Noism Company Niigata 20th Anniversary Performance "Amomentof"

Noism Company Niigata　

20th Anniversary Performance

Amomentof

[Niigata] Friday, June 28 – Sunday, June 30, 2024

RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center (Theatre)

Admission

All seats reserved 5,500 yen, U25 3,000 yen, High school students and younger 1,000 yen (tax included)

Tickets on sale now!

■After-talk will be held in Niigata after the performance on Saturday, June 29.

*Ticket holders for the Niigata performance can attend the talk only, even if it is on a different date to the performance. Please bring your ticket stub if you wish to attend.

Available at

RYUTOPIA (online, by phone, at the box office)

▶ Online ticket [Tickets on sale from 11:00 on the first day]

▶ By phone

025-224-5521 (11:00-19:00 / except closing days)

[Tickets on sale from 11:00 on the first day of sale]

▶ Box office (RYUTOPIA 2nd floor) [No sales 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.
Sales from 11:00 of the following work day if seats remain.

Inquiries

RYUTOPIA Ticket Dial 025-224-5521 (11:00-19:00 / except closing days)

［Saitama] Friday, July 26 – Sunday, July 28, 2024

Saitama Arts Theatre (Main Hall)

Admission

General 6,000 yen, U25 3,000 yen (tax included)

Tickets on sale now!

Available at

SAF Ticket Center　

*Only for the Saitama performances (online, by phone, at the box office)

▶ SAF Online Ticket [First day of sale 10:00-]

▶ By phone

0570-064-939（10:00-18:00 / except theatre closing days）

▶ Box office

Saitama Arts Theatre (10:00-18:00 / except closing days)

Saitama Hall (10:00-18:00 / except closing days)

RYUTOPIA (online, by phone, at the box office)

*Tickets for the Saitama performances, which are available at RYUTOPIA, will go on sale from Saturday, April 20 for both RYUTOPIA members sale and general sale.

▶ Online ticket [Tickets on sale from 11:00 on the first day]

▶ By phone

025-224-5521（11:00-19:00 / except closing days）

[Tickets on sale from 11:00 on the first day]

Noism was established in 2004 at RYUTOPIA Niigata City Performing Arts Center as Japan's first exclusive dance company at a public theatre, and will celebrate its 20th anniversary this April.

This year's milestone will be a double bill of Noism0＋Noism1 new work and Noism0＋Noism1＋Noism2 new work by all the members, both directed and choreographed by Jo Kanamori.

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Twenty years, that is just a small part of the future that Noism is aiming for.

How will we move forward to connect with the history we have built and to the future 100 years from now?

This is the present place called "the beginning" for dancers who live every moment of their lives.

★Click here to download the flyer

Prologue to the performance

Sawako Iseki, Artistic Director of International Activities Division

Noism is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In 2004, a dance company that did not exist in this country, the public theatre’s exclusive dance company, was established in Niigata City. Over the past 20 years, some 160 people have embarked on and said goodbye to this historic ship.
The passage of time never rewound, it only moved forward.
However, it has existed as a part of the lives of those who have enrolled, and it is certain that it engraved in the memory of the audiences, and nurtured from the past to the present. For Noism today, I feel that the word "gratitude" rather than "commemoration = joy" is more appropriate.
For this commemorative performance, I did not ask Kanamori, director and choreographer, to create "something special," but rather, "something that he truly wants to create from the bottom of his heart" at this point in time. This performance will not be an omnibus of past works, but a completely new work.
For 20 years as a dancer, I have been creating works here in Niigata, but the process has never been the same, and each time it has been fresh and new. Together with the members of each season, we have presented our works with a sense of fulfilment, despite the birth pains we have experienced. Behind this is the fact that "artist Jo Kanamori" has faced the members with his whole heart and soul, while working himself to the bone. I feel that this fact is what makes it appropriate to call the 20-year period a "commemoration".
I would like to express my respect and gratitude to Jo, who has fought harder than anyone else, loved dance more than anyone else, and led the way.
What I can convey in words is limited, but I believe that both current and future dancers need not be bound by the "past" in any way. However, I hope that they know that there is a "history" that has been built up through the interaction of many people. I also hope that they enjoy the fact that they are a part of that history.
At the same time, it is true that our ship is now in a transitional period. I hope that they will recognize that they are not on a ship that will continue into the future forever, but that they are dedicating their lives to this moment, and that they will give it their utmost and move forward to make this a great performance.

