Yuko Harada collated the dance and music of both India and Japan into a choreography which showcased origami art, dance, music and light design. The director tells Utpal K Banerjee how he put up the show in two weeks
Japan, ‘land of the Rising Sun’, is universally known for its ineffable affinity to aesthetics in every artistic arena. Japan’s contemporary dance, which draws on various traditional styles as well as Western classical and avant-garde forms, is interpreted with high standards by the Japanese schools and is no exception to the unique national concern for aesthetics. Many famous dance studios grew from training centres for Kabuki actor-dancers or came from famous Kabuki families. Women dancers, drawing their art from Butoh, were trained by the Hanayagi school. Their top dancers performed internationally — choreographing traditional dances in Heian-court costumes — and were characterised by slow, formal and elegant motions of the classical era of Japanese culture, while conveniently mirroring the West.
Fold to Unfold 2015, presented recently by Japan Foundation as an India-Japan collaboration — along with Indian musicians and dancers — was a brief performance-piece: showcasing origami art, dance, music and light design. Exploring curious facts of life with different artistic media — where all that is planned may never be and what really does emerge is unexpected — it was a homage to the unexplained phenomenon of beauty in life itself.
Directed by Yuko Harada, groomed in the UK, Germany and Japan, the production was a unique combination of artistes from Japan, India and Wales, with each artiste having their own style, belief and a view of life itself. Spectators were exhorted to go on folding and bending their lives with specific goals in mind, yet they never knew what exactly was going to happen, when they unfolded themselves. On the stage, creativity was always vital, unpredictable and challenging. The process of creation was constantly dealing with illusion and reality, and the dichotomy of chaotic harmony. In the end, it was not what dancers were planning and depicting, but an exhilarating experience with form and substance, and with transformation of life at every fold.
Interestingly at the perfromance level, there was a lot of usage of solar plexus: a la Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham; but what became engrossing was all the dancers’ use of free style. If anything, the imagery of the two primordial elements of air and water emerged clearly, with anger seething underneath. The rage was both controlled and uncontrolled — symptomatic of the third primary element of fire. Obviously, there were jolts aimed at the spectatotors — against expecting too much of harmony. For the predominantly-youthful audience, the jugulars seemed to be well-timed. Musical support was brilliant from the Indian duo, with tabla mnemonics and sarangi melodies, and minimalist music for most of the time.
Excerpts from an interaction:
How did you feel about Indian musicIJ
It was a great challenge and fun for me to combine elements of Western and Indian music. Also we recorded our own voice talking about our own thoughts around prevailing illusion and chaos in the midst of harmony, and added it over the music. Music director, composer and multi-percussionist, Suchet Malhotra, worked to put all the elements together. Also, music composer, singer and sarangi player, Suhail Yusuf Khan, provided inputs for our finale music. We explored different ways to express and combine chaos and harmony through music. The small nuance and details of it all could have been worked out better; but within the two week time limit, I think we really did our best to bring in innovative layers of music to express chaos and harmony.
How did you achieve the blend of your artistesIJ
I chose those artistes because they were special and unique. They all had their individual voice and medium of espression. They were not just artistes who chased beauty and structure, but were ready to be confronted and thrown into an unknown zone.
In the given time-frame, limitations could become an infinite possibility — by having trust towards each other and following the intuition. The magic of creation could happen automatically! Each one of them was a friend, a supporter and an inspiration. It was a ‘collaboration work’ put together.
What was your perception about choreographyIJ
All the dancers were trained but they come from different backgrounds and dance-education. Japan Foundation offered me a possibility to re-connect with my dancers and dance itself. It did not matter which forms and what techniques we had at the end of the day. It was about humanity.
I used dancing and art as a medium to connect with people… My job as director or choreographer was to stimulate audience-emotions or feelings — be it pain, happiness, memories, laughter, love, sorrow — anything.
Once the show was put on, it was not mine any more. Each single member of audience would take his or her own journey relating to his or her life. Viewers would interprete in their own way, would find something new and would connect to what they knew already. Ultimately, it had the direct connect to chaos and harmony.