A juggling monster appears at KAAT?! World premiere of a Japanese-French hybrid work!

Go, see and feel the world of art
File.19 Head and Mouth x Defracto “Youkai Kemame”
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)

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

From the get-go, I was overwhelmed by the high physical ability and combination of these two.
This is still just a light warm-up before rehearsals begin, so there is no way to predict what kind of performance will unfold on the actual stage.
Reflecting on my lack of understanding of ``juggling,'' I spoke to Hisashi Watanabe of Head and Mouth.

Watanabe first discovered juggling when he was 20 years old and a first-year student at an art university.
"When I went to a friend's house, I saw a family of four juggling on a kotatsu table. I thought this was fun, so a week later I bought my own ball and started juggling."

A family juggling mandarin oranges on the four sides of a kotatsu? It's a suspicious story, but it seems to be true.
Watanabe, who was hooked on juggling, realized that physicality was essential to deepening her juggling skills, so she started learning ballet and breakdancing. After working both domestically and internationally as a member of a contemporary dance company, he launched a juggling company {Head and Mouth} in 2015.

"I work in the context of contemporary art. However, this time I tried to break away from the 'difficult' atmosphere of contemporary art and create works that anyone can enjoy."

The venue is a large studio on the 8th floor of KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater. A 360-degree stage has been prepared, with the audience surrounding the acting area set up in the center.

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

Indeed, since juggling and dancing do not depend on language, it may be possible to communicate freely with people all over the world.

In one corner of the studio, Sakurako Gibo, a member of {Head and Mouth}, is working on making balls for juggling. The hand-knitted balls are cute and yet changeable, making them look like pieces of modern art.
The "shaky sound" you hear every time you catch a ball may also be part of the art.
This is a robot that plays music by musician Sylvain Kemon. It seems like a little strange music will be played live throughout the venue.

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

I don't use "ordinary" things, whether it's the juggling balls or the music. Yet, it does not fall into the "difficulty of understanding" that tends to occur in contemporary music. I don't know what will happen, but I can expect a very free and interesting stage performance.

Guillaume Martinet, who co-stars with Watanabe, discovered juggling at the age of 20, just like Watanabe, and currently works with the popular French juggling company {Defracto}.

``I met {Head and Mouth} through mutual friends.When I came to Paris, I heard that they were looking for a place to stay, so I invited them to my room, and they... Our plan for three days ended up living together for about a month (lol). We talked a lot about juggling and we really hit it off."

Although he has worked with Watanabe in the past, this is the first time they will collaborate on stage together. In other words, this is the ``world premiere'' of the unit's work. This time, he traveled to Kyoto and Okinawa with Watanabe, where he also worked as a resident artist.

Since he is also improving his Japanese, I asked him to write a message for Magcal readers.
The blue text at the bottom is Guillaume.
*The characters above are "models" for 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 them to enjoy it, and we want them to take the message we're sending out as they feel it."

This event has ended.
KAAT DANCE SERIES 2019
Yokai Kemame L'esprit des haricots poilus
[Date and time] October 5th (Sat) and 6th (Sun)
10/5 (Sat) 12:00~/17:00~
10/6 (Sun) 12:00~ / 15:00~
*Doors open 30 minutes before the performance.
=Childcare service available. Reservations required and paid at least one week before the performance (Mothers TEL. 0120-788-222).
[Venue] KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater Large Studio
[Cast] Hisashi Watanabe, Guillaume Martinet
[Music/Special appearance] Makoto Nomura
[Price] (All seats are free) General ¥3,000, Pair ticket ¥5,000, Same-day ticket ¥3,500, Under 24s ¥1,500, High school students and under ¥1,000, Silver (65 and over) ¥2,500
*Pair tickets are available at Ticket Kanagawa (advance purchase only).
*Discounts for those under 24 years old, discounts for high school students and under, and silver discounts are available at Ticket Kanagawa (advance sale only, limited number of tickets, ID required).
[Sponsor] KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theater
[Inquiries] 0570-015-415 (Ticket Kanagawa/10:00-18:00)
*Please refrain from allowing preschool children to enter.
*If you are coming in a wheelchair, please contact Ticket Kanagawa in advance.
*Resale for commercial purposes is prohibited.