Press The Star Ledger - April 3, 2010: Yass Hakoshima brings underwater treasure NEW YORK — An air of mystery surrounds Montclair’s Yass Hakoshima, the mime artist whose Yass Hakoshima Movement Theatre presented a reprise of last year’s "Rashomon (or Encounter Under the Abandoned Cloud-gate" along with other works, on Thursday at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. It could hardly be otherwise — since most of the props that he handles are phantoms, and his scenery is invisible. Thanks to Hakoshima’s skill — most particularly his use of weight — there is no doubt that his surroundings are real, however. Although he reveals the surfaces of his world one by one, sliding past walls or leaning on a railing, he seems to occupy a space as tactile and profusely decorated as life itself. Hakoshima’s grasp on his invisible world is firm. His stance is rooted, and his gestures clearly relate to things that, for some reason, simply fail to reflect the light. He is so adept at filling the emptiness around him that we would rather believe him than believe our own eyes. The Da Capo Chamber Players accompanied this program, setting the mood for each act with an impressionistic overture. A piece by Olivier Messaiaen opened the evening, the melody of "Abîme des Oiseaux" prompting thoughts of a journey under an open sky, with birds in flight drawing lazy streaks across it. Hakoshima seemed to arrive on the scene by boat, punting against the flow of an invisible stream to perform his "Under Water Phantasy" set to George Crumb’s "Vox Balaenae." In this terse fairy tale, Hakoshima stopped to weigh anchor, and threw a line over the side that became snagged. Diving into the water to free it, he swam to a little cave where he discovered a precious lump of gold displayed atop an urn, and left unattended. The golden nugget and the urn were visible. The rounded contours of the canopy protecting them, however, only became real as Hakoshima ran his hands over it searching for an opening. Not finding any, he had to break in to steal the gold, a project that required considerable physical effort. Was it worth the trouble? Despite his initial gloating, "Under Water Phantasy" has a lesson to teach this thief, thus setting the stage for the troubling moral dilemma of "Rashomon," in Act II. The struggle to survive — by theft or any other means — is the subject of "Rashomon," more closely inspired by Ryonosuke Akutagawa’s story of the same name than by Kurosawa’s celebrated film. Here Hakoshima takes the part of a samurai who is down on his luck. We find him nodding uneasily in his sleep during a rainstorm, and poignantly rising to battle the elements. Later a scoundrel played by Whitney V. Hunter slips in along a narrow passageway, and nabs the sword lying beside its owner as he slumbers. Awakening, the samurai trails the thief deep into the abandoned Cloud-gate, precipitating a classic action sequence — the fight in a darkened room — that is less acrobatic and less suspenseful here than in Beijing Opera, but more droll since like the darkness itself, nearly everything in the mime show must be imagined. In an ironic reversal of roles, the samurai finds himself robbing the thief of food that he needs to live. The old warrior’s perplexity at finding himself in his opponent’s shoes gives the piece a quiet, but thoughtful ending that should make viewers squirm, too. Robert Johnson Yass Hakoshima Premiered New Dance Theater Work College of St. Elizabeth Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 pm The College of St. Elizabeth, and the Physical Education Dance Program presented the Yass Hakoshima Movement Theatre in the world premiere of Rashomon or Encounter Under the Cloud-Gate with the Da Capo Chamber Players set to a commissioned score by 2009 Charles Ives Fellowship winner Raymond J. Lustig on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 7:30 PM. in Dolan Performance Hall at the College of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ. Set in 16th century Japan and inspired by Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short story Rashomon, Yass Hakoshima's newest movement theatre work explores the relationship between a professional thief and a wealthy samurai. The thief, who lives as a poor stranger near the wealthy samurai's residence, tries to rob the samurai while he is hiding in the shadows of the Rashomon gate. Eventually the two argue and a duel begins. The samurai overcomes the thief, who barely escapes with his life and limps away, but in a final twist, something unexpected happens to the samurai. The work explores what individuals must do to survive utilizing a performance technique Gia Kourlas describes as "Šuffused with humor, pathos, gentleness and precision that remains entirely his own." The New York Times - March 22, 2008. Although he has set the piece in feudal Japan, Hakoshima believes the issues raised are relevant to the present. "During the samurai era in Japan in the 16th century, many kinds of warriors lived in constant fear and alertness. As a result, the attitude of self-defense became present in their everyday behavior," Hakoshima explains in his artist statement. "Those who were able to overcome their fear, and fight back, had chances to win. Even today, we often live surrounded by enemies and have to fight for ourselves and our dear ones. We have to be fearless, physically and mentally strong, and have the ability to laugh and enjoy life even in the most difficult circumstances---only then do we have chances to win." Hakoshima drew on techniques from