Part 2 "What You Can See Through Your Body - Dance New Air International Dance Festival Continues to Renew"

*Part 2, "What You Can See Through Your Body - Dance New Air International Dance Festival Continues to Renew" here

spread on the surface and open up in society

In terms of DNA's activities, following a 2 year long-term grant (2015-2016) for the 2016 festival, we are also in the process of providing a 2 year long-term grant (2017-2018) for this year's festival from 2017. What is the concept and vision of this year's festival?

Miyakubo

We have started preparations for the session from October 3 to 14th this year. The main venue will remain Spiral Hall, and Sogetsu Kaikan will be a new partner. Also, Studio Architants in Tamachi will be joining us as before, and we will continue our activities with people we connected with last time, such as "DANCE NURSERY!!". However, as the decision on the grant is yet to be made, I will report the details to you after the decision is settled.
This year, we will also hold the second site-specific series as a pre-performance. The title is "enchaine" and the venue is the International House of Japan in Roppongi. It's a quiet place that doesn't seem like Roppongi. Although it is well known to people in the field of architecture, there are many people who do not know about it or have never been there, and we use places that you cannot usually enter, so I would like you to take this opportunity to visit. This work is by a dancer and choreographer named Eima Yuasa. Yuasa-san is currently performing as a dancer in "Pluto PLUTO" at Theatre Cocoon in Shibuya. She used to work for NDT (Netherland Dance Theater) in Ili Killian and became a freelancer in 2015, and is now very active. Actually, I got to know Ms. Yuasa through Ms. Tomoko Mukaiyama, who participated in "Dance New Air" in 2016, appearing in "HOME" which was released at the Saitama Triennial at the same time. She's such a great dancer and a creative thinker. That encounter led to this performance. For this performance, we have tried to involve people in fields other than dance. Tsuyoshi Tane, an architect, is involved in the space construction, and Tamae Hirokawa of the fashion brand SOMARTA is involved in the costumes and art.

I would like to ask you again, after using this long-term subsidy, what do you think about the mechanism and role of the subsidy, and the added value other than funds?

Miyakubo

I think the Arts Council Tokyo is probably the only one with a long-term subsidy program, so I wish there were other long-term subsidy programs. Also, in the case of the Arts Council Tokyo, you can apply for it once every six months, even if it is only for a single year, so this is also a welcome trial, and I hope it will spread throughout Japan. In 2016, we received a subsidy from Minato-ku, which covered up to 2/3 of the total budget. Of course 1/2 would be great, but the bigger the distribution, the better. I hope that the system will change in a good way.
In addition, when I received the grant this time, I was always in a position where I could easily consult with them in various situations, and they looked for other grants that I could apply for, and they introduced me to people and organizations that I thought would lead to future activities. In this context, I feel that our activities have expanded, and I am very grateful for this.

Ono

This is related to the way the program is created, which was mentioned in the previous question. I think the major characteristic of "Dance Biennale" to "Dance New Air" is that, since it started in 2002, it has been conducted by a council system of producers without a program director. Whether it's theater, dance, or art, there aren't many places that create programs like this. Of course, it is important for a director to select a work and create a program from his or her own point of view, but I think that we producers are also very sensitive to how society looks at us and how it feels. Each of us works in various fields of dance, and each of us looks at artists from a different point of view, and then we connect the current status of many artists to the current status of society.
In addition to performance, the site-specific series also creates objects from the perspective of contrast and harmony with architecture and cities. Furthermore, the expansion of dance from the Aoyama Theater into a spiral, followed by the addition of a video program at the Image Forum and the Aoyama Book Center, has led to the opening of a door for dance to be viewed from diverse perspectives and opened to society.
Therefore, I would like to tell you that we are fully aware of the role and significance of public assistance, and we are making programs with an eye to how much we can return to society.

