Island of no memories
Kaori Ito
(version 18/05/2011)
© Laurent Paillier
Island of no memories
Direction and choreography
Kaori Ito
On stage
Kaori Ito (Paris)
Thomas Bentin (Copenhagen)
Mirka Prokesová (Prague)
Dramaturge
Satoshi Kudo (Sweden)
Lighting
Thomas Veyssiere (Paris)
Sound
Louise Gibaud (Paris)
Music editing and composition
Guillaume Perret (Paris)
Production
FormART
Coproduction
Le Merlan Scène Nationale de Marseille / Saitama Arts Theater / Grand Theatre de
Luxembourg, Le Pacifique CDC de Grenoble
Supported by MODUL DANCE : Tanzhaus NRW Dusseldorf and HELLERAU
Dresden, CND Pantin,
Diffusion
ART HAPPENS
Please don't forget to use the modul-dance Logo plus EU culture logo in all
material
Residency
Le Pacifique CDC, Grenoble, France, Atelier de Paris et Mica Dance Paris, France
Supported by MODUL DANCE : Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf and HELLERAU,
Dresden, Germany, CND Pantin
Wiyh the support of L’ADAMI and Spedidam
With special thanks to
Alain Platel Les Ballets C de la B, Maimi Sato, Antoine Conjard,
ProArt festival, Samuel Lefeuvre, Gabriel Wong, Isabelle
Pillon, Christophe Grelié, Fabrice Planquette, Carmen Mehnert
DATES
Avant Premières
15-16th February 2011, at l’Hexagone, Scène Nationale de Meylan, France
17th February 2011, at Festival Artdanthé, Théâtre de Vanves, France
Premières
31st March & 1st April 2011, at Tanzhaus NRW, Dusseldorf, Germany
8-9th April 2011, at HELLERAU, Dresden, Germany
CONTACT
ART HAPPENS
Sarah De Ganck
sarah@arthappens.be - www.arthappens.be
Mobile : +32 (0) 496 26 08 32
Production déléguée
FormART Cécile Jeanson & Aurélien Guillois
cecile@bureau-formart.org - aurelien@bureau-formart.org
www.bureau-formart.org
Office : +33 (0)9 70 46 89 39
License n°2-1020974 et n°3-1020975
To avoid misunderstandings, please contact us before any publication.
Cécile Jeanson: production@bureau-format.org
KAORI ITO
Alain Platel, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Guy Cassiers, Philippe Decouflé, Angelin Preljocaj
and James Thierrée (the grandson of Charlie Chaplin, no less) all count among the
illustrious list of choreographers that have recognised the unique talents of the young
dancer, Kaori Ito, and included her in their productions. She speaks with admiration
of their different approaches: "However experienced Platel may be, he remains
curious and open to change. Cherkaoui has the talent to let people develop their
performance in different ways than they realise."
As a dancer, Kaori Ito developed her own way of collaboration with each, fitting her
individual style into their creative universe. As a performer, she explores the
extremes of the body and voice’s capacities with an apparent effortlessness and a
natural simplicity.
Working with so many influences, and revelling in the opportunity to adapt under
them, she has reached a point of maturity in her dancing career, touring all over the
world and inspiring audiences as she goes. “These precious meetings with people,
directors and performers in the world of dance, made me feel that I will stay
connected to some of them for the rest of my life. Those people have pushed me to
work on my talent and my individuality”.
Kaori she created her first work, Noctiluque, in 2008. This piece was performed at
Théâtre Vidy Lausanne, CCN d’Aix-en-Provence, Théâtre l’Avant-Seine/Theater de
Colombes, the Festival de mise en scène in Rennes and l’Hexagone Scène
Nationale de Meylan.
Her second piece, Solos, was created in 2009 and has been performed in Japan, Le
Merlan, Marseille, Melkweg Amsterdam, Festival de Cabotage Agens, and la
Cartoucherie de Vincennes in France.
In 2011, she created Island of no memories in Tanzhaus NRW, Düsseldorf and
Hellerau, Dresden. On tour season 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
Kaori Ito was chosen as one of the artists for the project MODUL-DANCE. Moduldance is a multi-annual cooperation project funded by the European Commission
through the Culture Programme. Supported by the European Dancehouse Network
modul-dance is collaboration between 22 European dance houses and media
institutions from 15 countries.
http://www.moduldance.com/
The Japanese newspaper ‘On stage’ announced Kaori Ito as the “Best young
choreographer of 2010.” And she received the JADAFO price in Japan.
