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Kokoro Dance contemplates transience and imperfection in Wabi-Sabi, a duet choreographed and performed by Kokoro Dance directors, Barbara Bourget, and Jay Hirabayashi.
Kokoro Dance’s butoh expression gives recurring attention to the seven aesthetic principles of Zen philosophy: kanso — simplicity; fukinsei — asymmetry or irregularity; shibumi — beauty in the understated; shizen — naturalness without pretense; yugen — subtle grace; datsuzoku — freeness; and seijaku — tranquility. These terms are encompassed in a world view contained in the words wabi and sabi — the acceptance of transience and imperfection.
The choreography in these Wabi-Sabi performances consists of a structured score within which Barbara and Jay have the freedom to improvise. Each performance will be unique. The music, by Joseph Hirabayashi, lighting by Hina Nishioka and Gerald King, costumes by Tsuneko Kokubo, and projected photography by Jay Hirabayashi, were conceived independently from the choreography. Each collaborator intuitively understands Kokoro Dance’s aesthetic choices through decades of working together on Kokoro’s creative projects.
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Barbara Bourget began dancing 67 years ago at the age of 4 as one of Mrs. Mossing’s tap-dancing Mossing Dolls. Jay was a late starter at the age of 30, 44 years ago, becoming a member of the Paula Ross Dance Company at the age of 31. Barbara and Jay Hirabayashi were Co-artistic Directors of EDAM, with Peter Bingham, Ahmed Hassan, Lola MacLaughlin, Jennifer Mascall, and Peter Ryan from 1982 to 1986 before forming Kokoro Dance. Since then, they have created over 200 dance works and given more than 1000 performances. In 2000, they initiated the Vancouver International Dance Festival which has presented over 300 artists/companies in 733 performances. From 2015 to 202 Barbara and Jay created and operated a cultural hub, KW Studios, in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Kokoro Dance Theatre Society acknowledges that its work is presented on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and TsleilWaututh Nations. Kokoro Dance Theatre Society was incorporated as a non-profit society in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 31, 1986. Its mandate is to re-define the meaning of Canadian culture through teaching, producing and performing new dance theatre with an emphasis on multi-disciplinary collaboration and cross-cultural exploration.
Taking its name from the Japanese word kokoro – meaning heart, soul and spirit – Kokoro Dance creates deeply evocative and provocative performances. Inspired by the Japanese art form known as butoh, Kokoro Dance fuses the aesthetics of East and West. Since 1986, Kokoro Dance has created and performed works for the proscenium theatre, for site specific environmental locations, for young audiences in schools, and for impromptu improvisations in jazz night clubs. The company has performed across Canada, in the United States, in Europe, and in South America..
Kokoro Dance Theatre Society is registered as a charitable organization with Revenue Canada (Charitable Tax #: 11898 6777 RR0001). Donations are tax-deductible and would be gratefully accepted.
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Performed and choreographed by Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi
Lighting by Hina Nishioka and Gerald King
Costumes by Tsuneko Kokubo
Projected photography by Jay Hirabayashi
Composer and all music except strings: Jo Hirabayashi
Cello: Peggy Lee
Violin: Meredith Bates
Upright Bass: James Meger
