The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood（in NYC） Photo：Ayumi Sakamoto
The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood（in NYC） Photo：Ayumi Sakamoto
The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood（in NYC） Photo：Ayumi Sakamoto
Suguru Yamamoto’s “The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood” was performed at New York’s Japan Society on invitation from Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival 2020. This bold and ambitious work featured a combination of Yamamoto’s projected words, delineating the indifference to others and the unprovoked kneejerk violence of today’s society, and dancer Wataru Kitao’s body as he skillfully performed his way through 25 different roles ranging from the young and old, male and female, to trains and dogs.
The audience was treated to a dance-theater piece which featured the text-based communication that comes so naturally to the digital native generation, and which utilized the technique of portraying a city through one body playing multiple characters; a work of the “now” with an uber modern sensibility.
Theater Collective HANCHU-YUEI
HANCHU-YUEI is a theatre collective based in Tokyo, founded in 2007, and tours nationally and internationally.
The company’s plays traverse and question the fine line between fantasy and reality. The creation of each story begins with an interest in subjects such as life and death, feelings and words, collective society and family, and from there endeavors to access universal “questions.”
They works have received attention in Japan and many parts of Asia for the unique way in which they integrate projected text, photos, colors, light and shadow with live performance on stage, And They are also known for intriguing plot lines that force the audience to question their ethical viewpoints and boundaries.
They had worked on co-productions in Malaysia, Thailand, India, China, Singapore, and USA.
Girl X won Best Play and Best Original Script awards at the Bangkok Theatre Festival.
Momo Sakamoto
Producer
Theater Collective HANCHU-YUEI
TEL ： +81-(0)90-6182-1813
E-mail ： info@hanchu-yuei.com
Japan Society, NYC, USA
