PHOTO: SAITO KOICHIRO

The Japanese contemporary dance company BATIK will tour five cities in Europe. In Spain it will take part in the Castilla y Leon International Arts Festival, and in Italy it will participate in the dance section of the Venice Biennale. "Shoku" and "Flowers Flow, Time Congeals" will be presented.

Event Information

Dates	June 4 to June 27, 2007
In Spain	Shoku Date: Monday, June 4 Venue: Teatro Liceo, Salamanca *3er Festival internacional de las Artes Castilla y León
In U.K.	Shoku Dates: Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 Venue: Lilian Baylis Theatre, London
In Italy	Flowers flow,Time congeals Date: Thursday, June 14 Shoku Dates: Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17 Venue: Teatro Malibran, Venetia *5th International Festival of Contemporary Dance
	Shoku Date: Friday, June 22 Venue: Teatro Palladium, Roma
In Denmark	Shoku Dates: Thursday, June 26 and Wednesday, June 27 Venue: Danse scenen theatre, Copenhagen

Performers' information

BATIK profile

BATIK is a dance company of women founded in Japan in April 2002, and they mainly perform dance pieces choreographed by Ikuyo Kuroda. After it won the National Committee Award at Yokohama Platform of Rencontre Choreographic Internationales de Seine Saint Denis in February 2002, the company started to work full-scale. Besides the activities in Japan, the company has given many overseas performances so far including Dance Umbrella Festival in U.K.
Their main works are “SIDE B”, “SHOKU” ,“Flowers flow and time congeals” and “pendanteve”

Official Website 

Profile of KURODA Ikuyo

Ikuyo Kuroda started taking classical ballet lessons when she was six years old. While being a member of Tani Momoko Ballet Company, she went to London in 1997 to study contemporary dance at the Laban Centre. In 2000, she became a leading member of “Kim Itoh + the Glorious Future.” In 2002, she founded her own company “BATIK,” and won the National Conference Members Award at the Yokohama Platform of Rencontre Choregraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis (former “Bagnolet” International Choreography Award). In 2003, she won the Next Generation Choreographer Award as well as the Audience Award at Toyota Choreography Award. In 2004, she presented her new works “Hana wa Nagarete, Toki wa Katamaru (Flowers flow and time congeals)” and “SHOKU,” and was invited to Dance Umbrella Festival in U.K.  Of late, she has expanded the area of activities─presenting solo works, choreographing for Noism05 led by Jo Kanamori, and participating as a dancer in “ASOBU” choreographed and directed by Josef Nadj.

Her major works up to now include “SIDE B,” “Flowers flow and time congeals,” “SHOKU,” “PENDANT EVE,” and “Monica Monica.” She won Asahi Performing Arts Award and Kirin Dance Support Award in 2005, and Dance Critics Society of Japan Award in 2006.