Kobayashi

The value of receiving a subsidy is different from sponsorship money. Sponsorship money is something that we have to consider what kind of benefits it has for the sponsor. This can cause the program to shake. It is difficult to get sponsors for what we are doing. That's why subsidies are so important, and without them, I think it will become a question of whether it's OK to stop something that can't get sponsorship money.
Now, dance as a form of physical expression is becoming more widely accepted. It may be because they teach in the physical education class, and the image of moving the body while listening to music may be there. However, when it comes to the area of physical expression and dance as art, while it is regarded as important worldwide, it is also difficult to gain the understanding of sponsors, for example. Considering the benefits of sponsorship, dancing as entertainment can mobilize 10,000 or 20,000 people. But that's not all that matters. As Mr. Ono said, when it comes to how to commit to society, physical expression and dance expression as art become more important. I also think that dance is a very important content in terms of how we create the future.
It is difficult to cover all this with sponsorship money, admission fees from guests, and the money of the people involved. But you can't just stop because you can't keep going. I think that is the meaning of receiving continuous subsidies. Therefore, we would like to see them continue, and we would like to continue cultural activities in a way that does not mean that we should stop because we are not getting enough sponsors or because we are not getting enough customers.

--Thank you. Festivals need to be more aware of their relationship with society as a kind of collective than theater groups or individual artists, and that is why we sympathize with that idea and wanted to support it. As a result, "Dance New Air" has received two long-term grants in a row, but this is the first case. With regard to the need for continued support, I would like to see what developments are possible in the future, while keeping an eye on our own objectives and goals.

Q & A with visitors (excerpt)

Questioner 1

I also had a little experience in launching Dance Biennale Tokyo. When the festival was first launched, Mr. Takaya was still alive, and I heard about his grand plan to develop a dance festival from Aoyama to Yokohama on Route 246. We were talking about tie-ups with theaters such as PARCO, Bunkamura, and the Setagaya Public Theater at Sangenjaya, so I think this was connected to the "operating theaters" you mentioned at the beginning. On the other hand, is it correct to understand that the recent shift of "Dance New Air" to regional programs and site-specific performances is a strategic move in light of the fact that the Children's Castle has disappeared and there are no more invited performances in Ohako?

Ono

I've heard of the concept you just mentioned. Takatani-san and Ishikawa-san from Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse have been talking about this, and it is linked to the flow of Bagnolet's Japan platform moving from Tokyo to Yokohama. Therefore, there was a plan to promote contemporary dance in Aoyama and Yokohama, and this was something that was mentioned in various interviews. From the time we started working with Spiral in 2004 until 2014, we had decided to stick to the Aoyama Theater. When we held the event in 2016 (after the museum closed), we discussed expanding the area to Tokyo as a whole, but we decided that it would be better to focus on the Aoyama area. Of course, there was an option to expand the area in search of a large box, but we discussed how we would like to promote dance in Aoyama, a place where art facilities with various perspectives are concentrated, and communicate various perspectives on dance.

Questioner 2

Have you noticed any changes in the audience since running the festival in 2002? Based on this, I would also like to hear what you value in terms of public relations and advertising, and what measures you are considering within the limited budget.

Hiraoka

As for the audience, I am working with people from various art genres, so I feel that the number of people who watch dance for the first time is increasing. Some people have been to Spiral Hall before, but this is the first time they have seen a dance there. In 2016, we created a ticket for children and children to see the work "HAKANAŞ" together, so I feel that the audience is expanding in that way.
In terms of public relations, we are also trying to make social media more multilingual, just as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Minato Ward are doing.

Miyakubo

Besides Japanese and English, I'm trying French, Korean and Chinese. It's just the main news, but we asked volunteers to translate it and send it out. I have not been able to research how far this has reached, but I think it is important to continue this in the future, and I would like to try again next time.

Hiraoka

In 2012 and 2014, we outsourced it to a public relations specialist, but in 2016, we were unable to do so due to the size of the budget. So, in addition to the four of us, with the help of the young support staff, we worked steadily on how to use the Internet environment.

