A juggling monster appears at KAAT?! A Japanese-French hybrid work, world premiere!

A world of art to visit, see and feel
File.19 Head and Mouth x Defracto "Yokai Kemame"
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

"Yokai Kemame" will soon open at KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre.
Juggling x contemporary dance x circus.
It seems interesting, but somehow suspicious.
Suzuki Koji's illustration used on the flyer is also full of wonderful mystery.
What exactly are they trying to do?
I used my editorial privileges to take a look at the rehearsal studio.

Right from the start, I was overwhelmed by the two players' high physical abilities and good teamwork.
This is just a light warm-up before the rehearsal begins, so there is no way to predict what kind of performance will unfold on the actual stage.
Reflecting on the fact that I had a shallow understanding of "juggling," I spoke to Watanabe Takashi of Head and Mouth.

Watanabe first encountered juggling when he was 20 years old and a first-year student at an art college.
"I went to a friend's house and saw the four of them juggling together in a kotatsu table. I thought, 'This is fun!' and a week later I bought some balls and started juggling myself."

A family juggling mandarin oranges around the four sides of a kotatsu? It sounds suspicious, but it seems to be true.
Watanabe became obsessed with juggling and realized that physicality was essential to deepening his juggling skills, so he began studying ballet and breakdancing. After performing both domestically and internationally as a member of a contemporary dance company, he founded the juggling company "Atama to Kuchi" in 2015.

"I work in the context of contemporary art. But this time, I tried to break away from the 'confusing' atmosphere of contemporary art and create a work that anyone could enjoy."

The venue was the large studio on the 8th floor of the KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre, with a 360-degree stage set up, with the audience surrounding the central acting area.

"We travel all over the world and perform in various places, so it's important that the work can be adapted to any environment. This time, we've performed in Yokohama, Shizuoka, and Nagoya, and are also planning a European tour."

Indeed, juggling and dance are not dependent on language, so they may allow us to communicate freely with people all over the world.

In one corner of the studio, Sakurako Gibo, a member of Head and Mouth, is busy making balls to use in juggling. The hand-knitted balls are cute and round, yet their versatility makes them look like works of modern art.
The "crunching" sound you hear every time the ball is received may also be part of the art.
This is a robot that plays music, created by musician Sylvain Kemon. It will apparently perform slightly mysterious music live throughout the venue.

Apparently, tiles can also be used as musical instruments. If you line up new and used tiles of various shapes and hit them with a golf ball, they will each produce a different sound and can even play a musical scale.

From the juggling balls to the music, nothing is "ordinary." And yet, it doesn't fall into the "difficult to understand" that is common in contemporary work. You never know what's going to happen, but you can expect a very free and interesting performance.

Guillaume Martinet, who will be performing with Watanabe, also discovered juggling at the age of 20, and is currently active in the popular French juggling company Defracto.

"I met the two members of Head and Mouth through a mutual friend. When they came to Paris, I heard they were looking for a place to stay, so I invited them to my room. We had only planned to stay for two or three days, but in the end we ended up living together for about a month (laughs). We talked a lot about juggling and hit it off."

Although they have collaborated on creative projects together in the past, this is their first time performing together on stage. This marks the world premiere of their work as a unit. This time, they visited Kyoto and Okinawa together with Watanabe, and also participated in a residency program.

His Japanese is also improving rapidly, so we asked him to write a message for Magcal readers.
The blue letters below are Guillaume's handwriting.
*The text above is a model for our staff.

"We want to meet a wide variety of audiences, so please come and see us. There's nothing difficult about it. We just want you to enjoy yourself, and take in the message we're sending as you feel it."

This event has now ended.
KAAT DANCE SERIES 2019
Yokai Kemame L'esprit des haricots poilus
[Date and Time] October 5th (Sat) and 6th (Sun)
October 5th (Sat) 12:00~/17:00~
Sunday, October 6th, 12:00~/15:00~
*Doors open 30 minutes before the show starts.
= Childcare services are available. Reservations must be made at least one week before the performance and a fee is charged. (Mothers Tel. 0120-788-222)
[Venue] KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre Large Studio
[Starring] Takashi Watanabe, Guillaume Martinet
[Music and Special Appearance] Makoto Nomura
[Price] (All seats unreserved) General ¥3,000, Pair ticket ¥5,000, Same-day ticket ¥3,500, 24 years old and under ¥1,500, High school students and under ¥1,000, Seniors (65 years old and over) ¥2,500
*Pair tickets are available at Ticket Kanagawa (advance purchase only).
*Discounts for those under 24, high school students and younger, and seniors are available through Ticket Kanagawa (advance sale only, limited number of tickets, ID required).
[Organizer] KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre
[Inquiries] 0570-015-415 (Ticket Kanagawa / 10:00-18:00)
*Preschool children are not allowed inside the venue.
*If you will be coming in a wheelchair, please contact Ticket Kanagawa in advance.
*Resale for commercial purposes is prohibited.