Japan Society Presents the 13th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase: Japan and East Asia

Japan Society presents the 13th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase: Japan + East Asia featuring astounding works from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Playing Friday, January 8 and Saturday January 9, this not-to-be-missed event returns with a host of incredibly dynamic performances featuring the most innovative and exciting dance pieces currently being created in Japan and East Asia. This year's showcase includes an Alice-in-Wonderland-like dance/theater work Another Story by Company Derashinera, led by mime-trained choreographer Shuji Onodera; Omedeto (Congratulations) by the funky, playful company KIKIKIKIKIKI, led by butoh-trained Kitamari; Masako Yasumoto's coquettish and frenetic male/female duet slap, pat, suck; the hip-hop-inspired LDP (Laboratory Dance Project) with their unruly all-male group dance No Comment; and a fusion of traditional Chinese music and intense movement in the dream-like, romantic Small Nanguan from WCdance.

The dance/theater piece Another Story is presented by Company Derashinera, led by mime-trained director choreographer Shuji Onodera, who founded the company after his award-winning mime-based company Mizuto Abura disbanded in 2006. In his unique choreography, lauded for its surreal take on everyday life, Onodera builds on his mime background to create a highly original form of dance theater. The company has received particular acclaim for their scenic design. Their debut production, Fugue X, was highly praised in Japan with subsequent performances in Poland and France.
Omedeto, meaning "congratulations" in Japanese, is presented by KIKIKIKIKIKI, founded in 2003 by butoh-trained choreographer Kitamari. In her work, Kitamari rejects standard dance body types, introducing ordinary bodies into her dances. Her unique movement style is inspired by Chojugiga Zou - traditional, fantastical Japanese paintings of animals at play. Their piece Beehive007 was awarded the Audience Award at the Toyota Choreography Awards in 2008 and was presented in over 30 performances in 15 cities across three countries. Beginning in 2010, the company will create a series of works with support from the prestigious AI Hall in Itami-city, Osaka.

slap, pat, suck is a duet choreographed and performed by Masako Yasumoto with actor/dancer Ryosuke Sato. Yasumoto won first prize at the 2004 Tokyo Dance Bazaare Competition as well as the International Choreographers Award at the Yokohama Dance Collection for two solo pieces. She won the Audience Award at Toyota Choreography Awards in 2006. Her works have been seen internationally in Jakarta, Thailand, Malaysia, France, and Korea. Aside from her work as choreographer/dancer, she has choreographed and appeared in many music videos for major musical artists in Japan, and has also performed in film and theater projects.

The South Korean hip-hop-inspired dance company LDP (Laboratory Dance Project), founded in 2001 by Shin Chang Ho, presents its all-male group dance No Comment. Before founding LDP, Ho was selected to dance for Metros Danza in Spain and later danced in Switzerland at Theater St. Gallen. Among the works he has choreographed for his company are Parallel Life (2004), Push & Pull (2006), Holding My Ground (2008), Long Slow Distance (2008), It's My Life (2008) and Platform (2008). LDP has appeared in prominent festivals and venues throughout Korea and performed internationally at the Venice Biennale (Italy, 2006 and 2007), Hanover Festival (Germany, 2004), Winther ArtsFestival (Switzerland, 2004) and the Peking Dance Academy (China, 2002), among others.
The dream-like romantic piece Small Nanguan ("Small Songs") is presented by Taiwan's WCdance, led by choreographer/director WenChung Lin, who founded the company in 2008. Taipei Times hailed Small Nanguan as "a highly polished jewel of a work" and selected the performance for the annual list of top performances, adding "If you missed these performances, you really missed out." WenChung Lin received an MFA in choreography from the University of Utah and a BFA in dance performance from the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan. He has performed professionally with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in New York (2001-07), Repertory Dance Theatre in Utah (2000-01), Dance Forum Taipei (1996-97), Chamber Ballet Taipei (1993) and Taipei Folk Dance Theatre (1991-94), among others. Performing Arts Review of Taiwan describes his choreographic approach as "standing out from current trends in the modern dance field." His most recent choreography was presented in the opening ceremony of the 2009 Summer Deaflympics in Taipei.

Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has introduced more than 600 of Japan's finest performing arts to an extensive American audience. Programs range from the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, bunraku and kabuki to cutting-edge theater, dance and music. The Program also commissions new works, produces national tours, organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists and develops and distributes educational programs. "At once diverse and daring, the program stands toe to toe with some of the most comprehensive cultural exchange endeavors today" (Back Stage).

Established in 1907, Japan Society has evolved into North America's major producer of high-quality content on Japan for an English-speaking audience. Presenting over 100 events annually through well established Corporate, Education, Film, Gallery, Language, Lectures, Performing Arts and Innovators Network programs, the Society is an internationally recognized nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that provides access to information on Japan, offers opportunities to experience Japanese culture, and fosters sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia. On the occasion of Japan Society's 2007 centennial, American Theatre noted: "For a hundred years now, the Japan Society of New York has been a think tank for policy works, entrepreneurs, diplomats and Japanophiles. But the jewel in its crown has always been the performing arts program."
The 13th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase: Japan + East Asia runs Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9 at 7:30 pm. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street between First & Second Avenues. Tickets are $22/$18 and may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 212-715-1258 by visiting www.japansociety.org. For general information, call 212-832-1155 or visit website.

The Contemporary Dance Showcase is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan; The Nomura Cultural Foundation; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Republic of Korea; Korea Arts Management Service; Korean Cultural Service, NY; Council for Cultural Affairs, ROC Taiwan; and the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York. Major Support for Japan Society 2008-2009 Performing Arts Programs is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund, The Starr Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Endowment for the Performing Arts. Additional support is provided by The Globus Family, Dr. John Gillespie, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Transportation assistance provided by ANA, All Nippon Airways.