Summary: DaBY/ProLab’s 1st “Dance Critics [Training -> Dispatch] Program” by Takao Norikoshi
This page is a summary of DaBY/ProLab’s first “Dance Critics [Training → Dispatch] Program” by Takao Norikoshi.
Click here to see the critiques presented in the first phase of the Fat.
https://dancebase.yokohama/info/9956
Click here to go to the Fat Phase II page.
https://dancebase.yokohama/info/10549
Please wait for further details.
Unprecedented training program for professional dance critics
Currently, there are many programs worldwide to nurture young dance critics. Moreover, theaters and festivals are voluntarily taking the initiative to nurture the next generation of critics.
In Japan, however, the situation is devastating. Compared to artists, programs to educate and nurture dance critics have been largely neglected.
The “Dance Critics (Training to Dispatch) Program” is probably the first practical program in Japan to train professional dance critics. Five people were selected from all over Japan through an open application process. They will undergo a six-month program designed by dance critic Takao Norikoshi (including GAGA, in which they will move their own bodies), and eventually two of them will be dispatched to international dance festivals overseas.
This is unprecedented in our country.
Takao Norikoshi (Japan Dance Plug Co., Ltd.) and Dance Base Yokohama co-sponsored the public call and lectures. The Japan Committee of EU Japan is supporting the cost of sending Takao Norikoshi and two students to overseas festivals.
Spring Forward also has a young dance writer development program, Spring Back, within the festival. Spring Forward also has a dance writer development program, Spring Back, within the festival. The Aerowaves’ Spring Forward Festival also shares the importance of dance criticism.
●From the first phase of the application process to the lectures
Starting with the official website of DaBY, Takao Norikoshi’s Twitter post (April 9, 2023) announcing the open call received a total of over 120,000 views, and was widely publicized in Stage Natalie (April 11, 2023) and other media, while the web magazine “Ballet Channel” of Shinshokan, publisher of “Dance Magazine A long interview with Norikoshi was published in the web magazine “Ballet Channel” (May 26, 2023), which is published by Shinshokan, the publisher of “Dance Magazine”.
The assigned performance for the application was designated as Kid Pivot’s “Reviser/Prosecutor,” led by one of the world’s most sought-after performers, Crystal Pite.
The five finalists selected from the 2,000-word submissions, after a second round of Zoom interviews, were highly capable writers from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, including a veteran ballet writer living in London, a current major newspaper reporter, an architect, a dance house staff member in Kobe, and a graduate student.
This program is not a typical “writing class” but rather a way to discover your own style as a professional dance critic.
Local residents can participate via Zoom, but for the first session only, all participants are required to attend. The reason for this is to have the participants receive GAGA, a physical method that is now being used all over the world.
Critics must know the body, not just write about it. The instructor is Mariko Kakizaki, who was a member of Ohad Naharin’s Batsheva Dance Company Ensemble, which invented GAGA. She is one of the best instructors.
In addition, in order to respond to the age of generative AI, which has been a topic of discussion for some time, I asked the audience to critique the dance critique of chatGPT as something created by a human being.
Lectures were held almost once a month from August to December. They were held at 8:00 pm at DaBY. Students were given an assignment each time and were required to submit it by the next lecture.
The two-hour breakdown is basically one hour of lectures and one hour of assignments.
In addition to building strength through practical training, Norikoshi also taught him “how to be a professional critic” and “the latest information on dance around the world.
He also gave a lecture on the “20-year problem of missing history,” which is difficult to learn about in Japan today. In other words, he gave a lecture to update the lack of dance knowledge in the past 20 years, when the bubble burst, the number of invited performances decreased drastically, and the lack of information accelerated the Galapagosization of dance.
Many festivals and performances supported this project (Dance Base Yokohama, “Dance. Akita” International Dance Festival, Hokuriku Dance Festival DX, and Yokohama Dance Collection), and invited the participants to help spread the word. Participants wrote reviews of the festivals and provided feedback on the content.
