North American Premiere
The Foot on the Edge of Knife began its development in 2021 in Tokyo when COVID-19 was spreading all around the world. Composer Masaru Soga sent some 100 pieces of music to Taketeru Kudo who, at the time, was caught in Tokyo’s long-term lockdown and was anxious and irritated by it. He brought the music to his studio where, night by night, he tried to make a piece while still in the middle of confinement. It finally began to take shape after 3 months. It is a butoh piece, but people will see how Kudo worked to bring butoh to a different stage that no one has ever stepped on. The Foot on the Edge of Knife reflects the reality of the current world as he dances his embodied reflection of our human situation. This work premiered at Za-Koenji Public Theater in January 2022.
Duration: 75min
Location: Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3L4
TICKETS
Wednesday & Thursday: $25 Adult and $20 Student/Senior/Arts Worker
Friday & Saturday: $35 Adult and $30 Student/Senior/Arts Worker
Annex Package: Watch one show by Taketeru Kudo and one show by Christopher House on a Friday or Saturday night for $50.
Wed, March 15 @ 8pm Thu, March 16 @ 8pm Fri, March 17 @ 8pm Sat, March 18 @ 8pm
Direction & Dancer: Taketeru Kudo
Music: Masaru Soga
Stage Set: Michitoshi Kurokawa
Costume: Konomi Shibata
Light Design: Seiji Hayakawa
Production Manager: Yeoreum Hang
Taketeru Kudo was born in 1967 in Tokyo. He is a graduate of the Department of French Literature at Keio University. Initially, he focused his activities on stage acting, but changed his path after his first encounter with butoh. He traveled to the United States and studied under Koichi Tamano who was Tatsumi Hijikata’s principal male dancer when butoh first arose in the ‘60’s and 70’s. After appearing in works by Yukio Waguri, another primary members of Hijikata’s company, he began solo performances in 1992. From 1995 to 1998 he was a member of Sankai Juku. He played a large role in the opening and development of studio Asbestos-kan, contributing to dance as well as choreography. Recently he has regularly performed and held workshops worldwide. In 2005 he received a prize from the Dance Critic Association Award for his solo work Akimegusa. He also won a Golden Mask award in Russia for playing the main role of Full Moon from 2011 to 2013.
