Ensemble Sonne/Studio performance “Songs of Innocence
*This page is only for the Yokohama show.
Click here for information on other venues.
Location: Dance Base Yokohama
Date: February 17, 2025 16:30/20:00
* Open rehearsal available Date: Monday, January 27, 2025 20:00~21:00 (Free) Please register through Peatix.
◆summary
The company’s repertory piece “Song of Innocence,” which premiered in Kobe in 2020 and was repeated in Kyoto in 2021, will be performed again as a studio performance version.
The video recordings and costumes of “Water Lilies” written by Butoh dancers Kazuo Ohno and Yoshito Ohno, who were the inspiration for the creation of “Songs of Innocence,” will appear in the work and be collaged with the dances of today. Guest dancers will be invited from various locations, and the project will be performed in the studio, a space for creating things, to develop a single work.
About Ensemble Sonne
Founded in 1993 in Germany by Toshiko Oka, based in Kobe since 1995.
He is engaged in creative activities while conducting physical training based on the German Expressionist dance method, and through his creations, he explores the state of contemporary dance.
The company presents new works in the style of premiering in Kobe and touring to the Tokyo metropolitan area and other cities, and also continues to perform repertory works to promote dance culture.
◆About the Works
Drifting on the quiet surface of the water, a moment within a moment, it is a connection with life that lasts forever.
Compassionate, compassionate, here to be.
Songs to reach the sky illuminated by the moonlight, songs of innocence
This piece, choreographed by Toshiko Oka, was inspired by “Water Lilies” by Butoh dancers Kazuo Ohno and Yoshito Ohno, and was created to explore what it means to be innocent.
A documentary film of “Water Lilies” (1994) and the original costumes have survived. The costumes that once danced with the dancers on stage are like shells that have lost their contents. The current dance is collaged between those costumes and the video images. This is an attempt to bring the world of “Song of Innocence” to life and sing it with the power of the essence of dance, the images of the past, and the costumes all working together as one.
◆Participating Artists
Composition/Direction/Choreography：Toshiko Oka
Cast：Rina Ikoma Toshiko Oka
Guest Performers：
Ashiya Performance｜Masaru Kakio
Yokohama Performance｜Yu Nakamura
Yamagata Performance｜Yumi Kato
Art direction：Naako Kaji
Lighting cooperation：Haruta Iwamura
Costume/Props：Kazumi Maki
Video operation：Seiko Kuwano
◆Date, time and venue
Yokohama Performance
Monday, February 17, 16:30 / 20:00
Running time: approx. 60 min.
*Open rehearsal available Dates: Monday, January 27, 2025, 20:00~21:00 (free of charge)
Yokohama Performance Venue
Dance Base Yokohama
https://dancebase.yokohama/access
3F KITANAKA BRICK&WHITE BRICK North, 5-57-2 Kitanaka-dori, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Bashamichi Station, Minatomirai Line Exit 2a “Yokohama Kitanaka Knot” Direct connection
Click here for details on other venues.
◆Charge
Standard: 3000 yen (tax included)
U25: 2000 yen (tax included)
Tickets at the door: 3500 yen (tax included)
◆How to apply
Please register through Peatix.
*DaBY Members registration is required to purchase tickets. Please register in advance using the registration form.
As a special offer to those who purchase tickets, an archived video of the final performance in Ashiya on Monday, February 24 will be available at a later date.
◆Contact Us
The following e-mail address or
Please contact us using the contact form.
contact [at]dancebase.yokohama
*Please change [at]to @ when sending.
◆Artist Profile
Toshiko Oka
Choreographer/Dancer
Born in Kobe, Japan.
Graduated from the Department of Dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts, NRW, Germany.
He presides over the Ensemble Zoné.
While practicing the dance method she learned in Germany, she creates works that question the existence of human beings through the body, which is common to all human beings living today.
He has been participating in the Kazuo Ohno Festival since 2010.
In 2014, he received the Kobe Nagata Cultural Award.
Performed in Europe under the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Overseas Study Program for Emerging Artists in 2015.
In 2018, he won the KOBE ART AWARD Grand Prize and the Kobe City Culture Prize.
Recent works include “Song of Innocence,” “Green Table 2017,” and “Improvised Drama: The Flying Classroom is Now,” co-produced with musician Aki Takase.
◆credit
Cooperation: NPO Dance Archives Initiative Kazuo Ohno Butoh Kenkyujo
Grant from: Japan Arts Fund
Organized by: Ensemble Sonne
Co-organizer and Residence Cooperation: Dance Base Yokohama
◆Related Events
Body Workshop “Words of Practice”
for more information
Location: Yamagata City (location details will be provided to those who apply)
November 22 (Fri) 19:00~20:30 Class for experienced dancers
November 23 (Sat) 14:00~16:00 No dance experience necessary
November 24 (Sun) 14:00~16:00 No dance experience necessary
Ensemble Sonne/Studio Performance version of “Songs of Innocence,” separate venue information
for more information
Ensemble Zonne Studio (Ashiya)
December 8,9,10, 2024 February 23,24, 2025
Yamagata Creative City Center Q1 (Yamagata)
January 25,26, 2025
