Tokyo Festival Program

Baobab
"jungle concrete jungle!"

by Baobab

  • Dance
  • Online Program
END

Schedule:Friday,Oct.22 – Sunday,Oct.24 (Achive streaming) Thursday,Nov.18-Tuesday,Nov.30

Place:OWLSPOT Theatre

Language:Performed in Japanese / With English subtitles (online broadcast only)

Choreographed and Directed by Wararu Kitao(Baobab)

Yu Okamoto(TABATHA), Takayuki Ueda, HEIDI(Buthtub New york),
Rina Kobayashi(Supponzaru), Yuiko Takahashi, 
Komugiko Kuriko, Yutaro Kawachi(Co.Un Yamada),
Ena Uchibori, Yurie Nakagawa, 
Syunya Numata, Lei Namatame,

Kuya Fukushima, Sho Ito,

Taro Okada(Waruishibai),

Makoto Ito(Baobab),Monika Schmitz(Baobab),
Fuyuko Mezawa(Baobab),Saori Yoneda(Baobab),
Wataru Kitao(Baobab)

Different bodies dance and intersect in this hymn to life for the post-pandemic world

This is a new version of the highly acclaimed jungle concrete jungle!, first performed in 2019 by a company of twenty-one dancers as a hymn to life from the prehistoric to the near future. Baobab’s work is known for its entertaining yet sincere examination of society, its dynamic choreography, and a focus on the body that evokes a distinctly indigenous quality. As part of its Re:born project series whereby Baobab remakes its past performances, jungle concrete jungle! turns to the post-pandemic world, restoring that sensation of the physical we had lost and presenting us with a vision of different bodies and lives meeting and coexisting.

Streaming

Streaming: Thursday, Nov. 18.– Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Ticket: 2,000 yen
Tickets on sale: Monday, Nov. 15
Ticket Office: ZAIKO https://tokyo-festival.zaiko.io/

*ZAIKO is used for broadcasting and payment. Viewers must complete ZAIKO’s free membership registration.
*Viewed via streaming. After payment, please view the broadcast within the specified viewing period. Performance broadcasts cannot be downloaded.

Schedule

10/22(Fri) 10/23(Sat) 10/24(Sun)
18:30 14:00 14:00

Box office opens 1 hour before. Doors open 30 minutes before.
approx. 100 min.

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When visiting, please ensure you have read and understood “Tokyo Festival 2021 coronavirus (COVID-19) control measures and notice to visitors” on the Tokyo Festival website (*URL ▶https://tokyo-festival.jp/2021/en/info/covid19/)and wear a mask. (*Visitors not wearing a mask may be refused entry).
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Accessibility

Saturday, October 23/Sunday, October 24 Childcare service (limited capacity) Reservation required at least a week before performances Mothers 0120-788-222 (Weekdays 10:00 – 12:00, 13:00 – 17:00) Cost: 1,000 yen (per person)

- Wheelchairs
*Seat positions/number of seats available are limited. Please contact Toshima Ticket Center on 0570-056-777 for enquiries and reservations (10: 00-17: 00, service may be temporarily unavailable)

-Audio guides available to assist appreciation and enjoyment of performances. (Sunday, October 24,)
-Infrared hearing systems, induction loop systems, bone conduction headphones available for use. (Sunday, October 24,)
-Tablets providing subtitles will be available for post-performance talks (scheduled after performances on October 23, 24)
*Seat positions/number of seats available are limited. Please contact Tokyo Festival Executive Committee
+81(0)50-1746-0996 (Weekday 10:00 - 18:00)

Ticket

Tickets on sale
・Advance:  Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021, 10:00 – Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, 23:59
・General: Sunday, August 29, 2021, 10:00

Ticket cost
Unreserved seating (with ticket numbering)
-Advance discount: 2,800 yen
-General: 4,000 yen
-Aged 25 or under: 2,600 yen
-High school age or under: 1,000 yen 
– Disability discount: 3,600 yen (Same price for one accompanying person)
*Streaming tickets also available
*Cost of same-day tickets is general advance ticket + 500 yen
*Aged 25 or under/high school age or under/disabled person discount tickets: the same price applies for advance/same-day tickets (ID/disability ID required)

【Points to note】
-Preschool children are also admitted (free for children under 3 years old on their parents’ lap only. Charges apply for children over 4 years old). * Charges will apply if a child under 3 years old requires a seat.
-Aged 25 or under/high school age or under tickets will be exchangeable vouchers. You will need to show proof of age (license, National Health Insurance card, or other official documents with your date of birth) or student ID at the reception desk on the day of the performance (Should you forget your ID, you will be charged the difference against the general advance ticket price).
*Vouchers may be redeemed from 1 hour to 10 minutes before the start of the performance
-People with disability ID are eligible for disabled person discount tickets. Please contact the Tokyo Festival Executive Committee office.
-Disabled person tickets will be exchangeable vouchers. You will need to show your disability ID at the reception desk on the day of the performance (Should you forget your ID, you will be charged the difference against the general advance ticket price).
*Vouchers may be redeemed from 1 hour to 10 minutes before the start of the performance
-If you are a wheelchair user and would like to attend a performance, please contact the Tokyo Arts Festival Executive Committee office.
-Wheelchair users will be shown into the theatre by a staff member about 5 minutes before the start of the performance. Please come to the reception desk at the theatre entrance 10 minutes before the performance starts.
-We are unable to refund tickets or change performance dates/times.

