The otherworldly Japan-based ensemble Dairakudakan returns in celebration of award-winning Choreographer / Director Akaji Maro’s 45th anniversary with the butoh-theatre company
Date/Time: Mar 10 2017, 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Vancouver, Vancouver Playhouse | Event calendarCost: $60.00
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Paradise
Maro has advanced butoh considerably through dramatic choreography and theatrics, coupled with a distinct focus on individuality within the group. Here is Maro’s thoughts on Paradise…
“When I was thinking about a new work, the word came to my mind. Paradise, paratyphoid, paranoia… It sounded like a disease. When you think about hell, there are a lot of ideas. For example, there is “Divine Comedy” by Dante. In Buddhism, there are 8 forms of hell. In our real life, killing each other in the battlefield. But I don’t know much about paradise. We can imagine as much as we want, but I wanted to pursue something more realistic. The origin of word paradise is from old Persian word and it means enclosed garden. That must have been paradise in a hot desert. I think there was an idea that the real world is tough and hell. To contrast that, the idea of paradise must have created. If I associate with Buddhism, this is called Sukhavati or Western Paradise (Gokurakujodo in Japanese). In our environment, there are a lot of things – severe cold weather, typhoon and that threaten creatures. Under those circumstances, animals will hibernate and remain still. When humans face something impossible to suffer, we try to work it out. For example, our brain produces endorphin and transforms pain to pleasure. In other words, it is paradise within our body. Paradise can be called a product of perseverance. How you work around it and how to seek a pleasure can be limitless. People won’t feel fighting in a war when they are having a good time in an opium den. If outsiders see this situation, it may look very miserable, but it can be their paradise.”
Following their Canadian premiere at VIDF in 2015, the otherworldly Japan-based ensemble Dairakudakan returns in celebration of award-winning Choreographer / Director Akaji Maro’s 45th anniversary with the butoh-theatre company. At 73-years of age, Maro is a revered grandfather of the butoh genre, having studied under Tatsumi Hijikata – one of the original innovators of the art form. Since this tutelage, Maro has advanced butoh considerably through dramatic choreography and theatrics, coupled with a distinct focus on individuality within the group.
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