This spirit of “fostering dance criticism in the dance world as a whole” was very encouraging, and I hope it will increase further in Japan in the future.
The reputation of this program has also spread abroad. Norikoshi has been asked by two international festivals, the Hong Kong Dance Exchange and Macau’s “Psalm Dance Collection,” to speak about the program in 2024.
● Spring Forward Dublin, Darmstadt
One of the main features of this program is to send two participants to overseas festivals in order to broaden their knowledge and network through direct contact with dance from around the world.
Takao Norikoshi chose Spring Forward (Aerowaves ‘Spring Forward Festival), where he had previously participated in Pilsen (the host city changes each time).
Talent in the rough gathers here from all over Europe. They are not veterans with solidified reputations. For critics, it is an opportunity to train their own eyes to discover new talent. It is the best festival of its kind.
In April 2023, Takao Norikoshi attended the Dublin leg of the festival and met with co-directors Roberto Casarotto and Elisabetta Bizzarro. They showed a deep understanding of this program and promised their full cooperation. We are sincerely grateful.
This travel was also supported by the EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee’s Passport Program.
The selection of the two students to be sent was a difficult task, as all five first-year students were highly capable and not necessarily superior to each other.
With the support of EU Japan, they will be in Darmstadt, Germany from March 19 to 21, 2024 to cover the event.
The results will be compiled into a report, and a debriefing session will be held upon their return to Japan.
About the first graduating class A group of strong personalities
I would like to introduce the five graduates of the first class (Sakuya Uemura, Ayako Jitsukawa, Shota Sugimoto, Takuaki Taue, and Aiya Hayashi, in alphabetical order).
They are all equally competent. Each has a unique area of expertise.
I would encourage you to work with them.
Here is the manuscript they wrote in their lectures. https://dancebase.yokohama/info/9956
Characteristics of the 1st class students (in alphabetical order)
◎Sakuya Uemura
He was a graduate student during the program. He has a unique perspective in writing critiques, skillful problem-solving, and a writing style that makes you read the article without thinking, despite his strong logical development skills.
He has been active in the field of theater and has himself presided over various writings and study groups. He has a particularly deep researcher-like knowledge, and he already has sufficient knowledge and awareness of issues related to dance.
In this program, he often demonstrated his passion for exploring dance, and showed a hasty critique of the program.
He has the ability to carry through long critiques with clear resolution, but in this program, he also showed a great deal of responsiveness by daring to tackle the way he sharply cuts to the point in short sentences, or sentences that skip to unexpected ideas.
Ayako Jitsukawa
She may have been the one who showed the most significant change this time.
She lives in London and is already a highly accomplished ballet writer. She is also well known in Japan and writes regularly for Shinshokan’s web magazine “Ballet Channel”.
His career, knowledge, writing skills, and overall ability to write with elegance and depth were truly a masterstroke, and his writing was already outstandingly accomplished.
However, she herself is not resting on her laurels, and she dared to break out of her shell and apply for the job. She is a person with an insatiable desire to improve.
The “training to break her own writing style,” which was part of the program, brought out the mischievous charm that lay dormant inside her, and there was a truly thrilling moment when I wondered if this side of her had been discovered.
I hope she will continue to develop her new charms discovered in this way.
◎Sugimoto, Shota
He is a staff member of Kobe DANCE BOX, one of the most important centers of contemporary dance in Japan, but he himself has a strong will to become a dance critic. His job requires him to see a lot of dance performances, and he is also a diligent student. After all, the strongest critics are those who can continue to work hard for many years.
DANCE BOX has many guests from overseas. The fact that they are familiar with dance in the Kansai region gives them a great advantage in that they have a bird’s eye view of dance from a different perspective than those in the Kanto region.
Again, he has the energy to apply from Kobe and cover the festival.