ISLAND OF NO MEMORIES
Development of an idea
During the summer of 2009 at the ProArt festival, Kaori Ito had the chance to work
with 3 dancers from Prague (Czech Republic) and the outstanding Mirka Prokesová
was among them. In November of that same year, Kaori was joined onstage by Mirka
along with Thomas Bentin from Copenhagen to perform her trio of 20 minute pieces
for the choreography competition (Re)connaissance 2009, for which she was.
Following a moving performance, this first incarnation of Island of no memories was
awarded 1st prize.
Now working to make this creation into a full-evening experience, Kaori has
welcomed the dramaturge Satoshi Kudo to the crew. On the 4th and 5th of September
2010 at the at the Saitama Arts Theater, Japan she did a try-out show of 40 minutes
together with Mirka Prokesová and Kota Yamazaki.
In 2011, there was an avant-premiere at L’Hexagone, Théâtre de Meylan in France
and at the Festival Artdanthé in Paris. Island of no memories premiered in MarchApril 2011 at Tanzhaus, NRW, Düsseldorf and Hellerau, Dresden.
Inspiration
For Island of no memories, Kaori was inspired by how we all try to escape our daily
obligations in different ways. She says, "As I grew up in the city of Tokyo watching so
many businessmen getting drunk at night and throwing themselves on the street,
screaming or sleeping, I began to think that they need these moments of letting
themselves go in order to forget their daily obligations, which are totally the
opposite."
The glaring difference between these composed men with their suits during the day
and their embrace of complete hedonism in the evening inspired Kaori to create a
story of a man who wants to forget as a way of releasing himself from his daily
reality. The protagonist loses his memory and at first enjoys forgetting, until the
moment where he does not even recognise the face of his wife or remember how to
laugh, how to cry…. What if this was all just a dream, which became a nightmare?
Island of no memories is a story about the nature of reality, about forgetting and
about love, jealousy, age and death.
Kaori was inspired by the book of “The Story of Forgetting” by Stefan Merill Block
and Scott Hicks’ film “Shine”. Everybody
“Alongside this world there’s another. There was the place where you could across.
This other world is called Isidora, and it’s as big as ours, and in many ways it’s
exactly the same. The same grass grows in the same dirt. The same birds fly in the
same sky. Even the people look the same. But the major difference is that in Isidora
no one can remember anything. Nobody has a name, or a house, or a family. Or you
could say that everyone has the same name and the same house and the same
family, a single word and a single place and a single name called Isidora. At first it
might sound scary, but if you don’t remember anything, then you don't have anything
to be scared about. And, anyway, in Isidora you always have whatever it is you need.
It’s the island of no memories. ‘When there is no memory, we can fall in love several
times with the same person’” - Stefan Merrill Block, “The Story of Forgetting”.
Island of no memories is a story about what can clutter our mind, represented by
ropes, tangled like as many strings that one might want to cling to when looking for
his foundation. Language habits happen to be uncertain as well, and giseigo-gitaigo,
Japanese onomatopeia, become mysterious words that are not related anymore to what they
ordinary refer to. It is also a work using sounds that evoke TV, channel hopping: How to
remember when everything is constantly moving so fast?
When imagining this island, Kaori offers a perspective on the notion of freedom, and
how history and memories can prevent us from truly letting go.
Three protagonists, three personalities
Like a modern-day Buster Keaton, Thomas Bentin, dancer and actor, takes us with
much humour on a journey into the life of the main character, a man who has lost his
memory.
The energetic dancer Mirka Prokesová, crosses the stage like the wind, her
character embodying the emotions of the characters onstage.
Finally, with infinite delicacy, Kaori Ito keeps us on the edge of our seats. She plays
the wife of Thomas, a character as innocent as she is dangerous.
CAST PROFILES
Kaori Ito (born 1979)
www.kaoriito.com
From the age of five, Kaori studied classical ballet under Takagi Syuntoku in Tokyo.