Ticket Office
Tokyo Festival Ticket Center https://tokyo-festival.jp/2021/ticket
・Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Box Office https://www.geigeki.jp/t/
TEL: 0570-010-296 (10:00-19:00 except when theatre is closed)
*Cannot be used with certain telephones
Business hours: 10:00-19:00 except when theatre is closed
*Operates 24 hours per day (excluding maintenance times)
Ticket Pia https://t.pia.jp/
TEL: 0570-02-9999 (24-hour Sound Automatic Correspondence)
P-code: 508-087
e+ https://eplus.jp/tokyo-festival2021/
・Confetti
【Japanese】 http://confetti-web.com/tokyo_festival_2021
【English】 http://confetti-web.com/tokyo_festival_2021_en
TEL: 0120-240-540 *Calls free of charge (Weekdays: Operator 10:00-18:00)
Toshima Ticket Center https://www.owlspot.jp/ 
TEL: 0570-056-777 
(10: 00-17: 00, service may be temporarily unavailable)

 

Access

OWLSPOT Theatre

After-talk (to be confirmed)

Saturday, October 23 / Sunday, October 24 (after each performance)

Message from the artist

My life is longing to dance.

It ends, and begins,
the city falls utterly silent,
as far as I can see
every life has stopped,
light and darkness,
there is nothing but distance,
the coming season is
slipped away,
closing my eyes, before I fall asleep,
what I send is a surge of breath,
the little breath
fills a whole body,
and then becomes a countless birds,
and fish, and bugs,
what I hear is a prayer I used to have,
singing with the rain and the wind, dancing with the trees and grass,
running around the sky and the earth,
lives are produced and grow,
one reaches for the other,
the beats return to me on the road,
the road from the unknown, and then another unknown,
going round and round, returning and meeting,
it ends and begins,
begins and ends,
there, I can now see a new light shining towards me.

When I created this productions in December 2019 to seek "a new wind to blow."
This is a journey from the present day to primitive times and even to the near future, we never dream that the world would change like that.

The silence where people hold their breath.
The world still not being able to clash each other.
The devastating threat which people never compete with.
The unfailing process of this planet.

We cannot embrace all these balances, but we do hope that with the memory and the hunch in the body crossing each other on the present spot, and a glimmer of hope will blow as "a new wind." I hope you can experience this with us in the same space.

Baobab Wataru Kitao

Profile

photo by Kenji Kagawa

Wataru Kitao

Since childhood, he has performed in musicals as a kid actor and has experienced various genres such as classical ballet and street dance. Since Oberlin University in 2006, he learned contemporary dance under Kuniko Kisanuki.
In 2009, he established the dance company "Baobab" and is responsible for choreography, composition and direction of all works. He performs in many shows and other festivals in Japan and overseas. He is the director of the festival "DANCE×Scrum !!!".
As a choreographer, not only the stage works but also TV programs, commercials, and movies.
As a dancer and actor, he performed in works by Ryohei Kondo, Junnosuke Tada, Kunio Sugihara, Norihito Nakayashiki, Suguru Yamamoto and others.
Also he is a member of the theatre unit "Sampin" with four actors.
He has been awarded numerous prizes over his career, which includes a nomination in the “Outstanding Performer”category in New York’s Bessie Awards in 2020. Kitao was a judge for the Yokohama Dance Collection 2021 Competition II.

photo by Riki Ishikura

Baobab

Baobab was established in 2009 and director Wataru Kitao creates and choreographs all works.
Their choreography is indigenous, rhythmic, and uniquely dynamic.
They have held 12 individual performance shows and been invited to various festivals in Japan and abroad, including Dance New Air, San Francisco Arts Festival 2018, and KYOTO EXPERIMENT.
Since 2016, Baobab has been organizing the biennial dance festival "DANCE×Scrum!" focusing on young artists.
http://dd-baobab-bb.boo.jp/

Staff

Choreographed and Directed: Wataru Kitao (Baobab)
Video Projection,Dramaturge: Syungsuke Nakase (Baobab)
Set Production: Tomomi Nakamura
        Moe Shibusawa
Stage Manager: Susumu Kumaki
Assistant Stage Manager: Tomoya Kubota
Lighting: Daichi Kutsumi (Baobab)
Lighting Assistant: Kazuya Yoshida
Sound: Daisuke Hoshino
Sound Operator: Tokida Chiharu
Costumes: Atsuko Kiyokawa (atm)
Compose: Taro Okada (Waruishibai)
3DCG: Hiroki Tsunoda
Assistant Director: Ayumi Uyama
Costume support: Rie Usui
Technical Assistant: Hisaki Somemiya (Baobab)
Production Assistant Coordinator: Kanta Inoue
Photographer: Manaho Kaneko
Publicity Design: Shogo Sato
Copywriter: Kan Fukasawa
Graphic Photographer: Shutaro Nagano
Publicity Photographer: bozzo
           Riki Ishikura

Printing Director: Chinami Tsutsumi
Camera: Yu Miyai
     Masanori Endo
      Takahiro Kaminokado
Switcher:Takanori Otaka 
Accessibility Coordination: Japan Disability Performing Arts Collaborative
Audio Guide Narrator: Ai Mochimaru
Production Coordinator: Miyu Shirai (Baobab)
Maki Fujishima (TokyoFestival)
Maiko Iwama (TokyoFestival)
Producer: Fuyuko Mezawa (Baobab)

Credit

Organized by Tokyo Festival Executive Committee[Toshima City, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre & Arts Council Tokyo)]

Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2021

Inquires

Tokyo Festival Executive Committee
+81(0)50-1746-0996 (Weekday 10:00 - 18:00)