Activity Report #4 of “Danstereportation

Interview with Ayaka Ono
(Interviewer: Kota Yamazaki)

Kota Yamazaki’s project “Dance Teleportation,” based on the concept of “dialogue,” is underway.
Ms. Yamazaki and 11 performers are literally groping their way through the creative process under the new coronavirus epidemic.

Basically, a choreographer and a dancer create a work by sharing a place and time. Now that this is no longer possible, how can a choreographer establish a relationship with a dancer to create a work? We have named this challenge “Dance Teleportation” in the sense of exploring a way of dancing that transcends place and time.”
(Excerpted from Kota Yamazaki, “Danstereportation,” Statements.)

The creation process begins with Ms. Yamazaki interviewing each performer via videoconference. Next, Ms. Yamazaki sends the performers words inspired by the interviews. The performers then respond to Ms. Yamazaki by using the words as the starting point for their creations.

In this issue, we present an interview with Ayaka Ono.
In a relaxed atmosphere, words were exchanged about what they had noticed during the new coronavirus epidemic and the relationship between space and the body.
(Text and editing by Taku Yoshida)

standing form of “mountain” character

Mr. Ono, you are active in a unit. Can you start by telling us about that?

field

I am working with Yo Nakazawa as a duo of stage artists under the name “Space Not Blank”. We are both interested in the various possibilities of the performing arts, and we gather the right creative members for each concept of each work.

standing form of “mountain” character

How did you get started in dance?

field

My mother took me to ballet class when I was in kindergarten. My mother herself wanted to learn ballet when she was very young, but she was unable to do so, so she entrusted her desire to me, her daughter.

standing form of “mountain” character

Did you? Is there anyone in particular who has influenced you?

field

I learned how to express myself effectively with my body from a street jazz teacher I met when I was in high school. I learned how to express myself on stage from Mika Kurosawa, who took part in my work in 2016; I am growing my hair long, inspired by the stage presence of Atsushi Sakurai of BUCKTICK; and I have been working in the field of theater for a few years now, and I am currently working on a new piece with Atsushi Sakurai of BUCKTICK. In recent years, I have also been active in the field of theater, and although I only had a brief conversation with Oriza Hirata, who judged last year’s Toga Theater Artists Competition, about his work, I have since seen his works and feel that I have received a lot from him.

standing form of “mountain” character

What are your thoughts on the new coronavirus epidemic?

field

Although the places where we can transmit our expression are limited to online, I feel that “communication over the airwaves,” such as distributing online video recordings of performing arts, is very different from “direct communication,” which is to perform performing arts in a live setting. We will continue our creative activities, but we would like to consider what means we will choose to do so.

standing form of “mountain” character

I feel the same way, and I am grateful to be allowed to work on a project like this. Have there been any changes in your life?

field

I am physically unable to do some of the activities I normally do, and it is a time for me to face my body and mind. Recently, I have been practicing yoga every morning, and it is interesting to me because it has something in common with the sensations I get when I dance. When I dance, I think about how I can release energy by expanding my senses further beneath the ground I step on and far beyond the direction in which I reach out my hand. When I concentrate on the inside of my body during yoga, I feel that my senses expand in the opposite direction, from “where I am now” to “Kanto,” to “Japan,” to “Asia,” and so on. This is one of the things I discovered this time.
I also realize the importance of communication, as I rarely have time to talk to anyone other than my family. Perhaps surprisingly, I like talking to people.
May I also ask a question about Yoko Ono’s “Grapefruit” (*1), which you mentioned at the rehearsal held at the end of January and at the meeting for this project.

(*1) “Grapefruit”…Written by Yoko Ono, this book was published in Tokyo in 1964 in a limited edition of 500 copies, and an English edition with additions was released worldwide in 1970. It is said that John Lennon was inspired by this book to write his famous song “Imagine”. Easily available today is “Grapefruit Juice” (Kodansha Bunko), which was reconstructed from the English edition and translated into Japanese in 1993.

standing form of “mountain” character

I am interested in performances that take place in public spaces other than theaters. Inspired by “Grapefruit,” I began to imagine what public spaces do not have. Inspired by “Grapefruit,” I began to imagine what public spaces do not have. I also invited Claudia La Rocco, a former journalist for the New York Times, to Tokyo to give a workshop on dance and language. In the workshop, she asked the participants to “give themselves a task and carry it out in the city,” which I found to be a very interesting experiment. In everyday spaces, “Grapefruit” suggests imagining and verbalizing, and Claudia suggests executing, and they continue to be stuck in my mind. These ideas are reflected in this “Dance Teleportation” as well.

field

I am also interested in space. In the year before last, I had a residency in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, and since then, I have staged works in Tokyo and held an artist-in-residence program in Toyohashi, and I felt that the depth of my works increased when they were produced and staged in multiple regions and spaces. As you said, staging in a public space may bring a new atmosphere into the work that is different from that of a theater.

standing form of “mountain” character

Yes, it does. Performing in multiple locations also helps me to think about my work from multiple angles.
I would like to ask you a few other questions. What do you think about spinning time in your creations?

field

I create with the intention of leaving each place and people with a legacy even after I am gone. It is difficult for me to do it alone, but I would like to cooperate with people around me to achieve this goal.

standing form of “mountain” character

What is your favorite color?

field

I like black and often wear black clothes. But I have loved yellow since I was a child.

standing form of “mountain” character

Let me do one last experiment. Please touch your temples with your fingers and tell us what words you imagine from the sensation of touch.

field

Can I have more than one? (And write them down on the paper at hand.) There are six: “Between the Black Holes,” “Screw, and,” “Yellow Bouquet,” “Guerrilla Downpour,” “Eye,” and “Personality.”

standing form of “mountain” character

It’s amazing that you can come up with that much. For me, it was “the space between Canada Goose and the surface of the water. There is a lake near my house, so the image of a bird flying away from the surface of the water came to mind. I had a good talk today. I will spell out the words and send them to you later. Thank you very much.

field

Thank you very much.

How was your interview with Mr. Ono?
What kind of words and reactions to them will emerge from this?
Our next partner will be Moeka Kihara.
Please continue to enjoy the dialogue between the dancers.

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