Under the theme of “Dance in the Time of COVID-19: Choreography of Site,” playwright and director Shirotama Hitsujiya (ACC 2000) and Fumi Yokobori (ACC 2008), program director of NPO Dance Box in Kobe, engage in discussion facilitated by dance critic Daisuke Muto (ACC 2005).

These three speakers share thoughts on the relationship between local communities' and artists' activities, and the importance of place-making and interaction with others in the time of COVID-19.

 

inDialogue: Shirotama Hitsujiya, Daisuke Muto, Fumi Yokobori 
Dance in the Time of COVID-19: Choreography of Site 

Live Streaming Date: Thursday, October 8th, 2020, 6-7 PM (JST)
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/rbTaN3jkKB0
Language: Japanese only

For more inDialogues visit ACC Japan's YouTube channel.

 

 

Shirotama Hitsujiya (ACC 2000) is a director, playwright, performer, and social worker from Sapporo, Hokkaido. She is Artistic Director of YUBIWA Hotel theater company. Her other titles include lecturer at Joshibi University of Art and Design, Guest Director of Sapporo Dance Collective, member of Hokkaido Artists Union studies (HAUS) and founding member of the Asian Women Performing Arts Collective (Ajokai). 

In addition to her theatrical and dance performances across the U.S. and Europe, she has also presented her site-specific theatrical works at contemporary art festivals, including Setouchi International Art Festival (2013, 2016), Naka-Boso International Art Festival: Ichihara Art x Mix (2014), and Sapporo International Art Festival (2017).

Her mission is to create a balanced future that reconciles development and preservation in history by creating a historical archive based on sociology and ethnography through research and interviews. She was named one of “The 100 Most influential Japanese Women in the World” by Newsweek Japan. She received an ACC Fellowship in 2000 to observe contemporary theater activities and study theater arts in the United States.

 

Daisuke Muto (ACC 2005) is Associate Professor of Dance Studies and Aesthetics at Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, as well as an independent dance critic and a choreographer. His research interests include the global history of dance with a focus on the 20th-century Asia, and theory of choreography. He received an ACC Fellowship in 2005 to research American modern and post-modern dance history and to observe contemporary dance activities in the United States

He is the co-author of “Choreography and Corporeality” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), and “History of Ballet and Dance” (Heibonsha, 2012). His recent papers include “Denishawn’s Far East Tour and Their Contact with the Vernacular Dance Cultures” (Choreologia No. 43, 2020) and “Folk Performing Arts in Marginal Village and Contemporary Artists’ Participation” (Bulletin of Gunma Prefectural Women's University, No. 40, 2019). His choreographic work include “Surely It Comes About” (2013). Muto serves as the Program Director of International Section of Sanriku International Arts Festival, as well as the Director of After-school Diversity Dance. 

 

Fumi Yokobori (ACC 2008) is the program director of NPO DANCE BOX, Kobe. She lives in Shin-Nagara, Kobe, Japan, and works at the Art Theater dB Kobe. She carries out most works and projects through residency creation, with a focus on dance, and aims to develop unique international programs in Shin-Nagata, an area where multiple cultures from various regions co-exist. She is the mastermind and member of Shin-Nagata Art Mafia and a board member of the Open Network for Performing Arts Management (ON-PAM). She received an ACC Fellowship in 2008 to observe contemporary dance activities and study arts management practices in the dance field in the United States and Southeast Asia. (Photo by Junpei Iwamoto)
 

 

Organized by Asian Cultural Council Japan Foundation
In cooperation with Yamabuki Factory


 

ACC Japan Program is supported by the Saison Foundation and the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts.