INTERVIEW: It’s an interesting day in the neighborhood for this ‘Unknown Dancer’
Photo: The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood features Wataru Kitao and is written and directed by Suguru Yamamoto. Photo courtesy of Ryuichiro Suzuki / Provided by Seven17 Public Relations with permission.
The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood, the new dance theater work from writer-director Suguru Yamamoto, will play a limited engagement at New York City’s Japan Society as part of The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival. With performances running Jan. 10-14, the show promises to offer a creative look at life in a metropolis where the lives of strangers are oddly separate yet still connected.
Yamamoto co-founded the theater collective Hanchu-Yuei more than a decade ago, and the company has provided the writer-director an outlet for his original shows, such as Unknown Dancer.
As press notes indicate, “The company’s plays traverse and question the fine line between fantasy and reality. The creation of each story begins with an interest in subjects such as life and death, feelings and words, collective society and family, and from there endeavors to access universal ‘questions.'”
In this new work, which is performed in Japanese with English supertitles, Yamamoto collaborates with the performer Wataru Kitao, who transforms into a number of characters on stage. As he portrays people of various genders and ages, one constant becomes obvious: Each new embodiment is different from the last, and this variety of humanity seems to be simultaneously pulled together and pulled apart.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Yamamoto about Unknown Dancer. He has been in New York City for a six-month fellowship funded by the Asian Cultural Council. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What initially inspired The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood?
Several years ago when a Japanese journalist was held hostage by terrorists, some Japanese people’s reaction was, ‘You went to a dangerous place, so it’s your own fault if you get killed.’ I felt a large gap between that opinion and my own thoughts and feeling, and was driven to write this piece.
What’s it like to collaborate with Wataru Kitao?
He is a choreographer as well as a performer who is always thinking. His presence has grown over the years, and I am really inspired by him. He is a creator who keeps progressing.
Did you create the show and bring it to Kitao, or did some of the creation occur with him in the rehearsal room?
I came up with the concept and the script, and then invited him. We co-directed the piece through multiple discussions.
What do you feel the piece says about society and large metropolitan areas in particular?
People say that the metropolis is a cold place. But, I feel that the metropolis should be a place full of love and kindness, and it should not lose its humanity.
Why was it important for you to found the theater company Hanchu-Yuei?
Because there were no masters or directors who could speak for my hopes, desires and esthetics.
How is your six-month fellowship in New York City going?
I got to meet a lot of New Yorkers during my stay. Every day was stimulating and meaningful. I feel New York is a big-hearted city that can contain all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs. It is awesome.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood, written and directed by Suguru Yamamoto, will play the Japan Society as part of The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival Jan. 10-14. Click here for more information and tickets.
