There are a growing need and increasing attention for activities which spotlight the inclusivity of arts in recent years. Such movement introduced legislation for promoting artistic activities for people with disabilities. On the other hand, we, as practitioners of “arts activities leading to social inclusion,” are still trying to figure out how to handle those activities and how to deliver them with higher quality.
The Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, therefore, launched lectures and skill-up training to sort out the points we need to understand on practicing “arts activities leading to social inclusion.” The focus will be on performing arts such as music and dance.
This training series highlights “Improvisationality” and “Physicality” of music and the scenes in which music is performed and perceived.
We aim to achieve a higher quality of social inclusive arts activities. The cutting edge artists thus are here to provide us with expert knowledge, know-how, and various case studies and theories based on practices.
Part 1
Let’s start improvisational music workshops in which anyone can become the leading role—from the case study of “Sound Sandpit”
Date&Time: Thu, Oct 24 18:00-21:00
Trainer: Jun Suzuki (keyboard player, composer)
Venue: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Rehearsal Room
Experience an amazing music workshop in which everyone is free to have their own world like playing in a sandpit. The training provides an opportunity to examine the music workshop setting where any participants can become a leading role.
Part 2
Training for creating improvisational music #1: Playing with sounds without Do Re Mi
Date&Time: Thu, Nov 21, 18:00-21:00
Trainer: Jun Suzuki (keyboard player, composer)
Venue: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Rehearsal Room
Try leaving aside Do Re Mi scales, and you will encounter more free and creative music. Playing with various sounds, let’s discover the nonsymbolic aspects of music and the importance of music essences such as rhythm, groove (a swing of rhythms), and texture.
Part 3
Training for creating improvisational music #2: Piano is percussion!? The basics of chord progressions
Date&Time: Thu, Nov 28, 18:00-21:00
Trainer: Jun Suzuki (keyboard player, composer)
Venue: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Rehearsal Room
Once you look at a piano as a percussion, you can master right away the chord progressions and harmonizations which sound difficult. That popular music you know which is also made up with three chord progression.
Part 4
Training for creating improvisational music #3: The wonder of rhythm and four chords
Date&Time: Fri, Nov 29, 18:00-21:00
Trainer: Jun Suzuki (keyboard player, composer)
Venue: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Rehearsal Room
Let’s get physical in music! Music genres such as reggae, salsa, and Brazilian can be performed with simple chords and rhythm patterns. Enjoy creating various rhythms by understanding the roles of each chord.
Part 5
Loosen, Connect, and Create: The Take-It-Slow Dance—is roughly about the possibility of nonverbal physical expression and the communication coming from a body
Date&Time: Fri, Jan 31, 2020 18:00-21:00
Trainer: Hideo Arai (Dance artist, performer)
Venue: The Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Symphony Space
The keywords are “Loosen, Connect, and Create,” to restructure the loose but rich relationships among people of all ages regardless of disabilities through nonverbal communication. We are going to learn the essence of the accessible dance workshop which has been popular all over Japan.
Jun Suzuki (Keyboard player and composer with great attention to groove and tones)
After graduating from Kyoto University, Suzuki, as a pianist and keyboardist, has been actively working on performing, recording, and composing with various musicians all over the world. His music specialties are mainly reggae, Brazilian, R&B, and neo-soul, and he produces music activities (workshops) for a wide range of generations from children to the elderly. He also has a long educational career in arts colleges, piano education, playing with sounds, and frequently appears in public including NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Educational TV. Suzuki is currently a part-time teacher at the Department of Child Studies of Kyoto Women’s University, also active as a band member of yarn.
Hideo Arai (Dance artist, performer)
Arai studied under the founder of Noguchi Taiso, a physical method which guides to relax the body and learn from nature, and has been strongly influenced by the method. Through leading the performance group “Denkikyokubadan” from 1987 to 96, he seriously started the dance activities by self-study since 1997. Arai has presented numerous performances and created co-productions for artist-in-residence programs in and out of the country. In addition to his performance career, he also provides physical expression workshops for all ages regardless of disabilities at sites crossing education, social well-being, and medical care as well as social inclusion. He is currently a part-time teacher at the Kunitachi College of Music and Rikkyo University.
Musicians who are interested in arts activities leading to social inclusion, workshop leaders, orchestra performers, music college students, artists, etc.
Free
Approx. 20 per class (first-come-first-served)
Peatix Application Form (only in Japanese)
[Notes]
[On participating]
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Production Section
TEL: 03-3828-2111
Part 1: Thursday, October 24 2019 18:00-21:00
Part 2: Thursday, November 21 2019 18:00-21:00
Part 3: Thursday, November 28 2019 18:00-21:00
Part 4: Friday, November 29 2019 18:00-21:00
Part 5: Friday, January 31 2020 18:00-21:00
Part 1-4: Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Rehearsal Room
Part 5: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Symphony Space