Bringing “HUMAN.” to Tokyo

Read about the unique experience of bringing the dance triple bill “HUMAN.” to Japan in August 2021, from our Creative Director Yukiko Tsukamoto and our Associate Artists James Pett and Travis Clausen-Knight.

From London to Tokyo

Yukiko: Behind the scenes, the visa situation was very complicated. As Travis was creating his work entirely in Japan with Japanese dancers, he had to travel first, and it was a challenging process.

Travis: Travel permits are currently issued on the day of travel, so it was a hectic day, collecting my passport and running through the airport, and even trying to help others in the same situation - but it was all ok in the end!

Quarantining in Japan

[In August 2021, there was a 2-week quarantine for everyone travelling into Japan.]

Travis: We were very fortunate to have a good space to quarantine in, with enough space to keep training, work and move around, and having our own kitchen, it all made a huge difference. I took it as a two-week countdown to starting work on creating my piece [Everything Would Be Nonsense], and filled up a notebook with tasks for the dancers and ideas for the piece. I also read several great books, such as “In Praise of Shadows” by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, which was recommended to me by the lighting designer.

James: I got into a nice routine. By the time I’d arrived in Tokyo, Travis was out of quarantine, working with his dancers, so every morning I joined class with them at 10:30am via Zoom. We had a mini ballet bar in the quarantine room, which was helpful. The rest of the time was taken up by virtual meetings, reviewing, looking at the music, it all went quickly. I designed the lighting for the show during the first week, and that took a whole 5 days, but it really paid off. In the evenings I Zoomed into my usual yoga class in London, which was at 10am UK time but 6pm Japan time - I never felt bored!

Creating “Everything Would Be Nonsense”

Travis: For the first three weeks, we were in a smaller basement studio, but it became a creative environment, getting inspiration for the four dancers [Towa Iwase, Kai Tomioka, Miu Kato and Takayoshi Tsuchida] - I was sad to leave the space when the time came! For the first week, Towa [who had herself travelled back to Japan from the UK] Zoomed in, but she was still very involved and insisted on staying on the screen even when we weren’t working on her parts, so she could get a feel for the whole piece. We had a white board filled with tasks and ideas - by the middle of the second week we had a structure for the whole piece, so we could spend the rest of the time refining and solidifying it. I was impressed to get there so quickly - the four dancers are all very talented and determined.

James joining in the studio

Yuki: Once James left quarantine, he joined the EWBN cast in the studio, and even acted as a sort of rehearsal director, supporting Travis in the space. One day, the EWBN cast watched a run of “Dorian Gray” [the third piece in the triple bill, a duet choreographed by James Pett and danced by James and Travis] and I think it was a beautiful moment, they became more open and emotional after that.

James: The whole experience turned into a wonderful sharing, collaborative process. For the four Japanese dancers, it was a unique experience to see their choreographer perform himself in another work, and I think it helped them understand what Travis is about as an artist, what it means for him to be “human” on stage.

Yuki: Travis had explained before, but by dancing in front of them it really unlocked it for them - the four dancers got very emotional.

Travis: They asked us questions afterwards, and it made a big difference in the rehearsal studio.

Finally in the theatre!

Yuki: We had some challenges on the tech day, as it was only one day and we were bringing all the teams together for the first time.

Travis: Tech days are often challenging, but in the end everything was resolved and it all came together for the performances.

James: Because it was all so fast, I don’t remember being worried - we did the tech in the morning, then a dress in full costume and hair and make-up, before opening on Saturday evening - I felt very prepared to get into character.

Travis: It was terrifying to watch my piece before going on stage - it’s very different from the adrenaline of performing yourself, where you feel responsible for the performance. But by the third show, it was such bliss, it was fantastic.

James: Every show was better than the last!

After the show - audience feedback and Q&A

Yuki: We had very good feedback - we held a 30-minute Q&A after each performance, and people commented they had never been to such a fruitful post-show talk before.

Travis: It was great, the questions were specific about the work, not in a superficial way. It felt wonderful to see the piece resonating with the audience.

James: The whole show was so intriguing, this was a great opportunity for the audience to interact with us as people rather than dancers.

Yuki: That connection and exchange of energy between the stage and the audience can only happen in a live show - it was clear the audience didn’t want to leave! Live theatre can speak to the audience directly, move them and make them want to engage.

James: The past year has been hard, and we adapted and created film work, which was great and we got a lot out of it. But nothing can replace a live show - this is what I learnt being back in the theatre, why we do what we do.