TPAM Tokyo Performing Arts Market2009
Organized by: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Produced by: Japan Center, Pacific Basin Arts Communication

* This is accurate until January 7th. Please note that details may be subject to change.
Music Showcase
●March 4th [Wed] 17:30-19:00 / Yebisu The Garden Room
TOMOKAWA  Kazuki
© Suzuki Maki

<with English subtitles>

TOMOKAWA Kazuki


Born in Akita Prefecture in 1950. He started singing inspired by Nobuyasu Okabayashi, and debuted with a single “Jokyo no Jokyo (Situation of Going to Tokyo)” in 1974. In 1978, he released an album that collected songs composed for Chuya Nakahara’s poems, “Ore no Uchi de Nariyamanai Uta (Songs that won’t Stop Crying from with Me).” He has been active also as a poet, painter, and cycle race critic, and performed in Takashi Miike’s cult film “Izo” in 2004. His first Europe tour was realized in 2006, and the lyrics that are literarily profound and the intense singing style are enthusiastically praised internationally.

TOMOKAWA Kazuki’s Official HP


三上 寛

MIKAMI Kan


Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1950. He began writing poems influenced by beat generation poets and Shuji Terayama, who was born in the same prefecture, in his high school years. After going through various occupations, he debuted as a singer in 1971 with a sensational song “Enka (A Song of Grudge)” that featured tabooed sexual vocabularies and forbidding Japanese customs as its theme. He has also shown his talent as an actor in films such as Shuji Terayama’s “Den-en ni shisu (Pastoral: To Die in the Country)” and Nagisa Oshima’s “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.” Since 2004, he has been active also overseas touring in France and the UK.

MIKAMI Kan’s Official HP(Under Construction!)


Dance Showcase
●March 5th [Thu] 16:20-18:20 / Yebisu The Garden Room
KAMIMURA Megumi
© Tsukada Yoichi

KAMIMURA Megumi
"Diagonally"


Born in 1977. She began ballet training in her childhood and studied at Rotterdam Dance Academy in Netherlands from 2000 to 2001. She started to present her solo works at various spaces in Japan and other countries in 2004, and established her own company “kamimura megumi company” in 2006. Her first group work “Mountain Range” was presented in 2007 at Komaba Agora Theater in Tokyo. She created the third company work “The Lower Depths” at BankART 1929 Yokohama in 2008. For her, creating dance pieces means getting rid of unnecessary movements. Her dances, stripped down to the bare necessities, are bound to surprise and awe the audience.

KAMIMURA Megumi’s Official HP


SUZUKI Yukio
© Kubo Shinji

SUZUKI Yukio
"The Point of Words"


He started butoh dancing at Asbestos Studio in 1997, and joined in pieces of Ko Murobushi and others. He established his company “Kingyo dance company” in 2000, and its documentaristic choreography that presented earnest bodies drew attention. Recently he has been active in various fields choreographing ballet dancers, participating in ITI 3rd Asian Dance Conference, and holding workshops. He was nominated for Kyoto Art Center Performing Arts Award in 2007, and was given Audience Award in 2005 and Next Age Choreographer Award (Grand Prize) in 2008 both at Toyota Choreography Award.

KINGYO (SUZUKI Yukio)’s Official HP


TEZUKA Natsuko

<with English subtitles>

TEZUKA Natsuko
"Private Trace 2009"


Began solo works in 1996. “Anatomical Experiment” series, in which she conducts experiments using her body as the material, was launched in 2001. She participated in the final competition of Toyota Choreography Awards in 2002, and started “Dojo Yaburi Kikaku (rivalry between schools project)” in 2005, in which she tries to employ methods of other artists that she is interested in. She has been active also in the US, Australia, Germany, Poland, and has been holding workshops for dancers, actors, musicians, and mentally retarded people.