At eighteen years old, she launched her professional career as a dancer and
choreographer and was declared by Ryouichi Enomoto to be “the best young dancer
and choreographer” at the ST spot, Yokohama (1998).
During her time at Purchase College, State University of New York, she mastered the
Graham, Cunningham, Limon, and Horton techniques. In 2002, she was awarded the
Yokohama Cultural Foundation Award, for her solo choreography in the "Yokohama
Dance Collection competition”. In 2004, she received the National Conference Award
for choreographing and performing as part of a duet in Rencontres choregraphiques
internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis. In 2004, she went to New York under the
Japanese Government Overseas Program for Artists. While there she studied at the
Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and worked with the Nai Ni Chen Dance Company. During
her stay in NYC, she also choreographed and danced at Joyce SoHo, and did a
residency at the Queens Museum of Art. From 2003 to 2005, she danced the main
role for Philippe Decouflé in IRIS. She also worked with Véronique Caye for her
theatre piece LINE by Ryu Murakami. In 2005, she joined Ballet Preljocaj (CCN d’
Aix-en-Provence) with Angelin Preljocaj for The 4 saisons and went on in 2006 to
work with James Thiérrée for Good Bye Umbrella.
Moving into the world of film, she took on the position of assistant of Sidi Larbi
Cherkaoui for his film Le bruit des gens autour with Léa Drucker. She choreographed
Clémence Poésy (Harry Porter) for the film Sans Moi, directed by Olivier Panchot. In
2006, her film “Carbon Monoxide” was shown at Centre Pompidou, and film festivals
in the U.S.A and Spain. She also worked for Édouard Baer on Looking for Mister
Castang as a choreographer.
In 2008, she opened her own production, Noctiluque, produced by Theatre-Vidy,
Lausanne, l’ Avant-Seine/Theatre de Colombes and Théatre d’Orléans. In 2009, she
worked as a soloist in House of the Sleeping Beauties by Guy Cassiers with Sidi
Larbi Cherkaoui. In the same year, she performed SOLOS at the National Theater of
Marseille Le Merlan and in Japan. That same year, she also assisted James Thiérrée
for Raoul and received 1st prize in the competition (Re)connaissance 2009 for her 20
minute performances of Island of no memories.
She is now engaged in Alain Platel’s/Les Ballets C de la B’s Out of Context and was
chosen as one of the artists for the project MODUL DANCE by EDN (European
Dancehouse Network) to create her own works. Japanese critics have announced in
the newspaper ‘On stage’ Kaori Ito as the Best young choreographer of 2010 as well
as JADAFO Forum award.
In 2011, she created Island of no memories in Tanzhaus NRW, Düsseldorf and
Hellerau, Dresden and this performance will be on tour 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
Kaori is also working on a duet with Denis Podalydès for Le Cas Jekyll (première
June 2011, Maison de la Culture Amiens), and on a solo with Aurélien Bory.
Thomas Bentin (born 1973)
A dancer and comedian living in Copenhagen, after studying martial arts in
Copenhagen and Japan, Thomas Bentin entered the world of dance at the School of
the Performing Arts of Vordingborg in Denmark. Between 2000 and 2009, he
performed under numerous Danish choreographers including Mute Comp. and Ninna
Steen. Today, he is teaching at the School of Modern Dance in Copenhagen and
working on
Mirka Prokesová (born 1987)
Dancer and native of Prague, Mirka Prokesová has worked with various
prominentCzech choreographers such as Lenka Ottová, Leona Qaša Kvasnicová,
Jarek Cemerek (Fuga), Věrka Ondrašíková, Rosťa Šrom, Lucie Mírková, Veronika
Sinová, Petra Daňhelková, Martin Dvořák, Jelena Ivanovic and Broňa Skalická. She
began work with Kaori Ito in 2009.
Satoshi Kudo (born 1967)
Satoshi was born in Nagoya, Japan. He studied at Japan Action Club in Tokyo,
Peridance Center in New York and other places. He has worked for Ohad Naharin,
The Danish Dance Theater, among others. He started to work with Sidi Larbi
Cherkaoui in 2006 and danced in Myth. He has also been working as a
choreographic assistant on Apocrifu, Origine and Sutra.