IZUMI ASHIZAWA- JAPANESE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

Based on Japanese physical performance techniques, this workshop will practice body-oriented routine exercises based on Japanese physical acting techniques and philosophy and work with ensemble exercises. In the first part of the workshop, students will learn hands-on techniques, routines, and the philosophy of Japanese traditional “kata”. In the second part of the workshop, Ashizawa examines how she reinterprets and reframes traditional codes, using examples from her past works.

Izumi Ashizawa is a Japanese performance and visual artist, born/trained in Tokyo, based in New York. Rooted in her deep study/training in Japanese culture, she specializes in transmedia performance art, particularly keen on reinterpreting male-only-permitted Japanese traditional cultural codes, and places them in a different context to give a new meaning. She has performed and taught all over the world.