JAPAN FOUNDATION WORLDWIDE

On August 19 to 20, 2009, the Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur (JFKL) hosted a contemporary dance performance “We’re Gonna Go Dancing!” with co-organizers Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA), Japan Contemporary Dance Network (JCDN), and Embassy of Japan in Malaysia. ASWARA is the only national art education institute in Malaysia.

In this event, three Japanese artists (Maki Morishita, Masanori Hoshika, and P’Lush）were invited to perform three programs that were rich in variety. In addition, Ikuyo Kuroda (the organizer of BATIK, dancer and choreographer) and Jiro Matsumoto, musician, conducted a 7-day (24 hours in total) intensive workshop for 19 students from ASWARA. They created a new piece during the workshop and performed it in the event.   

Major arrangements were required to let students from ASWARA to participate in the workshop: the Dance Department classes were canceled for ten days, and the timetable of workshop was scheduled not to hinder their study of required classes. The institute supported such arrangements. Thanks to these efforts as well as Mr. Kuroda’s skillful instructions, the students devoted themselves to the practice in order to make the most of this exciting opportunity to be on the stage with professional dancers. They seemed to regard this was “the project of their own”. 

On the day of the performance, Japanese dancers and, in particular, dancers from ASWARA received a thunderous applause when they finished dancing. Feedbacks from the audience stated that it was a very interesting experience, a fresh sensation, something that was totally different from local shows, and they wanted that such event was always available in Malaysia. Faculty of ASWARA also praised the amazing achievements of their students who created such a difficult piece in such a short period of time. 

Without mentioning the success of introducing Japanese artists and works to Malaysian audience, this was a fruitful project in terms of cultural exchange between Japan and Malaysia.

Co-organized with the Japan Society and the Japan Foundation, an international symposium titled “Japanese Art in America: Building the Next Generation” was held on March 16th, 2009 in New York at the Japan Society.

A comprehensive report of the symposium was published in September. Highlights of a number of constructive ideas and proposals stemming from this conference and published in the report include:

• Expand the network of public and private organizations and curators in both Japan and the US.
• Build more trust between American museums and the Japanese government to clearly define and understand regulations on exhibitions of antique art.
• Harness the general interest shown in pop culture by younger people and convert it into serious and focused academic enquiry.
• Encourage a younger generation of potential collectors by emphasizing that anyone can become a collector so long as they have both an eye and enthusiasm for art.

These proposals were reviewed at the CULCON (US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange) in Tokyo in June, followed up with serious examination by both Bunkacho (Japan’s Cultural Agency) and Japan Foundation. This symposium demonstrates that conferences of this caliber have the potential to make lasting contributions for future improvement.

The report is available in PDF format from the website below.
http://www.jfny.org/japanese_studies/japaneseart_america.html

Pierre Grosbois 2009

The Japan Cultural Institute in Paris (Maison de la Culture du Japon a Paris: MCJP) has been hosting annual two-week Japanese contemporary dance performance entitled “J-dance”. This year was a huge success because both of dance pieces were included in the program of “The Festival D’Automne a Paris” (Paris Autumn Festival), a festival of contemporary arts supported by the Paris City Council.   
The first week of J-dance 2009 spotlighted two choreographers : Emmanuelle Huynh from France who loves Japan and had stayed at the Villa Kujoyama ; and Kosei Sakamoto from Japan, the leader of Kyoto-based Monochrome Circus. In « Monster Project », two young Japanese and French dancers performed monsters created by two choreograhers, bewitchingly and comically. This innovative creation deliberately emphasized the difference in physical figures and movements between Japanese and French dancers. The audience enthusiastically reacted with cries of « Bravo ! ».  

Pierre Grosbois 2009

The second week presented « True » by a group of ten artists, organized by the Japan Foundation. Mixing dance and cutting-edge technologies, including ligthing, sound, vibration mechanism, etc, this performance was attracting a great deal of attention in the festival, so the tickets of « True » had been almost sold out several days before the performance went on the stage. French audience was enthralled by this piece of dance that let them experience a completely different dimension of reality. At the post-performance talk on the second day, the audience was eagerly listening to the explanation of equipment that was attached to many places on the stage and on the performers’ bodies.

In France, the number of performances by Japanese choreographers and dancers is increasing. While France is the home of classical dance, choreographers of contemporary dance are paying attention to Asian countries that are worlds apart from their own culture, looking for the new source of inspiration. Japanese contemporary dance will definitely continue to be the center of attention.