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Hiroaki Umeda (Japan)
"Hiroaki Umeda moved as if electric currents were rippling through his seemingly bone-less limbs.. [with] speed, precision, minute inflections of rhythm and angle - right down to his very fingertips"
-Mary Brennan, The Herald
One of Japan's most exciting young avant-garde performers, Hiroaki Umeda is a dancer, choreographer and a sound, video and lighting designer whose inimitable body of work has been raved as a visual and sensorial experience that is both minimalist and radical. Part art installation, part dance performance, and part visual light show, Umeda's works often comprise combinations of electronic soundscapes, dramatic strobe lighting, cyber-imagery and frenetic gestures; all of which are devised by him. His style is influenced by classical dance and hip-hop. In 2000, he founded his own dance company S20. One of his solo pieces while going to a condition was presented at the Chorégraphiques Internationales in France. Umeda has been gaining prominence in the international dance circle, staging his dance performances around the world such as at FIND Festival in Canada, MIME Festival in England, as well as Kunsten Festival des Arts in Belgium. Since his first group piece, Centrifugal, he has started to incorporate more dancers in his project Superkinesis.
Read our Exclusive Q&A with Hiroaki Umeda!
SHOWCASE: PERFORMANCE EXCERPT & DISCUSSION
Hiroaki Umeda (Japan)
2 June 2012, Sat, 3pm (performance 15mins, discussion 60mins)
Esplanade Theatre Studio
While going to a condition
While going to a condition was Hiroaki Umeda's first dance creation that caught the attention of the dance world. It displays his trademark style of movement, light and sound, each with an equal emphasis to experience.
Following a performance excerpt of the work is a discussion, in which Umeda will share his beliefs about dance and how he has sought to create a new vocabulary by finding the logic of movement through the body and its environment.
Advisory: Strobe lighting used for the performance.
MASTERCLASS
Body Method for Functional Movement - Dance Masterclass
31 May 2012, Thu, 9 - 10.30am
Esplanade Rehearsal Studio
Hiroaki Umeda shares his unique style of improvisation based on the body and space, and invites participants to find their styles of movement. He says, "We do not control the body by consciousness, but rather adjust the body to what is there. For instance, when we tune into a correct channel, we must first recognise the existence of the radio frequency around us. I believe that there are still a number of channels that haven't been found yet, which could be the order for movements."
