Performing company Nibroll's new production "Journey without Distance"

This summer, the Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The performing company Nibroll will be presenting their new production, "A Journey Without Distance."

This performance will be held at Studio HIKARI, which was renovated in spring 2019 as a space specializing in performances including dance, music, and art, as well as physical expression using the body and voice.It will be a ``roving'' performance that starts outside the theater.
The idea is that the performers and audience are free to walk around the theater and travel together.
"Outside the theater" is a "plaza" that utilizes the original design concept of Kunio Maekawa, a leading architect of Japanese modernist architecture who also designed the youth center, music hall, and library.
Performances will also be held in this square, which, like Studio HIKARI, was renovated in 2019 and remodeled to accommodate the diverse needs of the audience, artists, and the space itself, creating a truly "distanceless journey." High school students living and studying in Kanagawa Prefecture are also scheduled to participate, and dance and video workshops will also be held as related events.

A practice session in the square in front of the Youth Center, which was renovated in 2019. The camphor tree towering in the center is magnificent! Photo courtesy of the Prefectural Youth Center

On the day of the performance, we had a packed rehearsal schedule and were limited to about an hour, but we were completely drawn into the artistic and profound world of Yanaihara. Please enjoy!

Artistic and somehow charming! The very charming Yanaihara. Photo provided by: Prefectural Youth Center

■Please tell us the background behind the creation of the traveling performance "Journey Without Distance"

Well, as a performer I've always worked only on stage, only inside a box...
In fact, I have long wanted to create a work that connects not just the theater space, but the inside and outside, the space, and the body, even if only loosely.
Although we have been thinking about this, until now it has been quite difficult to make it happen due to the number of spectators and other factors.
Meanwhile, the world was faced with the harsh environment of the coronavirus pandemic.
I think that in such harsh conditions, we really felt the importance of our bodies. Whether we liked it or not, we felt the magnitude of their presence, realizing that "our bodies are something that cannot be replaced by anything else, something that cannot be separated from ourselves."
It was the same for me, and when I started performing on stage I became very concerned about how to position the audience.
Of course, it was a special situation where we had to maintain distance, but perhaps they felt that the audience was even more distant and separated from them.
So I decided to create something where the performers, audience, space, sound and video were all close together, allowing everyone to express and feel with their whole bodies.
I was lucky enough to be able to make it happen, even though I was selfish and caused a lot of trouble for the people at the Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center, who I had a connection with. (laughs)

■What is the ideal audience position?

How can I put it? It's like going to an art museum to see art.
Visitors won't sit and look at the artworks, but will be able to wander freely around looking at the various wonderful and captivating works, and feel the voices of the artists and the works themselves speaking to them from up close.
So by making it possible to "move around" in the same way on stage, I wanted to give both the audience and the performers more freedom of choice.
Isn't the body even more amazing than a work of art?! Just by raising your hand, bending your arm, or picking up tea, the space changes. Right? The body is amazing! (laughs)
When you really look at them, there are even moments when you can see the life they have lived.
The biggest point of this performance is that the audience is close to the dancers, and they too can experience the meaning of the body's existence, as if they are "traveling together and reaching the goal together." The spatial changes are woven with Nibroll's signature images and music, and each location gives off a different feeling, which is another highlight.

Rehearsal at the "Square" Photo courtesy of the Prefectural Youth Center

■Please tell us about the choreography

There are four performers in this performance. All of them have experience working with their bodies, so we are sure to see something very interesting. To repeat, by having the audience and the performers' bodies exist on the same level, we aim to have the audience experience each performer's way of life and walk, overlapping it with their own memories.
I'm conscious of using choreography and words that express "life," such as sunlight and light, to avoid becoming too technical like ballet or modern dance. It's very difficult to connect words and the body (dance), and not many people can do it... but I guess what I'm aiming for is a fusion of dance and theater in the "true sense."

A rehearsal in the "plaza." What are they expressing with their whole bodies? Photo courtesy of the Prefectural Youth Center

Indoor performance rehearsal. Provided by: Nibroll

■What are your thoughts on getting high school students to participate?

This time, the high school students will be taking on the role of "trees," and the audience will be walking down a corridor lined with them as trees. There will be a special device that combines sound and video as you pass through, so look forward to it!
I believe that this experience for high school students will have a major impact on their lives. When I was in high school, I was taught that not only technical skills but also more everyday movements, such as opening a window, drinking tea, and raising your hand, are all connected to dance. I believe that without that experience, I would definitely not have become a dancer.
I think I want to teach people to move freely when they feel something.
I would be happy if even just one person is born who can shine in this industry in the future (laughs).

Thank you, Yanaihara-san!

>■Nibroll "Journey without Distance" Performance Information

Cast: Moe Aoki, Takahiro Hosoya, Emi Koyama, Anna Kuroda
Direction and choreography: Mikuni Yanaihara
Video, lighting, and art direction: Keisuke Takahashi
Music: Skunk
Costumes: Yosuke Tanaka
Video and lighting assistant: David Kirkpatrick
Advertising art: Keisuke Takahashi
Produced by Izumi Kasagi
Cooperation: Yanaihara Laboratory, Kinki University, Murasaki Penguin

Date and Time
July 22 (Friday) 17:00
July 23 (Saturday) 13:00 - 17:00
July 24th (Sunday) 13:00 - 17:00
*The performance is scheduled to last approximately 60 minutes.

venue
Prefectural Youth Center Studio HIKARI

Fee
General advance ticket: 3,000 yen
General admission on the day: 3,500 yen
Under 18s: Advance ticket and same-day ticket: 1,500 yen (present ID showing age on the day)
*This performance will be a roaming performance.
*Standing room only outdoors, and all seats inside Studio HIKARI are unreserved.
*In the event of rain or bad weather, the event will be held only at Studio HIKARI.