Denise Fujiwara

SUMIDA RIVER

Vertigo Playhouse - January 14 to 18

From Toronto

Denise FujiwaraA haunting and unforgettable evocation of the inner journey of a woman.

This marks the first Calgary appearance of this remarkable Toronto dancer and choreographer, whom NOW Magazine calls “one of the country’s most unique and unrestrained artists.” Having studied a variety of disciplines from teachers as varied as San Francisco’s Mangrove Dance Collective and the late choreographer Judy Jarvis, Fujiwara has found particular resonance with Japanese tradition. “My great mentor,” she writes, “[Tokyo Butoh master] Natsu Nakajima, shouted to me, ‘Now dance! A shock bolted through me and suddenly I understood. She meant dance, not as an action but as a sacred condition where every cell and vibration of my body is harnessed to communicate life itself.”

Here, Fujiwara interprets a 15th century classic of the Japanese Noh theatre, Sumidagawa, the universal tragedy of a mother whose son is kidnapped and dies in captivity. Strictly speaking, a Noh play is not acted but danced, in a style not of the open, leaping variety, but more a closed, sedate dance of the soul, closely related to the floor of the stage. In Japanese this is called Mai, a sacred, internal dance emphasizing upper body and arm movement. By approaching the core of the dance, the Mai, in a modern way, Fujiwara has created what the Toronto Starcalled “a contemporary classic.”

January 14 to 18 • Vertigo Playhouse

Denise Fujiwara (Creator & Performer)

Natsu Nakajima (Choreography/ Costume Design/ Music Compilation)
Roelof Peter Snippe (Lighting Design)
Michiko Nakamura (Set Design/ Costume Design)
Cheryl Lalonde (Set Construction/ Costume Design)
Elizabeth Langley (Rehearsal Director)

Christine Moynihan, Administrator, Dance Umbrella of Ontario.
Sue Edworthy, Tour Marketing Coordinator, Dance Umbrella of Ontario.

Photo by Daniel Collins

 
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