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"Triangle Project: Journey of the Dandelion" |
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Often in a Japanese tea ceremony one can hear the phrase "Ichigo, Ichie" which means “this meeting, but once in a lifetime.” This phrase embodies the essence of the forthcoming "Triangle Project: Journey of the Dandelion," a COLLABORATIVE WORK by Japanese American artists, PJ Hirabayashi of San Jose Taiko and songwriter Nobuko Miyamoto of Great Leap, and noted Japanese performer, Yoko Fujimoto, principal vocalist with the acclaimed company, Kodo.
As the initiator of bringing the collaborators together, I believe that we create an inspiring piece by showing our vulnerability as human beings through sharing our very personal and collective stories; stories that many people can relate to; stories that provoke questions like “Where do I come from, what is my community, who do I relate to and why; who am I?” --PJ Hirabayashi
Going to Japan for the first time to work together on Sado Island, where so many artists have practiced their “authentic” traditions…allows me to experience my ancestral roots. It calls me to weave it with the many cultures...all the voices that dance through me…to be and freely express my “authentic” self. --Nobuko Miyamoto
I grew up in postwar Japan, at the end of the American Occupation, when Japan’s history was dramatically changing, and it is only recently that I am interested in uncovering the core elements of what makes me Japanese. If I can do this, it may help me better understand myself and people of other ethnic backgrounds, and to also understand what it is to be human. --Yoko Fujimoto
Though PJ, Nobuko and Yoko come from vastly different backgrounds, they have found deep communion in the way they have pursued their music. The stark symplicity of two voices and taiko percussion, is the starting place of the web they skillfully spin. Forging a language between English and Japanese, wordless songs, scatted and soaring, stories emerge of their spiritual journeys.
Triangle Project culminates with a newly created song/dance, in the Buddhist tradition of Obon, engaging musicians and community members in residency. In Japan, Obon was a time people returned home to dance in the circle and remember their ancestors. Today in America Obon still thrives. We dance, crossing the borders of time and culture, connecting past with the present.
The production will tour throughout the United States beginning in Summer 2005, followed by potential bookings in Japan. Productions will be staged in established theaters along with community residencies. It is expected that all work created in this collaboration will have a life beyond this collaboration, and will return to each artist’s organization’s repertoire or to inspire development of new work.
Through the use of personal stories, folk music and dance and multi-media resources, The Triangle Project will examine the cultural lives of three Asian/Asian American women in the arts - "ichigo, ichie” - when all circumstances fall into alignment at only one moment.
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