Japan Society Presents an Electrifying Collision of Dance and Technology by Renowned International Artists

For Immediate Release

true

With Takayuki Fujimoto and Takao Kawaguchi of dumb type and choreographer Tsuyoshi Shirai

November 13-15, 2008 at Japan Society

『ｔrue/本当のこと』

Japan Society continues its 2008-09 Performing Arts Season with true. A brilliant collision of dance and technology, this production marks the third installment in Japan Society’s season theme, Beyond Boundaries: Genre-Bending Mavericks, which expands the borders of conventional performing arts whether melding new technologies with age-old techniques, marrying the classical with the ultra-modern, weaving text into dance and the fabric of space itself, or lacing stunning visual effects of light, video and design into live performance. true plays at Japan Society Thursday-Saturday, November 13-15 Friday at 7:30 pm.

A stunning stage spectacular that fuses dance and technology, true turns time, space, sound and gravity inside out. Through revolutionary hi-tech invention, design elements react in real time to the performers' movements: a subtle twitch causes massive cylinders to fall, a fluid gesture sets text swirling around the space, and the whole stage comes to life in shifting, saturated LED color as determined by a flourish of perfectly timed choreography or even inconceivable motionlessness. With sophisticated, electrifying design and impeccable performances, true leads the audience through a shocking revelation of light, digital sound, video and the human body.

true is an extraordinary collaboration between three cutting-edge artists. Lighting designer Takayuki Fujimoto and performer Takao Kawaguchi--both from the internationally acclaimed multimedia performance company dumb type--have teamed up with the renowned choreographer/dancer/video artist Tsuyoshi Shirai, winner at the 2006 Toyota Choreography Award. Created in the summer of 2007 at the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (Japan’s Mecca for experimental fusion of the state-of-the-art and the arts), true blends nature and science to investigate how people construct their realities and push the boundaries of what is actually "true."

true features sound, video and visual design by Takuya Minami; sound, oscillation and programming by Daito Manabe; video programming by Satoshi Horii and costume design by Noriko Kitamura.

Takayuki Fujimoto (Director/Lighting Design) has been an active member of dumb type since 1987. His work as a lighting designer for dumb type includes: S/N, OR, memorandum and Voyage. He has also worked with numerous artists, including Ryoji Ideka (digital sound artist), Daniel Yeung (contemporary dance choreographer based in Hong Kong), Ea Sola (theater artist based in France and Vietnam) and more. Recently, he has focused on using LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lighting projectors for theater works. He collaborated with Kosei Sakamoto/Monochrome Circus in Refined Colors, a dance performance that focuses on the simple and direct play of body, sound and LED light. Fujimoto constantly seeks to explore the use of digital technology as a means of direct interaction with performers, to create a sense of immediacy and contact in the performance.

Tsuyoshi Shirai (Choreography) began dancing while a student in the Industrial Design Department of the Faculty of Engineering at Chiba University. From 1996 to 2000, he danced with the company Kim Itoh + the Glorious Future. In 1996, he also founded the company Study of Life Works BANETO with musician Yusuke Awazu and dancer Maki Morishita, and choreographed all the company's works. In 2000, Living Room - the room of sand received the Prix d'Auteur de Conceil General de al Seine-Saint-Denis. His works have been presented at numerous Japanese and international festivals as well as in theaters in nine different countries. In 2006 he collaborated with famed Arditti String Quartet for John Cage’s Apartment House 1776. That same year, he was honored with the first prize of Toyota Choreography Award for his piece mass, slide, & .

Takao Kawaguchi (Choreography/ Text) was born in 1962 in Kyushu, Japan. In the early stages of his career Kawaguchi was trained in pantomime-based movement theater and took part in a wide range of projects from text-based theater to performance art and dance. After a year of studying in Spain, he founded, together with Atsuko Yoshifuku, his own dance group ATA Dance and created a number of experimental dance pieces from 1991 to 1995. In 1996 he joined the multimedia performance company dumb type and appeared in OR, memorandum and Voyage. He has also been active in his independent solo projects since 2000. His recent solo works, featuring collaborations with sound/visual artists who uniquely combine and synchronize the elements of light and sound, include Night Colour (2001), Di Que No Ves (Say You Don’t See) (2003), D.D.D. (2004), Tablemind (2006), and Good Luck (2008). In 2007 he performed for other multimedia projects including: true (Sept. 2007) and Yubiwa Hotel’s new creation Exchange (Oct. 2007), which will tour internationally next year.

true appears as part of Japan Society’s 2008-09 season theme Beyond Boundaries: Genre-Bending Mavericks, which celebrates Japanese artists whose work reaches beyond conventional categorizations to define parameters on their own terms, offering unparalleled surprise and artistry. Upcoming presentations include the fourth installment of the Tzadik Label Music Series curated by John Zorn; the 12th Annual Contemporary Dance Showcase; the hyper-colloquial language and exaggerated gesture choreography of chelfitsch; the New York return of Awaji Puppet Theater; a play reading series of Toshiki Okada’s Enjoy; and Hiroaki Umeda’s extraordinary butoh/street dance-inspired choreography. In addition to these performances, Japan Society will offer two special performing arts lectures: Inside the Mind of Basil Twist, an intimate conversation with award-winning puppet artist Basil Twist and An Evening with Conductor Alan Gilbert, a look into the renowned conductor’s opera Doctor Atomic.

Since the inception of the Performing Arts Program in 1953, Japan Society has introduced more than 500 of Japan’s finest performing arts to an extensive American audience. Programs range from the traditional arts of noh, kyogen, bunraku and kabuki to cutting-edge theater, dance and music. The Program also commissions new works, produces national tours, organizes residency programs for American and Japanese artists, and develops and distributes educational programs. "At once diverse and daring, the program stands toe to toe with some of the most comprehensive cultural exchange endeavors today" (Back Stage).

Established in 1907, Japan Society has evolved into North America's single major producer of high-quality content on Japan for an English-speaking audience. Presenting over 100 events annually through well established Corporate, Education, Film, Gallery, Language, Lectures, Performing Arts and Innovators Network programs, the Society is an internationally recognized nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that provides access to information on Japan, offers opportunities to experience Japanese culture, and fosters sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia. On the occasion of Japan Society's 2007 centennial celebration, American Theatre noted: "For a hundred years now, the Japan Society of New York has been a think tank for policy works, entrepreneurs, diplomats and Japanophiles. But the jewel in its crown has always been the performing arts program."

Tickets & Information: true plays Thursday-Saturday, November 13-15 at 7:30 pm. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E and V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd St.) Tickets are $35/$32 Japan Society members and may be purchased by calling the Box Office (212) 715-1258 or in person at Japan Society (Monday–Friday from 10:00 am-4:45 pm). For more information call (212) 832 -1155 or visit www.japansociety.org.

Performances of true are supported by the Metropolitan Government of Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corporation and the Asahi Beer Arts Foundation. Major Support for Japan Society 2008-2009 Performing Arts Programs is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, The Starr Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Endowment for the Performing Arts. Additional support is provided by The Globus Family, Dr. John Gillespie, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Transportation assistance provided by ANA, All Nippon Airways. Plasma display provided by Pioneer.

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For further information, images and interview requests, please refer to:

Bridget Klapinski/Meg Owen
The Karpel Group
P: (212) 505-2900
F: (212) 505-2950
E: mowen@thekarpelgroup.com

Shannon Jowett
Japan Society
T: (212) 715-1205
F: (212) 715-1262
E: sjowett@japansociety.org