TPAM Direction Plus

Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers)
Les 7 Doigts de la Main translates literally as “the 7 fingers of the hand.” It is a twist on a French idiom (“the five fingers of the hand”) used to describe distinct, individual parts moving in coordination towards one common goal. Founded in Montreal in 2002 by seven seasoned circus performers, and now with 8 touring shows, this collective has charmed audiences across the globe with their strikingly human and unprecedented multi-disciplinary approach to circus, moving their distinct parts towards common artistic goals.

Photo: Neil Baird

Ira Brand
Ira Brand is a writer and performance-maker, working across theatre and live art. Her practice is rooted in the experience of being human, rather than in singular narratives, and strives to make an audience re-consider themselves through work that is evocative and intimate. She was a founding member of contemporary performance group Tinned Fingers, and also works regularly in collaboration with other companies and artists, which have included People Show, Living Structures, Kings of England and Andy Field. She is currently developing her second solo performance, A Cure For Ageing, which will premiere in 2013.

FrenchMottershead
Rebecca French & Andrew Mottershead are visual and performance artists who make participatory, site-specific projects, which explore ideas of identity, social ritual and the everyday public and private realms in which these are played out. Their work has been said to achieve the popular ideal of raising people’s awareness of everyday life. Recent projects, exhibitions and performances have been commissioned by Tate Modern and The Photographers’ Gallery, the Liverpool Biennial, the National Review of Live Art, Site Gallery in Sheffield, Centro Cultural São Paulo and the Pingyao International Photography Festival. Site-specific locations have included European forests, shops and local newspapers in several international cities, the West Indian Ex-Serviceman’s Association, a public library, a Florida pool hall, and the pork supply chain in China.

Matthew Morris
Matthew is a freelance dance artist working internationally on productions that include stage, film, performance art, puppetry, education and site specific events. Some of the companies and choreographers he has had the pleasure of working with are DV8, Siobhan Davies Dance, Fevered Sleep, Fearghus O’conchuir, Tilted Productions, Didier Theron Co., Theatre-rites, Australian Dance Theatre, Clod Ensemble and Random Scream. In 2009 Matthew started to question a choreographic practice for himself and has since created 3 dance works for the stage and a short film. His work is based in live performance of telling stories through the language of movement and words.

Photo: Daisuke Sugita

Noriyuki Kiguchi
Born in 1975 in Kurashiki, Okayama. Started theatre activities when he was studying architecture and building science at the School of Engineering, Yokohama National University, and after graduating he started working at a construction site specializing in heavy lifting. He directed a theatrical production Akumanoshirushi in 2005 and other series of intermittent events until forming the group “Akumanoshirushi” in 2008. Since then, he has been producing performance pieces in various styles, including theatre works. In 2012, he was selected as a Junior Fellow by The Saison Foundation, toured in Switzerland and presented a new work Dead Tree, Illustrated.

Photo: Yasuhide Kuge

crewimburnny
A dance company led by Nagisa Sugao. Formed in 2005 selecting exquisite girls: not only dancers but also actresses from independent theatre. They approach the movements of female bodies from the two poles — boys’ bewitched point of view and girls’ lovely point of view — to create pop depiction of dreams, realities and nothingness that exist at the intersection of the two vectors that eternally deviate from each other. The crewim world instantly enchants audience and has been spreading addiction♡♡♡

contact Gonzo
Formed in 2006. “contact Gonzo” is the name of the group and at the same time of their methodology, i.e., a lo-fi spark. They advocate “philosophy of pain, technique of contact” in a clouded consciousness, and build a unique and pastoral theory of the sublime; in other words, they hit each other or roll down slope. In the course of this effort, destroying cameras in forests, they invented “the first man narrative,” a method for getting closest to themselves, and shot countless photos with instant cameras. They have recently been developing “slow tank” and “mountain surfing.”

Takeru Amano
Painter / sculptor. Born in Tokyo in 1977. White and black, man and woman. Strong and delicate lines. Co-existence of the opposite. He moved to the U.S. in 1997, studied silk screen print and lithography, and set his base in Japan in 2000. He has been creating and designing in various fields and also VJing. The artistic attitude in his exploration of new forms, based on painting and sculpture, has been drawing attention across genres.

Shoji Ikenaga
The central figure of the lyrical dub unit “Arakajime kimerareta koibito tachi e.” Track maker and composer. Having released six albums including the latest Kyo, he has regularly been appearing in large-scale festivals such as Fuji Rock Festival, Rising Sun Rock Festival or Asagiri Jam. The visual sense in his music has been highly praised, and he has also been working on film music, music for theatre as well as producing and remixing other bands’ works.

Photo: Koichi Iida

mum & gypsy
A theatre group formed in 2007, and Takahiro Fujita writes and directs all its pieces. Using cinematic methods to show symbolic scenes with refrains and from different angles for Shabon no Koro, the unique directing method drew attention. Won the 56th Kishida Kunio Drama Award with The World to Throw Salt on that was premiered in 2011.