TEZUKA Natsuko’s Official HP


演劇ショーケース
●March 6th [Fri] 16:20-18:00 / Yebisu The Garden Room
三条会
© Uchida Takuma

<with English subtitles>

sanjoukai
"Sotoba Komachi"
- from "Five Modern Noh Plays" by MISHIMA Yukio


Established in 1997, based in Chiba City, by artistic director Minoru Seki. Utilizing old and new plays and novels of the world and exploring elements of theatre such as time, space, language and the body, the company has been creating strong and humorous works. Since gaining the Best Director Award at Toga Director Concours with its “Hikarigoke,” the company has been performing in China, Korea, and Taiwan. It was given Chiba City New Artist Award in 2005. Its repertory is wide: from Euripides and Shakespeare to Yukio Mishima, Shuji Terayama, and Oriza Hirata.

sanjoukai’s Official HP


ドラカン

<with English subtitles>

dracom
"Hakarazumo" (40-min version)


Established by students of Osaka University of Arts in 1992. Its annual performance, which is held under the title “Festival,” expresses our contemporary view of the world and life and death in a dense space with humor, combining various elements such as texts, performance, lighting, sound, and stage setting. Its works that capture floating possibilities which already exist in the world are described sometimes as “experimental” and sometimes “adventurous.” Jun Tsutsui, the artistic director, was given Kyoto Art Center Performing Arts Award in 2007.

dracom’s Official HP


“Etiquette” by Rotozaza, a “portable performance” from the UK!
●March 5th [Thu] - 7th [Sat] Opening Hours of the Booth Presentation
●TPAM Cafe (Yebisu The Garden Hall)

A half-hour experience for two people in a public space. There is no-one watching - other people in the cafe are not aware of it. You wear headphones which tell you what to say to each other, or to use one of the objects positioned to the side. “Etiquette” exposes human communication at both its rawest and most delicate and explores the difficulty of turning our thoughts into words we can trust.

Application is closed. To participate, please ask at the TPAM Box Office (Yebisu The Garden Hall).

ロトザザ『エチケット』参加申込書
Rotozaza
© Sacha Lee

Rotozaza
"Etiquette"


Rotozaza (core members Anthony Hampton and Silvia Mercuriali) have quietly established themselves as one of UK's most consistently surprising and innovative performance groups. From their early site-specific work in Milan and Paris through to a more recent focus on unrehearsed 'guest' performers, their two aims have always been the same: to identify and celebrate what can only be done live, and to foster international links through an exciting practice which isn't afraid to operate in foreign languages and cultures. At the heart of recent work by ROTOZAZA has been a fascination with people coping with tasks, live and unrehearsed. Recently this has morphed into what Rotozaza calls 'Autoteatro': self-generating performance devices whereby the audience exchanges performer and audience roles.

Rotozaza’s Official HP


Performing Arts Market in Seoul Showcase
●March 7th [Sat] 16:40-17:10 / Yebisu The Garden Room
TUIDA

<with Japanese and English subtitles>

Performance Group TUIDA
"The Tale of Haruk"


Tuida have been performing since 2001. Originally formed by eight graduates from the Korean National University of Arts, with the aim of creating open and 'nature-friendly plays', with an emphasis on recycling. 'All that we borrow from nature goes back to nature and there gains a new life.' Tuida combines the acting traditions of both Eastern and Western clowns, using puppets, masks and music. Their aim is to continually experiment and develop ways of performance that will enhance the audience's experience. The company has earned accolades throughout Asia and the US. Tuida were also invited to perform at Japan's ASSITEJ Congress & Performing Arts Festival in 2002 and 2003.

"The Tale of Haruk" won Best Production, Best Playwright, Best Acting and Best Set Design at Seoul Children's Theatre Awards. This beautiful, heartwarming Korean fairy tale explores desire, parental love and the way we communicate, featuring traditional Korean puppets made of paper, unique native masks and recycled-material percussion instruments.

TUIDA's Official HP


映像ショーケース:アジアの舞台作品 1 <ダンス>

<with simultaneous interpretation>

●March 6th [Fri] 18:00-20:00 / Visual Presentation Area (Yebisu The Garden Hall)

Moderator: MUTO Daisuke [Dance Critic, Japan]
Directors:Helly MINARTI [Arts Manager, Indonesia]
        Tang FU KUEN [Curator / Producer, Singapore]      

Situations of Asian contemporary performing arts viewed by active presenters will be introduced with video materials in these showcases. While trying to draw an overall and comprehensive picture of "Asian performing arts" is very difficult and might be unreal, individual views of these active and experienced presenters from Korea, China, Indonesia and Singapore should provide concrete and contemporary ideas of what is happening in Asia. There will be discussions and Q&As.

