Maki Morishita takes on the challenge?! Part 2 of the Beethoven Symphonies Complete Project
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File.7 Morishita Stand "Dancing all movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9"
Koichi Imai (editor/writer)
Dancer and choreographer Maki Morishita, who performed "Tenkomori," a project of his dance career, at the opening of Studio HIKARI, Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center, will perform a new work adopted by the Magcal Theater , which aims to discover and nurture young talents who will create live performances of the future. However, for some reason, he has a dull face.
"Many people have said to me, 'You're going to do Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, 'Fate,' which Morishita-san danced solo, but with a group dance, right?' This time, it's not Symphony No. 5, 'Fate,' but Symphony No. 9. It's a new piece! I'm in charge of the choreography from scratch, and Morishita Stand will be dancing. Many people get the wrong idea, so it's a bit of a problem (laughs)."
* April: Residency production at Kinosaki International Art Center (trial performance) ©️igaki photo studio
Morishita choreographed "Fate" for the project "Let's Dance with the Orchestra!" (an attempt by local citizens to dance to the live music of the local symphony orchestra) at the Kani City Cultural Creation Center (Gifu Prefecture) in March 2016. This led her to be fascinated by "Fate", and she had the first movement choreographed by MIKIKO, the second by Moriyama Mirai, the third by Ishikawa Naoki, and the fourth by Kasai Akira (I think it's a great group of people, even though they are all different). After that, she danced the first movement with the Japan Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, conductor Ebihara Hikaru, who is also the music director this time, and danced to live music by pianist Imanishi Yasuhiko. In "Tenkomori", she also danced the fourth movement while dancers from the Morishita Stand were performing. She is truly a "fateful" woman.
* April: Residency production at Kinosaki International Art Center (trial performance) ©️igaki photo studio
So why is it called “No. 9” this time?
"The truth is, when I did "Fate", I felt that I couldn't die until I had done all of Beethoven's Symphonies from No. 1 to No. 9. I wasn't originally a fan of Beethoven, but when I encountered him, it became my mission. I wonder if I can do it in my lifetime? Ebiwara-san will be involved as the music director, and we have already made plans for the future, such as 'Next is No. 7,' and it is becoming a project that aims to conquer them all (laughs).
"The 9th"? Next year marks the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, so I chose it because I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I'll still be performing "Fate," but I'd like to do something like a joint performance of "Fate" and "The 9th" in the future, and I'd be happy if I could be invited to a concert somewhere at the end of the year as a "spectacular 9th." After the premiere at Studio HIKARI at the Kanagawa Youth Center, I'd like to perform with the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra at the Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, for example.
Recently, Morishita has been coming up with some extremely unique ideas, getting others involved, and making them a reality. What will be the fate of "No. 9"?
*Mr. Morishita seriously explains his production plan at Studio HIKARI
When you hear "No. 9," many people will think of the final chorus. So the concept of this piece is to challenge it with a group dance.
"The other day, Ebihara-san gave a lecture on "Symphony No. 9" together with 10 young dancers from Morishita Stand. We talked about Beethoven and the appeal of "Symphony No. 9", and he also gave us chorus guidance. Ebihara-san is a conductor, so he is a director who brings the sound together, so to speak. What made an impression on me was that Ebihara-san said, "The purpose of "Symphony No. 9" is not to harmonize the performances, but rather, the characteristic is the energy that connects each performer's performance with their own interpretation so that they do not fall apart." In fact, Morishita Stand is the same. The members have a variety of backgrounds, from ballet to street dance, modern dance, rhythmic gymnastics, and theater, and are all strong individuals who create their own works. We are just barely maintaining a balance by saying that we are going to do "Symphony No. 9" (laughs). We are all people, including myself, who are not suited to group dancing (probably), but in the end, we have a great ability to make the choreography our own."
* April: Residency production at Kinosaki International Art Center (trial performance) ©️igaki photo studio
Morishita Stand is a company formed by young members whom Maki Morishita met at the Yokohama Dance Collection and other events. Although they had amazing physicality and dance techniques, when it came to creating a piece, she felt that it was a shame. She was curious to see what would happen if she choreographed it herself, and so she held an audition to form the company.
This will be the first new production by the Morishita Stand company. "With a company, we can experiment in many different ways, and I want to grow as an individual through that," Morishita said.
In April, I did a two-week residency at Kinosaki International Arts Center, drew sketches for the piece, and the overall picture is already clear. Now I have one month to work on it.
"What I think while dancing is that the theme of both 'Fate' and 'No. 9' is the same: overcoming adversity, reaching new heights, and finally reaching joy. But I have the impression that 'No. 9' has more different sounds and shows more different landscapes. It feels like a journey around the world. A journey of phrases in search of joy. I hope that people can see different landscapes through our dance."
Please let the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, Kuroiwa, who loves the stage, know that he "would love for you to see it!"
This event has ended.
Morishita Stand New Dance Performance
"Dancing all movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9"
[Date and time] October 3rd (Thursday) - 6th (Sunday)