Photo: Nobutaka Sato

Toshiki Okada
Born in 1973 in Yokohama. Playwright, novelist and the leader of chelfitsch. Formed the company in 1997 in Yokohama, and the activities drew attention internationally, regarded as subversive about the traditional concept of theatre. Won the 49th Kishida Kunio Drama Award with Five Days in March in 2005, and the 2nd Kenzaburo Oe Award with the first anthology of novels The End of the Special Time Allowed to Us in 2007. His first anthology of theoretical writings on theatre will be published from Kawade Shobo Shinsha in 2013.

Courtesy of Pig Iron

Pig Iron Theatre Company
Established in 1995 and based in Philadelphia. Working across genres and beyond categorization, aims to create innovative and enthusiastic performances. Its 25 original pieces have been presented in North and South America as well as in Europe. The New York Times has described the group as “one of the few groups successfully taking theater in new directions.” In 2011, they opened a theatre school with two-year programs in the suburb of Philadelphia.

Photo: Miki Hattori

KENTARO!!
Dancer, choreographer and the leader of TOKYO ELECTROCK STAIRS. Based on dance techniques mainly from hip-hop, he has developed approaches that are far apart from the traditional stylized expression in solo and group works. He won the French Embassy Prize for Young Choreographers at Yokohama Dance Collection R as well as the Audience Prize and Nextage Special Prize at the Toyota Choreography Award in 2008, and the 4th Japan Dance Forum Award in 2010. He realized an unprecedented 15-stage solo performance for 12 days in October 2012.

Photo: Yoichi Tsukada

Kitamari (see also: Give in TPAM Direction)
Established her company “KIKIKIKIKIKI” in 2003. Received the Audience Award in TOYOTA CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD and the grand prize in the Yokohama Solo x Duo <Compétition> in 2008, and directed, choreographed and danced in a number of pieces.

Tsuyoshi Shirai
Started dancing in 1995, and has presented his works including Living Room — the room of sand, mass, slide , & . and still life in Japan and internationally. Also creates video works and collaborates with musicians and fine artists.

Photo: Ririko Arai

Ho Ho-Do
A 155cm-tall dance duo formed by Mika Arashiki and Mari Fukutome that has presented their works at theaters and museums in more than 20 cities in Japan and the world. In effort to expand the domain of dance, recently working on “Ho Ho-Do@” series in which they dance in quotidian situation outside of a theater and “Ho Ho-Do × DJs !!” series in which DJs play different music for the same choreography.

Photo: Junichi Matsuda

Kumotaro Mukai
Joined the butoh company Dairakudakan in 1994 and studied under Akaji Maro. Started to present his own choreography and creation in 2001, based in Kochuten, the stronghold of Dairakudakan. The seven works that he has created have been presented in seven places in Japan and six places in four countries including the U.S. in ten years. Received the 37th Dance Critic Society of Japan’s award for a choreographer of new generation. Left Dairakudakan in July 2012 and started solo work.

Photo: Ujin Matsuo

Megumi Kamimura
After studying in the Netherlands for a year, she started to work solo in 2004. Formed “kamimura megumi company” in 2006, and has been active internationally both in solo and group work, drawing attention by her methodological creation and raw physicality in it.

Photo: Kazuyuki Matsumoto

Yukio Suzuki
Started to study butoh at the Asbestos Studio in 1997, and launched his company Kingyo. The tearing urgency in his body and the intense spatial aesthetics in his works have received attention internationally. He also workshops, models and works in various fields. Given the Audience Award in 2005 and Next Generation Choreograher Award in 2008 in TOYOTA CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD, and a finalist in Danse élargie at Théâtre de la Ville.

Emily Tanaka
Started choreographing in 2008, and has been exploring beauty that lies in the “void.” Internationally presenting works and expanding her field through co-productions in Korea and other projects, she was invited to perform in the opening of Rencontre chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis and won the first prize in Masdanza in 2011.

Photo: Sachio Hata

Yoko Higashino
Leads the Dance Company BABY-Q, of which members include musicians, visual artists, fine artists and designers. The pieces that the company has presented at theaters and alternative spaces in Japan and the world have been highly regarded. She also works on sessions with music improvisers as a solo dancer.

Photo: Nagare Tanaka

FUKAIPRODUCEhagoromo
A company that was established by an actress Junko Fukai and presents “myo-sical” plays written, directed and composed by Yukinosuke Itoi. “Myo-sical” means “Strange musical,” and their myo-sical plays express ordinary things that are found in daily life through extraordinary songs, dance and manpower.

Photo: Hideki Namai

Ney Hasegawa
Founded FujiyamaAnnette in 2003. Draws physical expression from a play through his “Theatertanz” method. In addition to receiving a number of awards and taking part in a variety of projects in Japan, he has created a video work in Switzerland, been invited to Singapore, and worked on an international coproduction for Seoul Performing Arts Festival 2012. He has also performed in works by NODA MAP, Keralino Sandorovich, Pappa Tarahumara, Mikuni Yanaihara Project and Jérôme Bel, and choreographed for a lot of projects including Enron (HoriPro) and Fujifabric’s music video.