MITO Daisuke
MUTO Daisuke
His research interest is focused on geopolitical and historical analysis of dance and body within Asia/Japan/The US relations. His recent papers include "Sai no Kukan to shite no Ajia (Asia as a space of differences)" in Butai Geijutsu (Performing Arts) vol.12 among others. He is the recipient of a 2005 Asian Cultural Council Fellowship. He has served as the facilitator of The 3rd ITI Asian Dance Conference held in Tokyo in 2007, and also a member of the artistic board of Indonesian Dance Festival 2008 in Jakarta. He is lecturer of dance history and theory at Gunma Prefectural Women's University.

Helly MINARTI
Helly MINARTI

After working as the Head of Arts of British Council Indonesia, she has broadly been working in the field of dance such as curation of Asia-Europe Dance Forum and research on contemporary dance granted by Asian Scholarship Foundation (2003-2004). She devised dance programmes for the Jakarta Arts Council (2006-2008), and has convened an international conference, titled Contemporary Dance in Asia: Mapping Out A Discourse in 2008 with the support of Southeast Asian Regional Exchange Programme (SEASREP). She moved to London recently to complete her PhD in dance at Roehampton University, whilst remains working both as freelance arts manager and writer.


Tang FU KUEN
Tang FU KUEN

Tang Fu Kuen developed heritage and arts programs for Southeast Asia at the Bangkok-based inter-governmental agency, SEAMEO-SPAFA. One of his projects was co-organizing the first IETM meeting in Singapore in 2004. He has worked as a dramaturg, critic, and festival organizer, promoting contemporary dance and performance between Asia and Europe. He read media and cultural theory at University of London, literature and theatre at National University of Singapore. He is recently appointed to a curator of the Singapore Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 2009.


映像ショーケース:アジアの舞台作品 2 <演劇>

<with simultaneous interpretation>

●March 7th [Sat] 14:30-16:30 / Visual Presentation Area (Yebisu The Garden Hall)

Moderator: UCHINO Tadashi [Professor, University of Tokyo/Theater Critic, Japan]
Directors: CHOI Seok-Kyu [Deputy Artistic Director, Chuncheon Mime Festival, Korea]
         ZHAO Chuan [Director / Producer, Grass Stage, China]

Situations of Asian contemporary performing arts viewed by active presenters will be introduced with video materials in these showcases. While trying to draw an overall and comprehensive picture of "Asian performing arts" is very difficult and might be unreal, individual views of these active and experienced presenters from Korea, China, Indonesia and Singapore should provide concrete and contemporary ideas of what is happening in Asia. There will be discussions and Q&As.

UCHINO Tadashi
UCHINO Tadashi
Uchino Tadashi is Professor of Performance Studies at the Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo. He received his MA in American Literature (1984) and his Ph.D in Performance Studies (2001), both from the University of Tokyo. His publication includes "The Melodramatic Revenge: Theatre of the Private in the 1980s" (in Japanese, 1996), "From Melodrama to Performance: The Twentieth Century American Theatre" (in Japanese, 2001). He is a contributing editor for 'TDR' (The MIT Press), and an editor for 'Performing Arts' (Kyoto Univ. of Arts and Design).

CHOI Seok-Kyu
CHOI Seok-Kyu

Kyu Choi is deputy artistic director of the Chuncheon International Mime Festival, an annual performing arts festival for contemporary mime, physical and visual theatre, street theatre, and site-specific performance. He works as a facilitator as well as project director of the Moving Space Project which is an artist residency program in Korea for hybrid performance arts. In addition, Kyu directs AsiaNow, a production company whose mission is to support and produce new Asian work in contemporary physical, visual and site-specific theatre, as well as contemporary dance. He is also a lecturer at the Korea National University of the Arts, teaching courses on domestic and international theatre producing, as well as festival management.


ZHAO Chuan
ZHAO Chuan

Zhao Chuan and his fellow friends founded Grass Stage in Shanghai in 2005. Grass Stage is dedicated to the development of non-governmental theatre in China stimulating the energy of non-professional theatre people. His theatre works have been performed in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. He also writes reviews for the press abroad, and has been awarded with several international literature awards, for example in Taiwan. He published novels, art reviews, and essays and created such theatre works as "Lu Xun 2008", "Squat," "The Madman Story," "38 Parallel Still Play," and "The Face of the Toilet."