-ku-
Explore the mystery of space

The Theme of the performance is the living soul, expressed through dance and physical gesture.
A mysterious space is created by bodylines and brooding light and shade. Life, woven from the red thread that binds heaven and earth, follows the progress of the individual from the moment of birth to the return to dust.

Story

A faint sound of breathing echoes in the dark. Sensing something, it writhes in the darkness. The breath of life becomes a tiny flame blown in the wind.

-The birth of a life-
Two souls descend to earth, they tangle and intertwine and then encounter... But encounter what? 'Red threads' binding heaven and earth, bind man to man too. Is it a dream? Is is the dream of a butterfly?

Two souls ascend to heaven with 'red threads', once more the faint sound of breathing echoes in space. The despair of life and why it is so precious. The transmigration of souls.

"DANCE & PHYSICAL THEATRE "

KU
C (VENUE 34)

THE SCOTSMAN
Kelly Apter
5 August 2006

BARELY perceptible on the half-lit stage, three large white sacks hang from the ceiling. Folded inside, the dancers do a laudable impression of foetuses waiting to be born, pushing, streching, longing for the freedom of the outside world. When it finally arrives for two of the dancers, life is far from easy.

Anguish is etched on their faces and tension runs through their incredibly supple bodies. Moving with seamless synchronicity, the male/female duo mix yoga-style poses with fluid modern dance. Combining strength and fragility in a single moment, they switch between tactile duet and independent solo.

Making slow progress at first, ku (or 'Living Soul' as it translates) gathers pace. Dancers Kimitaka Shibahara and Mami Yokoyama of Japan's Art-Dance Theater Function have a beguiling quality which carries the show, while the music, from breathy vocals to Barber's emotive choral 3 Adagio 2, sweeps you along.

"Ku Art-Dance Theater Function (Japan) "

Three Weeks
6 August 2006

Physical Theatre: Two little words with the power to send even the more dedicated of arts lovers running for the hills. But Ku, a Japanese blend of light, texture and movement goes some way to dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding the genre. The talent of its central performers, whose movements draw upon conventions of yoga, ballet and mime, is undeniable. A series of dance sequences chart the lives of a couple from their birth to the end of their relationship. For those who like their ation fast and thir plotline clear, this may not be the show to see, but Ku is certainly an eye-opener to the really not-so-scary world of physical theatre and its unique, if for some, surprising, appeal.

"THE STAGE EDINBURGH"

Ku-Living Soul
C Central, Adam House

Review by Brian G Cooper
Published Wed 9 August 2006

Against a soundtrack of loud breathing, a totally darkended stage gradually becomes dimly lit revealing huge, white banging sheets. Inside, as if within a great wormb, human forms stir from stillness into movement, feeling and flesing their limbs. As the sheets become huge hammmocks, the swaying human forms shine red and white torches in self exploration, with light and shadows deepening the sense of mystery. As if newly-born, the near naked bodies descend to the earth, slowl feeling their limbs and steadily unfurling into beautifully expressive movement and highly-charged but always fraceful dance.

Kimitaka Shibahara and Mami Yokoyama, assisted by Yoriaki Nagao, of the highly innovative Art-Dance Theatre Function compay of Yokoyama, deploy primarily occidental movement dechniques within an Oriental ambience informed by Butto, to express Eastern religious themes of souls in transmigration. Tightly focused, this highly memorable works is demandingly original.

"CONSUL / December 2005 Review St. Petersburg"

Sound echo in a jet black hall. Hot air is blown onto the audience.
It surrounds us completely; could it be a giant breathing? Still no one can see, just hear his sighs. In and out he breathes for what seems like an age.

Suddenly, a tiny flame appears in the centre of the stage. And then another. Then two cocoons can be seen and a man too is slowly moving.
Yet the giant continues to sigh; his breath blowing over the cocoons.

At last, the man emerges from one of the cocoons. A woman and a man; the creator blows life into their bodies.

Life is lived, layer upon layer of happiness and sadness. This man and woman appear to share anguish and sorrow more than happiness. Sometimes together, sometimes alone they attempt to overcome their grief.

This story was performed by the Art-Dance Theatre function at the 150th anniversary of the Russo-Japanese friendship Pact in St Petersburg October 2005. The audiences were clearly moved by Mami Yokoyama and Kimitaka Shibahara's expression of movement. Their performance stunned them into silence. All eyes were on the stage as the audience tried to capture every moment of the story. Its complex choreography reminded one of how eloquent storytelling can be; like a great saga, rich and expressive in its vocabulary, being told so - not one word neglected by a transfixed audience in their efforts to catch as full an understanding of the tale as possible.

The dancers perform with minimum costume and in bare feet. In one particular scene, the female dancer creates unbearably tragic images accompanies by the deeply spiritual sound of cello. Sound, however, does not dominate the performance and what there is acts more as an accent on the story. The female dancer with her rhythmic body movements creates a powerful impression while the solo male dancer's expressive play with his hands is truly "the soul of dance".

Throughout, the performers' richly expressive language of dance had distinctiveness and refined grace. Thunderous applause from a deeply satisfied audience greeted the end of their revels in modern dance.

"Ku Art-Dance Theater Function"