©Aki Roukala

Antye Greie-Ripatti aka AGF
Born in East Germany. Transforms poems into electronic music, calligraphy or digital media and performs them live or creates installations at museums, galleries, streets, theaters, halls or clubs. Received Award of Distinction at Ars Electronica in 2004. She has collaborated with a number of artists including The Lappetites, Laub, Vladislav Delay, Craig Armstrong, Gudrun Gut and Ellen Allien.

Photo: Theater Guide

Yuuri Furuie (Next Generation Choreographer Award, 2010)
Born in Kumamoto, Furuie completed her degree in Dance and Dance Education at Ochanomizu University. After graduation, she formed a dance group Project OH!YAMA with her classmates in 2006. She takes responsibility of the choreographer’s part for the group. She participated in JCDN’s “We’re gonna go dancing!! Vol.8” in Oita, Kochi, Awajishima, and its special showing in Tokyo. She was awarded a jury prize at the Yokohama Dance Collection R 2009, and also participated in L’EXPERIENCE JAPONAISE in Nîmes, France in that year. In 2010, she won the Next Generation Choreographer Award in the Toyota Choreography Award. In 2011, her award-winning production Catch My Beam was performed in Tokyo, Kochi and Kanazawa. In addition to OH!YAMA’s performances, she choreographed and appeared in music video by Japanese pop stars. She was well received in the choreography of The Glass Menagerie directed by Keishi Nagatsuka in 2012.

Photo: Teita Iwabuchi

Kaori Seki (Next Generation Choreographer Award, 2012)
Seki started her classical ballet training from childhood and contemporary dance career at the age of eighteen. She has danced for companies such as Un Yamada, Kakuya Ohashi, etc. She was awarded ST Spot Labo Award in 2008, and started to create company works in 2009. Since 2010, Seki has been interested in working with the scent which appeals the audience directly. In 2012, her work Hetero choreographed jointly with Teita Iwabuchi won the French Embassy Prize for Young Choreographer of the Yokohama Dance Collection EX 2012, and Marmont won the Next Generation Choreographer Award in the Toyota Choreography Award. She has stayed and performed a new piece at the Centre national de dance contemporaine Angers in France in 2012 by the support from the French Embassy. She is also a founding member of Mure which was established in 2007 with the artists of the same generation.

Photo: Masakazu Yoshikawa

Wataru Kitao (Audience Award, 2012)
Choreographer / dancer / actor. Born in Hyogo, 1987. Kitao has been involved in a wide range of dance performance, and studied dance under Kuniko Kisanuki at university. In 2009, he founded the dance company Baobab just before graduation, for which he has worked on choreography, structure and direction, then organized performance events and participated in various festivals. Kitao also works on his own solo pieces and choreography for theatrical productions. He won the second place in Condors Choreography Competition 2010 and Audience Prize in the Toyota Choreography Award.

Photo: Masakazu Yoshikawa

Yu Okamoto (Finalist, 2012)
Okamoto started classical ballet training at 3 and challenged dance contests but frustrated. She also appeared in other dance genre and show business. She studied under Kuniko Kisanuki and Akira Kasai at J. F. Oberlin University, and performed Kasai’s Utrobne and toured to Italy. She established her own dance group Tabatha, and won excellent prize in NEXTREAM21 in RIKKOUKAI, became a finalist in the Toyota Choreography Award as well in 2012. She also challenges other artistic works such as flier designs.

©Azusa Takeuchi

Yuriko Suzuki (an awardee of Yokohama Dance Collection EX)
Born in Gunma. Studied under Kuniko Kisanuki. After graduating from the Western dance course at Nihon University, College of Art, she trained at Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD), where she took part in BODHI project and works by Matej Kejžar (Rosas) as well as Maya Lipsker and created a duo piece BORN/2011. The piece was presented in five countries in Europe, and won the 2011 Best Choreographic Direction at ACT Festival in Spain. Awardee of the Jury Prize at Yokohama Dance Collection EX 2012, and a finalist at Toyota Choreography Award 2012. She was invited to CONTACT 2012 (Singapore) in December 2012.

Hwang Soo Hyun (selected choreographer of Seoul Dance Collection)
She received a Young Art Frontier Grant from Arts Council Korea in 2008. Her work Timing was nominated for the final selection at Global Dance Contest, sponsored by Sadlerʼs Wells. In 2010, she and Lim Jeeae were invited to Seoul International Dance Festival in 2010 with On the Sound. In 2011, she formed a Co-lab Project Group and created Co-lab: Seoul–Berlin, which was selected for the Rising Star program organized by HanPac (Hankuk Performing Arts Center) and was presented in Festival/Tokyo in 2012.