[Date] 8/27(Thu) 19:00-21:00
[Place] Dance Base Yokohama

DaBY invites dancers who are active in Japan and overseas to introduce their activities, including their experiences of creation with world-class choreographers, so that people can become interested in dancers’ activities. OpenLab “Dancing in Dancer’s Language” is a talk event in which dancers introduce their activities in their own language.

In the second session, Mochimi Iijima, a principal dancer of the Houston Ballet, will be our guest to talk about “Creativity: Ballet Dancer’s Origin and Diverse Activities”. While working as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet Company in the U.S., Mochimi Iijima is also active as an artist, beauty ambassador for CHANEL, model, and fashionista. She will talk about the origin and development of her creativity, which developed from ballet, her creations with choreographers, her influences, and what kind of expression she seeks.

Guest: Nozomi Iijima (Principal Dancer, Houston Ballet)
Navigator: Eri Karatsu (DaBY Artistic Director)
Host: Kenta Komori (DaBY Dance Evangelist)

Format: Live talk (Max. 20 people)
□Fare: 2,500 yen (tax included)
□Registration:
Please register through Peatix (https://daby-openlabdancer2.peatix.com/).
*Pre-registration as a DaBY member is required to apply for tickets.

Profile
Guest: Nozomi Iijima
(Principal Dancer, Houston Ballet)



Born in Osaka, Japan, she started ballet at the age of 6. 2007, at the age of 15, she moved to the U.S. on her own. She became a trainee with the Houston Ballet and signed a professional contract the following year, making her professional debut as the youngest dancer at the time of her contract.
In March 2019, she was promoted to principal of the Houston Ballet. She is also a fashionista and has gained attention as an ambassador for the Chanel N°5 Low global project in 2005, in which she expressed her “world of fragrance” through dance, as well as for the Chord Coco watch collection in 2006, She has also been featured in the digital campaigns for Rouge Allure and Vitalumiere Glow. She has also been appointed as a Chanel Beauty Ambassador, further expanding her field of activities.

Navigator: Eri Karatsu
(DaBY Artistic Director / Senior Producer, Aichi Arts Theatre)


©Takayuki Abe

Graduated from the Department of Dance Education, Faculty of Letters and Education, Ochanomizu University, and the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences of the same university. After working on the stage, he became Japan’s first dance curator at the Aichi Arts Center in 1993, and in 2000 won the first Asahi Arts Award at the Aichi Culture and Information Center, where he is affiliated. He has produced and invited more than 200 works and projects ranging from large-scale international co-productions to experimental performances. He has served as a member of the Cultural Policy Subcommittee of the Cultural Affairs Council of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, coordinator of the National Association of Public Cultural Facilities, jury member of corporate arts and culture foundations, board member and other various committees, jury member of dance competitions, chairman of the executive committee of the 65th Annual Conference of the Japan Society of Dance, and part-time university lecturer. He has been involved in various activities to improve the environment of performing arts and theaters in Japan, including lectures, writing, and advising. His publications include “Bodily Intelligence.

Host: Kenta Kojiri
(Dance Evangelist, DaBY)


©Takayuki Abe

Awarded the Prix de Lausanne in 1999. He was the first Japanese male dancer to join the Netherlands Dance Theater I. Since leaving the company, he has made guest appearances with the Royal Swedish Ballet, Noism, Sylvie Guillem’s “6000 Miles Away,” and Kirlian Productions, while developing activities around his creative work, including the solo performance “Study for Self/portrait” (2017, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art). In recent years, she has been leading Opto with Rei Watanabe and Nagama Yuasa, coaching Japanese figure skaters, curating Dance Lab “Dancers, Dance with Words”, and working as an instructor/navigator for Saitama Dance Laboratory (Saitama Arts Theatre, Sainokuni).