CREDIT

“Selene, or the song of Twilight”

Direction, Choreography: Jo Kanamori

Music: Recomposed by Max Richter《Vivaldi: Four Seasons》

Costume: Yuichi Nakashima

Performed by: Noism0, Noism1

"Amomentof"

Direction, Choreography: Jo Kanamori

Music: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 3, 6th movement "What Love Tells Me”

Leotard: YUMIKO

Performed by: Noism0, Noism1, Noism2

The performance is scheduled to last approximately 110 minutes, including an intermission.

*Please note that this is subject to change.

Selene Series

The new work "Selene, or the song of Twilight" was conceived for performance at the Kurobe Theater. As can be seen from the fact that the first work "Selene, or the song of Marebito" was presented last spring, this is the second work in the Selene Series.
Selene is the name of the moon goddess in Greek mythology. If you have been following my creative activities, you will have noticed that "the moon" has been a theme in my work for the past several years. And if I tell you that my attraction is not to the moon as a symbol, but to its physical influence, you will see that the main theme of my creative work over the past 30 years, "invisible force" is also present in this work.

Invisible force

Although the term "invisible force" has a mystical sound, we communicate with others through the invisible force of consciousness, sensation, and presence, and we shape our own lives through the invisible force of concentration, imagination, and judgment. These are also said to be influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon (invisible force).
However, in today's highly information-oriented society, visualized things (numbers, language, images, etc.) have become powerful and are undermining our invisible spirit (mind). The essence of dance is to express the "invisible force" and when we think of the theatre as a place that provides opportunities to perceive this "invisible force", I feel that theatre culture plays a very significant role in this age.

Twilight

The Kurobe Theatre opens at twilight. The word "twilight" is used as a metaphor for the time when thing is approaching the end, and it is also written as "who is he" when it becomes difficult to distinguish between people. It is a time when death is directly perceived, a time when the invisible force can be felt. I wrote about my experience at the last outdoor stage as follows;
〜To dance in the midst of nature, surrounded by the invisible presence of life, is to dance with the presence of the dead. You can't see them, but they are there. It appeals to us not through logic, but through our skin senses. And I directly feel that this is an extremely primitive activity (experience), and that the origin of dance is there. Ah, the outdoor!

Four Seasons

The music used is Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" recomposed by Max Richter. It is said that the reason why the earth has four seasons today is because the earth's axis shifted (the way the sun shines on the earth changed) when a giant planet, the mother of the moon, collided with the ancient earth. In other words, the moon is the mother of the four seasons and the priest of the cycle of life. Then my delusion grew.
"At twilight, on a white stage, a ritual is being performed by a group of people dressed in white (a certain ethnic group). It is a ritual (dance) that has been performed repeatedly from generation to generation, using the moon (selene) as a ritual in the twilight of the seasons, so as not to forget what human beings are."

Life in circulation. A baton being passed down. We who live in the midst of it.
I decided on the programme for the 20th anniversary performance, dreaming of the day when a dance company called Noism will continue its activities beyond generations and consequently become a part of the culture of this country.

Amomentof

“Amomentof" is a new work created to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Noism. The title is a coined word created by reducing the space in the English sentence "A moment of”. Why a moment of? It comes from my realization that the struggle of the past 20 years has been a moment, and from my view of dance as "devotion to the moment”.
Dancers have been practicing since childhood and will continue to practice throughout their lives as long as they continue to perform. However, in comparison to the enormous amount of time and energy they put into it, a performance is always an instantaneous event. In other words, dancers practice (devote themselves) to one moment.
And dancers devote their time outside of practice to the moment of performance. Whether we call it sacrifice or choice, the reality remains the same. That is why dancers wish (or believe) to leave an imprint of that moment in the hearts of viewers forever, and viewers go to the theatre to watch (or share) their way of life.

What Dance Tells Me

The subtitle of the music, Mahler's Symphony No. 3, 6th movement, is "What Love Tells Me”. As I was listening to the piece and thinking about love, I found myself thinking about dance. It may be because love and dance are inseparable for me. Then my imagination expanded.
"In a rehearsal hall, dancers are practicing holding onto the bar. One moment, a female dancer saw a fragment of days gone by at the tip of her finger. It is the pain she has overcome over the past 20 years, the joy she has shared, and the love of dance she has embraced and carried with her."
If "Amomentof" were to have a subtitle, it would be "What Dance Tells Me."

About the 20th Anniversary

I was wondering what kind of work I should create/present for the 20th anniversary. Although Sawako Iseki (Artistic Director of International Activities Division), who decides the performance programme of Noism0&1, told me to "create what you want to create," I could not shake the feeling that we are still halfway to celebrating our 20th anniversary. That said, the 20th anniversary milestone is also on my mind. This programme was born out of necessity as I agonized over it, but I feel that the theme of the programme, "Circulation and Moment", is an appropriate theme for Noism, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

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