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Tele-Hand Dance: Tokyo Silence

Kentaro Onishi

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Concept

This work is a dance work inspired by the traditional forms of Bon Odori such as "Sign Poem" (mainly a reading expression of poetry based on sign language) and "Sicchoisa". In the venue space, various processes are developed, from sketching to draw the movements and movements of the dance to improvisational dance interaction. You can participate from any point, watch it, or enjoy it while traveling around. Through work and dance, the flow, movement, and facial expressions of people are reflected in the landscape every moment.
It is developed by the following three chapters.

1. Hand-reading dance
Hand-reading dance is an improvisational performance expression that mainly uses the facial expressions and movements of the hands, inspired by the poetry reading expression "Sign Poem" based on sign language.
<process>
• Make lines and shapes on paper, starting from things that you can perceive by hand, such as the shape, texture, weight, and temperature of things in your life.
• By tracing the trajectory drawn on the paper again with the movements of your hands and fingers, you can extract the dance movements.
• Mix events derived from the original context, such as those with colors, movements and facial expressions, those with mixed feelings and emotions, and those with memories and fantasies.

In addition, by co-producing these works with others, the image and scale of what is drawn are mixed, and the shapes of dances and swings react synergistically and change.

2. Sitchoisa
A form of Bon Odori that has been handed down from ancient times in the villages of the Azamihira district in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture. Dance only by singing and clapping (ondo). The singer, the dancer, and the matchmaker interact with each other.
<Features>
• A song with 8 beats per verse, and 2 beats of "Sicchoisa!" (1 beat) + "Yoshitane, Yoshitane" (2 beats) in between, and a relaxed pace with a total of 11 beats.
• The dance movement is also based on stepping. It is a mechanism that gradually gets excited while singing and dancing slowly over a long period of time.
• When the venue gets hot, the singer excites the venue with ad-lib songs. Improvisational interactions occur in the dance, such as daily anger and complaints, gratitude and hard work, laughter and anger.

The hand-reading dance incorporates the elements of Sitchoisa's breathing (between beats and ondo) and the stepping of the dance.

3. "figure eight" orbital line
The figure eight line drawn on the floor of the tea room represents the trajectory and direction of the dance. This is derived from the bee's "figure eight dance". When the bees find a feeding ground with honey, they return to the nest and tell their friends the location of the honey by a method called "figure eight dance". The figure eight dance is performed by shaking the wings up and down and at the same time swinging the body (buttocks) left and right, drawing a figure eight on the nest. Depending on the number of vibrations and the direction of the walking trajectory, the distance from the nest to the feeding ground and the angle of the feeding ground starting from the position of the sun are communicated to the friends. Since the light is blocked inside the nest, the vibration of the air is used to propagate the symbolized information in a dance.

The figure eight straight line drawn on the floor of the tea room faces the angle connecting the tea room and the Azamihira district of Niigata prefecture, which is the birthplace of Sichoisa, starting from the position of the sun every moment. At the same time as paying homage to the annual village festival, it reminds us of "far away places," "people we can't meet," or "time that hasn't come yet." Then, by walking on the line while dancing a hand-reading dance, the people, things, places, landscapes, memories, emotions, fantasies, play, etc. that are the basis of each movement emerge, and the sun makes eight. The palm that dances in the shape of a figure is illuminated.

Process

● Make a “handlet score” (sketch that symbolizes the dance movements and movements) ・ Receive a mount (ultrablue) with four squares (four frames) drawn with white lines.
-Using a white Dahmer graph pen, each draws their own "handlet score".
・ See the introduction of drawing methods by artists.

For example, I will introduce a few works such as "ice cream", "in the refrigerator", "remembered", and "it was delicious".
Draw with pictures and letters while looking at the (accumulation) drawn by other visitors who have been introduced by the artist or exhibited in the tea room.
・ The completed "handlet score" is treated in the following three ways.
1. Participants take home
2. Dance "Hand-reading dance" using the score (* 1 or 3 after the dance)
3. Leave it in the tea room

● Dancing “Handle Yomu Dance” ・ A large figure eight-shaped line is drawn on the floor of the tea room. This is the trajectory of the dance.
-The straight part (center) of the figure eight orbital line points in a certain direction. Seen from Roppongi, where the National Art Center, Tokyo is located, it is drawn toward the Azamihira district in Niigata prefecture.
・ Participants clap their hands with each other in four beats, and multiple people form a large circle and move in a figure eight on the line while waving their hands.
・ Repeat the above, and from the person who approaches the straight line position in order, dance each hand-reading dance, and the others clapping their hands to each other.
・ At first, each dances the pretense made in the workshop. Gradually, inspired by the clapping of the hands and other movements, the swings and movements gradually interact and improvise.

Where to participate

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Program details

Number of participants

4 persons (in case of participating the whole process) at maximum per turn

* For who pass through the exhibition without participating in the workshop will be adjusted occasionally within the limit of participants.

 

How to participate

Preparation: Nothing in particular is needed to participate in the workshop.

 

The work completed during the workshop will:

1. belong to the participants or,

2. be used for performing a Tele-Hand Dance (and will belong to the participants or will be left in the Chashitsu) or,

3. be left in the Chashitsu; it will not be conserved.

 

Requests and cautions for visitors

* Please make sure to step on the circle inside the chashitsu with your shoes on inside the shoe cover. As the structure of the workshop space, there is a risk to get hurt with barefooted to join the workshop. Shoes (+shoe cover) or equivalent are recommended; wearing only socks or shoe cover is not enough.

Timetable

The workshop will take place in the occasion of the Artist's presence during the exhibition period. In the Artist's absence, the visitors can enjoy the chashitsu as a exhibition.

Artist is present throughout the exhibition period except: July 24-25-28-29, and August 1-4-8-9

* Details of each program may be subject to change without notice. In addition, the event at this venue may be canceled if a state of emergency or restrictions on the holding of events is announced by the government or prefectural authorities.

* In order to avoid close contact, we are limiting the number of people who can enter the exhibition. For this reason you may have to wait when crowded.

 

About the Artist

Kentaro Onishi

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Dancer. Born in 1985. After graduating from the Intermedia Art Department of Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School, Onishi established his activity base in the Yanaka neighborhood of Tokyo. A performer who continually seeks the “spirit of dance” in discovering the charm of places, people and customs, he carries out dance performances on the theme of “wind.” Since its launch in 2011 he has served as facilitator and general director of Guru Guru Mix, a creative classroom for children co-organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), and Yanaka no Okatte. In 2014, Onishi started Kaze-Asobi Lab. He is currently engaged in participation-style performances called “Kaze Asobi (wind play),” created in cooperation with others. He is developing “O” Dance Project with various people at Itabashi-ku Komone Fukushien (welfare facility). And in 2018, as a participating artist on the TURN-LA TOLA project, Onishi cooperated with locals in Ecuador, South America to produce and perform “El Azabiro de La Tola.”

 

See the past activities for TURN project by the Artist: Kentaro Onishi

 

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