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 please visit: https://holidays2022.themedia.jp
please watch: https://youtu.be/uj0OXAa6uQM
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Presentation of the Project: « Beyond the Sea »,
A four weeks « Jean Laurent Sasportes and Friends » Japan Tour 2022, between August 21st and September 17th. 2022
— Many years ago,
By invitation of Takashi Ito and the choreographer Naoko Ito, founders and directors of the Dance Academy « Session House » in Tokyo, I started my teaching, performing and choreographing work in Japan in 1999 and, from time, I could travel regularly to Japan to work with Japanese artists throughout the country.
Also thanks to mister Takeshi Ito, I could meet the great musician and composer Tetsu Saitoh in 2004, and from this meeting, we started a very productive collaboration. The result of these almost fifteen years of collaboration were many dance-theatre pieces, performed in Europe, South America, Japan, Korea, and by that, created an active cultural bridge between Japanese and European artists.
It is possible to read about all those years of collaboration at the following address:
http://www.jsasportes.com/main/duos-tetsu.php
— « Mein Schloss » (German for "My Castle")
In May 2016, I and Tetsu Saitoh created this dance-theatre piece in collaboration with the « Center for Autism» in Wuppertal. Originally, it was performed by one french dancer, two Japanese dancers, one german dancers, two german musicians, and two Japanese musicians. My Castle is a real Japan-Europe artistic collaboration.
It has already been shown in various places in Germany (Wuppertal, Köln, Berlin), and lately in Tokyo (august 2022).
Thanks to Tetsu Saitoh, I had the great chance to travel through Japan each year from 2006 till 2018. We could present our music and dance in many performing places to a growing audience that appreciated our work.
Unfortunately, the great artist Tetsu Saitoh, due to a long term illness, passed away in 2019.
This project « Beyond the Sea » japan tour 2022, is based on the idea to show the last work that I created in collaboration with Tetsu Saitoh as an hommage to this great person and artist and to his work.
— Within this project « Japan Tour 2022 »,
Beside proposing the piece « My Castle», we did present also other choreographic works.
One is realised by two member s of our project team who we are used to work with us: «Entretemps au Grenier» by the company « Entre_temps". This is a beautiful duo realised and danced by Bénédicte Billet and her daughter Sophia Otto.
The other is a beautiful solo dance, « Duty calls », choreographed by Chikako Kaido, and danced by Antonio Stella
Apart of Dance-theatre performances, we also had an « Open-talk Lecture » with Professor Kumagai at the University of Tokyo. - https://www.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/ -
We could also propose two workshops. One modern-dance workshop for dancers teaches by Benedicte Billet, and one workshop about the technic « Jansannotaiso » ( Soft bodywork created boy Jean Laurent Sasportes, and a Kinomichi work ( Soft Martial Art created by master Masamichi Noro), both teacher by Jean Laurent Sasportes.
So, the goal of this project, and in memorial to our great musicina and composer Tetsu Saitoh, was to propose new choreographic recent work from Germany and European artists, and to allow young artists as Sophia Otto, Chikako Kaido, Faris Saleh (dancers, actors, choreographers) to meet Japanese artists and to show their work to a Japanese public for future collaborations and cultural exchanges. This was also one of the great activities that I could share with Tetsu Saitoh between 2006, and 2019. During this period, many cultural events organised by Tetsu Saitoh and myself have been presented to the public, as well through Japan as through Europe.
Since a part of my artistic collaboration work with Tetsu was based also in cultural and artists exchanges between Japan and Germany, it is important for me to keep on this activity alive.
« to allow artists coming from different culture, different countries, different field, to meet each other and to work together, is like spreading seeds of beautiful plants and flowers through the gardens of the world » - Jean Laurent Sasportes
In parallel to our project of touring Japan in 2022, the video artists Masanori Kondo, resident in Tokyo, did follow this tour in order to make a documentary film about this great event. Thank you very much for his great work !
It is very important for me to mention my great recognition to our collaboration partners for this japan tour 2022. Thank you so much to Eri Fukahori and her Performance Group « Holidays »,
Please visit:
- https://holidays2022.themedia.jp
Thank you so much to to Miyuki Kitera, and to Mai Saito (Tetsu Saito’s daughter, who always did support her father in his work); both of them did a fantastic work in public relation and organisation. Without this persons, such a project would have never been possible.
For the purpose of this tour, Eri Fukahori, on behalf of her Company, was able to obtain a grant from the Japanese institution: Art Council Japan. This grant, was part of our financial support from Japan.
Please visit:— 『MY CASTLE』Dance Theater on the subject of Autism | Second term of fiscal year 2021 Social Grant | Support Programs | Arts Council Tokyo (artscouncil-tokyo.jp) |
