Category: Butoh

What a great opening for this extraordinary anniversary. Rion Nishikawa, Moeko Uematsu, Ami Muto interpreted with talent and passion powerful masterpieces of Kim Itoh, Asami Ida and Kaho Kagure, bringing tension to the (literally) concrete and elegant scene of SHK, while Ayane Yasaka ended with grace and laughter the session intepreting a solo from Ryohei Kondo. In the evening, the choregraphs are dancing their own works through. Sessions were fully booked on Saturday, but there are some seats available on Sunday 12th. Highly recommended !

Since opening in 1991, Session House has been dedicated to supporting the creation and presentation of contemporary dance, providing a place where artists of different generations can meet, collaborate, and develop new forms of physical expression.

To mark this milestone, Session House celebrates its 35th
Anniversary from September 19 to 27, through a nine-day Festival built around three themes: The Power of Masterpieces, The Power of History, and The Power of the Future. It will bring together artists closely connected with Session House, emerging dancers, children, and the local Kagurazaka community. Such powerful dancers as Ryohei Kondo, Kim Itoh, Akira Kasai, and of course Naoko Ito will illuminate this celebration, jointly with younger and young generations of dancers and performers.

Below is a summary of the programme highlights

1. The Power of Masterpieces
   Master Choreographers × A New Generation of Dancers
   Works by artists closely associated with Session House—including Ryohei Kondo, Asami Ida, Kaho Kogure, and Kim Itoh—will be
   reinterpreted and performed by emerging dancers, demonstrating how choreography is passed from one generation to the next.
   Featured works include:
   A Scene from Holiday of Promise – Ryohei Kondo & Ayane Yasaka
   MOTH – Asami Ida & Moeko Uematsu
   Mimosa – Kaho Kogure & Ami Muto
   Kim Itoh Solo Works – Kim Itoh & Rion Nishikawa
   Dance cannot be preserved through video alone. This program highlights the creative process itself—the transmission of
   choreography directly from artist to artist—as an essential part of dance heritage.
   The festival will also present “Step Into the Spotlight!”, a stage experience workshop for children led by Sensei-shonals, a dance
   collective of teachers and childcare professionals, offering young participants their first opportunity to experience performing on
   stage.
2. The Power of History
   Bringing Thirty-Five Years of Dance Back to the Stage
   The festival revisits works and memories created throughout Session House’s 35-year history.
   Performances include Ryohei Kondo’s Attack of the Goats, Naoko Ito and Mademoiselle Cinema’s Heisei March, and “Take a
   Break!”, an archival performance by Ryohei Kondo × Naoko Ito.
   Through performances, archival footage, and artist talks, audiences will discover the creative history of Session House and the
   people who have continued dancing across generations.
3. The Power of the Future
   Creating Tomorrow’s Dance Across Generations
   The festival premieres Mizutake Kasai’s new work, New World.
   The production brings together pioneering figures in Japanese contemporary dance—including Akira Kasai, Setsuko Yamada,
   Naoka Uemura, and Mizutake Kasai—with emerging dancers selected through a public audition.
   Rather than preserving the past as history, the work explores how dance is continually renewed as each generation receives,
   transforms, and reimagines it.
   The festival will also host “Beyond Genres,” a special dance lecture series exploring connections between ballet, contemporary
   dance, and traditional Japanese dance.

For other performances, in the field of contemporary dance, butoh, ballet, theatre, check our recommended performances here.

Since opening in 1991, Session House has been dedicated to supporting the creation and presentation of contemporary dance, providing a place where artists of different generations can meet, collaborate, and develop new forms of physical expression.

To mark this milestone, Session House will celebrate its 35th
Anniversary from September 19 to 27, through a nine-day Festival built around three themes: The Power of Masterpieces, The Power of History, and The Power of the Future. It will bring together artists closely connected with Session House, emerging dancers, children, and the local Kagurazaka community. Such powerful dancers as Ryohei Kondo, Kim Itoh, Akira Kasai, and of course Naoko Ito will illuminate this celebration, jointly with younger and young generations of dancers and performers.

Below is a summary of the programme highlights

1. The Power of Masterpieces
   Master Choreographers × A New Generation of Dancers
   Works by artists closely associated with Session House—including Ryohei Kondo, Asami Ida, Kaho Kogure, and Kim Itoh—will be
   reinterpreted and performed by emerging dancers, demonstrating how choreography is passed from one generation to the next.
   Featured works include:
   A Scene from Holiday of Promise – Ryohei Kondo & Ayane Yasaka
   MOTH – Asami Ida & Moeko Uematsu
   Mimosa – Kaho Kogure & Ami Muto
   Kim Itoh Solo Works – Kim Itoh & Rion Nishikawa
   Dance cannot be preserved through video alone. This program highlights the creative process itself—the transmission of
   choreography directly from artist to artist—as an essential part of dance heritage.
   The festival will also present “Step Into the Spotlight!”, a stage experience workshop for children led by Sensei-shonals, a dance
   collective of teachers and childcare professionals, offering young participants their first opportunity to experience performing on
   stage.
2. The Power of History
   Bringing Thirty-Five Years of Dance Back to the Stage
   The festival revisits works and memories created throughout Session House’s 35-year history.
   Performances include Ryohei Kondo’s Attack of the Goats, Naoko Ito and Mademoiselle Cinema’s Heisei March, and “Take a
   Break!”, an archival performance by Ryohei Kondo × Naoko Ito.
   Through performances, archival footage, and artist talks, audiences will discover the creative history of Session House and the
   people who have continued dancing across generations.
3. The Power of the Future
   Creating Tomorrow’s Dance Across Generations
   The festival premieres Mizutake Kasai’s new work, New World.
   The production brings together pioneering figures in Japanese contemporary dance—including Akira Kasai, Setsuko Yamada,
   Naoka Uemura, and Mizutake Kasai—with emerging dancers selected through a public audition.
   Rather than preserving the past as history, the work explores how dance is continually renewed as each generation receives,
   transforms, and reimagines it.
   The festival will also host “Beyond Genres,” a special dance lecture series exploring connections between ballet, contemporary
   dance, and traditional Japanese dance.

For other performances, in the field of contemporary dance, butoh, ballet, theatre, check our recommended performances here.

After the usual underground performance – with all due respect, Angura has so many qualities in Japan – Wakaba Coffee is going to the next step, and will stage a revised version of Anthropophagy ball (Refeast) in Za Koenji theatre. Performing in a major theater will be a first (as far as I know) for Kohei Wakaba. A former member of Dairakudakan, the butoh dancer and choregrapher is teaming again with great butoh (and contemporary) dancers : Kim Itoh, Temmetsu, and his usual accomplice Mana Kawamura to name a few. For a jump into butoh, I definitely recommend to experience this spectacle.
To be noted, there will be an additionnal workshop for people willing to learn part of the choregraphy.