Above all, he is overflowing with passion to understand the work and the artist, and this passion overflows into his writing, involving the reader.
This is a unique talent, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow and mature.
◎Takuaki Taue
In my job as a professional newspaper reporter who writes, I can expect great benefits in my future activities, such as performances to be seen and interviews with artists. There is great room for growth to make the most of this and improve.
Writing is a great strength because it has a solid foundation of being able to properly convey to the reader what is clear and profound. There is a foundation on which to build knowledge and experience in the future.
It is also interesting to note the unique angle from which the works are viewed.
What is noteworthy is the warmth of his character that permeates his writings. Even when he writes harsh words, they are not taken as attacks or negativity, but rather as a smooth entry into his work, a talent that is hard to find in a critic.
As a dance critic, he has the potential to build deep and trusting relationships with artists.
Aiya Hayashi
An architect by profession, he is known for his unique and unprecedented dance criticism, such as looking at the stage from the viewpoint of spatial composition.
Furthermore, the fact that he speaks not only English but also Chinese makes him a valuable asset among Japanese dance critics. This will be a great asset as the Asian dance network becomes more and more important.
He has seen a large number of performances. His footwork to go to festivals for coverage, and his active and communicative skills to go around and cover the events himself are noteworthy.
At first, I had the impression that he was a neat writer, but as he has covered more and more festivals in this program, his manuscripts have become thicker and more alive. His overall ability as a dance critic has grown remarkably through the program, and we look forward to seeing how he will grow as he gains more experience.
Words from participants
Mr. Norikoshi’s lecture made me realize that light footwork that crosses over between journalism and criticism is essential for stage criticism, and that a high level of mobility is necessary to always maintain an actual point of view.
I feel that now that I finally have a little confidence, my psychological block against expressing myself in my writing has finally been lifted.” (Ayako Jitsukawa)
I was able to discover the strengths of my critique thanks to the comments of the participants, and I learned a lot about the current dance situation, such as the importance of writing techniques and landing directly from Norikoshi-san.” (Shota Sugimoto)
I felt a sense of liberation as I became aware that I had been stuck in the limited world of ‘newspaper style’ and the correct answer.” It was very stimulating to see the different members of the team, each with his or her own unique perspective and writing style, demonstrate it to the fullest in each assignment.” (Takuaki Tagami)
The festival’s invitational program gave the readers a concrete image of dance professionals through participation, so I think students like myself who originally had no direct connection to the dance world should definitely give it a try.” (Aiya Hayashi)
We are now in the second phase of the project, and we have the power to change reality.
It is wonderful that the first cohort of students graduated without a single dropout.
I could see them grow so much with each session, and it was a great honor to be their mentor.
However, this program, while an accomplishment for them, must be only a passing point in the long career of a dance critic and career.
I hope you will continue to write hundreds of more manuscripts today with what you have learned from staying here.
Dance Base Yokohama has also been working with us to find ways to support their activities as dance critics.
But above all, as a student of this program, you should be able to carve out your own writing space. You should have the power to do so.
Dance Base Yokohama has already announced the second phase. https://dancebase.yokohama/info/10549
The assignment is for NDT to come to Japan and the festival to be dispatched is to be held in Italy.
Such programs should not be one-time events, but should be considered over the span of 10 to 20 years.
Imagine that.
If this program continues for 10 years, there will be “50 dance critics who have taken the course for professionals” and “20 dance critics who have experienced overseas coverage.
This would be enough to change the world of dance criticism.
We are proud of this program, which gives real hope to young writers and could seriously change the environment of dance criticism in Japan.
We look forward to receiving more applications and your support.
DaBY/ProLab 1st stage “Dance Critic [Training -> Dispatch] Program” by Takao Norikoshi
Co-organized by Takao Norikoshi (Japan Dance Plug Inc.) Dance Base Yokohama
Supported by: EU Japan Fest Japan Committee
In cooperation with Aerowaves ‘Spring Forward Festival