Japanese stage dramas including Noh, Kabuki, and Kyogen, which use movement and music to tell stories of human behavior. In the Noh drama the action is symbolic, stylized, pared down to aesthetic quintessence. In Kabuki the action is pompous and over-dramatized. Kyogen is used as farcical interludes in the dramatic plays of Kabuki. Major characters can be sometimes comical but at the same time they deliver a deep philosophical message to the audience. The traditional musical ensemble, which accompanies these theatre forms, includes flute, percussion, shamisen, and a low chant of men's voices, singing without words. Rashomon or Encounter Under the Cloud-Gate is choreographed for two dancers and five musicians in black kimonos and wigs that characterize court musicians. Whitney V. Hunter performs the role of the Thief. Named one of Trace Magazine's seven NYC Dancers on the Rise in 2007, Hunter has performed with the Kankouran West African Dance Company, in the companies of Doug Hamby, Rod Rodgers, Pearl Lang, Reggie Wilson, Pascal Rioult, Martha Clark, Martha Graham and at the Metropolitan Opera. Raymond J. Lustig's commissioned score is also inspired by traditional Japanese aesthetics. Although performed on Western instruments, the piece utilizes a unique blend of Eastern and Western idioms sometimes requiring the instruments to imitate Japanese musical sounds. "There is a close interaction between music and dance in this work," Mr. Hakoshima explained. "The minds of the two characters are always affected by the music, by its rhythms and textures. There is a kind of psychological interaction between dance and music; the latter reinforces and leads the psychological development of the characters, gradually building up to the intense dramatic climax of each scene." Lustig, who was born in Tokyo and raised in Queens, New York, is also the winner of the 2007 Ascap Foundation's Rudolf Nissim Prize. His music has been presented at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, New York's Symphony Space, the Bowling Green New Music Festival, the Norfolk and Caramoor summer music festivals, the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, the New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute, and the Juilliard Beyond the Machine Festival. Lustig has collaborated with choreographers Peter Quantz, Melissa Barak, and Brynt Beitman and his music has also been used at the New York Choreographic Institute, the Juilliard School's Composers and Choreographers concert, and Barnard College's Spring Dances concert. Winner of the Naumburg Chamber Music Award in 1973, the Da Capo Chamber Players are committed to building a strong heritage of present-day American chamber music. The group has performed at international festivals and has more than 90 chamber music works written especially for them by composers as varied as Joan Tower, Philip Glass, Harvey Sollberger, Philippe Bodin, and many others. Since their founding in 1970, Da Capo have presented an annual New York City concert series that has included gala concerts honoring major composers and groundbreaking programs that stretch the definition of chamber music. Rashomon or Encounter Under the Cloud-Gate was made possible through a grant by the American Music Center's program "Live Music for Dance." This is the fourth year in a row, that Danmari Ltd has received support from the American Music Center for Live Music performances. Biographies RAYMOND LUSTIG From the review "From Warrior to Bird, With Gentle Precision" by Gia Kourlas published March 22, 2008, in The New York Times: "There was something distressing about the way Yass Hakoshima swept in and out of the Ailey Citigroup Theater on Thursday night — if only because it was a one-night appearance... Mr. Hakoshima, who began his mime and dance career in the 1960s, is a strange wonder. While his training with Erick Hawkins and Etienne Decroux is present, he has clearly taken the best of each to create a style suffused with humor, pathos, gentleness and precision that remains entirely his own... Mr. Hakoshima entered the stage in “Kichigai Shogun” (“Insane Shogun”), a short tale of a warrior whose fear of assassins leads him to several fluttery and comical attempts at suicide... Later, Mr. Hakoshima transformed himself into a feathery, agile ornament in “Mobile,” enhanced by colorful discs attached to his costume like flowers and a golden dome design by Ralph Dorazio and Toshiko Takaezu... And in the final work, “Wings,” this agile dancer, pacing back and forth, tried to fly. He faltered with each jump until an angel (the young, adorable May Li) tiptoed onto the stage to give him a bird mask... Without using bungee cords — Mr. Hakoshima arrives at his art through clarity of gesture and finely tuned repetition — he managed to evoke the sensation of weightlessness. With a joyful smile on his white painted face and his shiny black hair bouncing, he soared." "Brevity of mime, the mystery and fatalism of Japanese theatre, the expansiveness of modern dance. They make uneasy bedfellows, but you've got to admire the guy who is trying to make them comfortable together." — The Village Voice "Hakoshima... displays an impressive physical facility... with an eerie, almost surreal tangibility." — The New York Times "His face, which is at once tragic and comic, serious and antic, and ingenious and world-weary, the expressions compete with engaging intensity." "To watch Yass Hakoshima perform is to be captured and captivated..." "Mime like a visual poem... a unique and completely satisfying evening." |
