Today, we launched the “DaBY Channel” as follows.

 

▼Dance Base Yokohama (DaBY) Preview Movie

Happy BirthDaBY Vol.1″, a dance movie commemorating the opening of the DaBY channel

Dance Base Yokohama On the Opening of Dance Base Yokohama *The English version is below.

ninth sign of Chinese zodiac (The Monkey, 5pm-7pm, west, August)4 month23 It was scheduled to open onDance Base Yokohama (abbreviationDaBY)was forced to significantly postpone its opening due to the new coronavirus infection. Therefore, we sought to find something viable for the Corona Vortex, and we started with an online “DaBYChannel” to be opened.5month28We have decided to conduct the event on the same day. And with the lifting of the emergency declaration, while taking the best possible infectious disease control measures,6 Preparations are underway for a full-scale onsite opening, targeted for late March.

DaBY was established to address the need for a dance house in Japan that could provide multifaceted support for dance-related matters and to create a place where people interested in dance could gather in a casual setting. However, due to the recent outbreak of the new coronavirus infection, this platform has been in the absurd situation of not being able to gather from the very beginning of its opening. It is an indispensable place for performing arts / It brought about an opportunity to reflect once again on the meaning of space, which is indispensable for performing arts, as well as on the interface between dance and society.

On the other hand, it was dancers around the world who were quick to take action in the face of the Corona disaster. Streaming videos of them dancing at home. They are the ones who are conscious of the high crisis in their bodies. I feel a high sense of physical danger, as if they were imposing on themselves the duty to continue dancing at any time. At the same time, I encountered many occasions where I felt the primordial raison d’etre of dance and its metaphysical mission for the social body, such as dances as a requiem for the victims of the pandemic and prayer dances to appease the disaster. It was a moment of rediscovery of the return to dance itself as the communion of souls that connects life and death through the characteristics of dance, which can be close to the victims only when society is in a crisis situation.

We are pleased to announce that the DaBY coincides, oddly enough, with the start of a different world brought about by Corona. So, we asked our friend performers to “birth” for the opening / / We invited our friend performers to participate in the “Birth / Festive Dance” for the opening. These, while watching the many images that were delivered, I feel that these are dances of rebirth, of rebirth into a society that lives in harmony with the Corona.

DaBY is committed to becoming a base for these world-class performers and dance enthusiasts, and to connecting the fundamental power of dance to the revitalization of damaged societies.

 

Dance Base Yokohama Artistic Director

Eri Karatsu

     

Updates on the opening of Dance Base Yokohama

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we unfortunately made the decision to postpone the opening of Dance Base Yokohama (DaBY), which was initially scheduled on April 23 ^rd . Exploring ways in which we could continue our work despite this COVID-19 crisis, we decided to open our online platform “DaBY Channel ” on May 28^th. Furthermore, given that the state of emergency has lifted, we are finding ways to open the facility at the end of June, while proceeding with the utmost caution.

DaBY was established to respond to the need for a dancehouse in Japan that supports various creative practices related to dance. It attempts to provide a space that casually brings together anyone who is interested in dance. However, the COVID-19 situation made it difficult for people to gather together in the first place. This has definitely sparked discourses surrounding the value of performing art sites/spaces, as well as the intersection between dance and society.

During this global pandemic, the dancers were the first ones to take action. Seeing them share their dance videos from home, made me feel the urgency in their bodies and their determination to continue to dance. At the same time, I encountered dances that mourn the victims of this pandemic or dances that pray to calm this catastrophe. I witnessed how these works unfold the fundamental meaning of dance and the need for metaphysics for the social body. Seeing how dance can express empathy for the victims of a wide-spread crisis, I rediscovered how dance can connect the spirits of the dead and the living.

The opening of DaBY strangely coincides with the beginning of a different post-corona world. We asked some of our collaborators to dance a “celebratory birthday dance” for our opening. Watching the compiled videos, I see them as dances of rebirth – a transformation to a society that now co-exists with COVID-19.

DaBY hopes to be there for performers and dance-lovers across the globe and to weave the power of dance into the process of reviving this scarred society.

 

Dance Base Yokohama Artistic Director

Eri Karatsu

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