

Admission:
S-seat 6,000 yen
A-seat 4,000 yen
Youth (under 25 years old) S-seat 3,000 yen　　(under 18 years old) S-seat 1,500 yen

* Youth and tickets for those under 18 years are required to present a certificate that can confirm age, at the reception on the day of the performance.
* No admittance to pre-school children. (Childcare service available / For details, please visit ROHM Theater Kyoto website.)

【[Click here to download flyer】

Ticket purchase and details

How to buy tickets
Online Ticket[available 24 hours] ※Pre-registration required (free) https://www.s2.e-get.jp/kyoto/pt/
ROHM Theatre Kyoto Ticket Counter TEL: 075-746-3201
(Both Ticket counter and Telephone 10:00-19:00 / Open all year round * except temporary closures)
KYOTO CONCERT HALL Ticket CounterTEL: 075-711-3231
(Both Ticket counter and Telephone 10:00-17:00 / Closed on the 1st and 3rd Mondays * the following day is closed if Monday is a holiday)
Ticket Pia［P code: 511-291］https://t.pia.jp/
e＋ (ePlus)https://eplus.jp/

Release date: Saturday, 16th April　pre-release 　/ 　Saturday, 23rd April　general sale
Inquiries: ROHM Theatre Kyoto Ticket Counter TEL: 075-746-3201
Organizers: ROHM Theatre Kyoto (Kyoto City music art cultural Promoting Foundation), Kyoto City

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How to buy tickets
AICHI PREFECTURAL ARTS CENTER Online Ticket Service 　https://www-stage.aac.pref.aichi.jp/event/
AICHI ARTS CENTER play guide (B2F) TEL: 052-972-0430
(10:00-19:00 / Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 10:00-18:00 / Mondays closed, the following day is closed if Monday is a holiday)
Ticket Pia［P code: 511-001］https://t.pia.jp/

Release date: Saturday, 23rd April 10:00　general sale
Inquiries: AICHI PREFECTURAL ARTS THEATER　TEL: 052-211-7552 (10:00-18:00) FAX: 052-971-5541
Organizer: AICHI PREFECTURAL ARTS THEATER

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