Miyakubo

There's so much information about festivals, it's hard to read even a flyer. This time, we divided the period into two, changing the cover and adding new information in two stages. In the second stage, we were able to add information about "DANCE NURSERY!!" and the names of new sponsors that had not been decided in the first stage. Also, there is no place to put posters these days. When the Aoyama Theater was open, there was still a place to put up posters, but in Spiral Hall, we could only put up posters outside on the day of the performance. We were not able to put the posters on roadside walls like in other countries, so we only made about 20 posters, but Minato Ward decided to subsidize them, and they decided to put them up at facilities in the ward. It was also very good that we were able to put up about 100 posters in the end.

In the second activity briefing session, we shared the vision and many words that the collective of the festival faces through the background of the establishment of Dance New Air and the ongoing activities. It was also an opportunity to reaffirm the meaning and function of public aid and support, which are different from sponsorship funds, from the perspective of beneficiaries. I would like to make use of this awareness and learning in the management of the program.
Part 3 reports on the debriefing session for the garden theater troupe Penino's "New" Hakobune "Project" (theater field), which was supported for 3 years from 2014. Please stay tuned!

Dance Nippon Associates

http://dancenewair.tokyo/
東京・青山エリアを中心に2002年から開催してきた国際ダンスフェスティバル「ダンスビエンナーレトーキョー」を発展的に継承し、14年秋より隔年開催のフェスティバル「Dance New Air」を運営する団体。15年に実行委員会から一般社団法人に組織改編し、体制強化を図った。

Maki Miyakubo

From 1997 to 2015, he worked at Spiral, a cultural complex in Aoyama. In addition to being in charge of performing arts, he is involved in the planning of exhibitions and events of contemporary art both inside and outside Spiral. His major productions include "Largo" (10), choreographed and performed by Yoko ANDO, "Watashiwosasurauuta" (12), choreographed and performed by Maki TABATA, "The day when the sound of the sea is seen" (12), choreographed and performed by Takeshi KASAI, starring Ikuyo KURODA, and "Running Woman" (13), choreographed and performed by Naoka UEMURA and Maki MORISHITA, and choreographed by Mika KUROSAWA. In August 15, he became President of Dance Nippon Associates. In April 18, he became the coordinator of the project for revitalizing modern dance in public halls and community creation.

Kumi Hiraoka

Since the late 1990s, she has worked mainly as a contemporary dance producer and coordinator. She has participated in productions such as performances and workshops for many artists including Mika Kurosawa and Kaori Seki, the Aoyama Theater and Aoyama Amphitheater, the Contemporary Dance Revitalization Project at the Community Creation Public Hall, the Toyota Choreography Award, and TPAM (International Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama). He has also produced ballet performances by Seiichi SHINOHARA, Yurie SHIMOMURA and Kimiho HALBERT. He has been involved in "Dance New Air" since DANCE BIENNALE TOKYO in 2002.

Shinji Ono

Produced various dance programs at Aoyama Theater and Aoyama Amphitheater, as well as international dance festivals such as DANCE BIENNALE TOKYO, DANCE TRIENNALE TOKYO, and Dance New Air, and collaborated with artists, producers, theaters, and festivals in Japan and abroad. Secretary-General of "Dance Dance Dance @ YOKOHAMA," a dance festival that takes place once every three years in the city of Yokohama. Produced the 23rd Yokohama Dance Collection this year. Chief Producer, Yokohama Arts Foundation; Director, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1; Director, Dance Nippon Associates; Member, Japan Dance Forum (JaDaFo); Member, Arts Festival Executive Committee, Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Director of Spiral Museum, President of Wacoal Art Center Co., Ltd. Senior producer. After graduating from Waseda University, he worked at a distribution company before joining Wacoal Art Center in 1989. It introduces a wide range of performing arts from traditional performing arts to contemporary dance. (98 ~ 16), "Hanakata" (13 ~), which introduces traditional performing arts, "Wonder Girl" (04) with Naoka Uemura, "moiré" (06) with Yoko Ando, and "SAL – Dance and Music Installation – By Ella Rothschild and Mirai Moriyama" (16) with Mirai Moriyama. Since 2004, he has participated as a producer of 'DANCE BIENNALE TOKYO,' 'DANCE TRIENNALE TOKYO,' and 'Dance New Air' together with Aoyama Theater.