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Gilles Kennedy
For Gilles Kennedy's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 2, 1999
Teshigawara gets down to 'Absolute Zero'
It's hard to imagine Saburo Teshigawara ever coming up with a solo to rival "Absolute Zero," his work currently in production at Setagaya Public Theater.
CULTURE / Stage
May 15, 1999
Theatre Olympics: Let the performances begin!
High on a mountain top covered with tea bushes in Shizuoka Prefecture, Kim Itoh is dancing his solo piece "Nerve Maze Garden 2" in one of the most aesthetically pleasing venues in Japan. Designed by architect Arata Isozaki as part of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Park, Daendo Hall is a small oval theater with a high-arching ceiling reminiscent of sail rigging in the way the beams of cypress support the entire structure. The floor, polished black and sibilant as befits a theater that can be used for traditional Japanese performing arts such as noh, mirrors the vaulted ceiling and shoji-spaced walls.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 1999
Beethoven's global harmony ballet
Ludwig van Beethoven is not the composer that springs to mind when trawling the classics for a composition to accompany dance, but in "The Ninth Symphony" choreographed by Maurice Bejart, the doughty chords are given a vivid and fresh life with mid-century choreography.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 24, 1999
Royal Ballet showcases core repertory
The Royal Ballet is currently touring Japan with the productions "Swan Lake," "Manon" and "La Fille Mal Gardee," showcasing the lyrical Royal Ballet style.
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 2, 1999
Spellbound by Decoufle's grand illusion
Wit, magic and illusion took over the stage at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall on March 26-28 when Philippe Decoufle and his Compagnie D.C.A. closed the Contemporary Arts Series with "SHAZAM!" The opening filmed sequence of performers vanishing and reappearing through a series of frames, laid the tone of the piece: illusion and its celebration.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 5, 1999
Stylistic zenith of wild flurries
Ryuichi Arisaka has perfected the choreography of the distraught. For his company Agua Gala, in collaboration with French artist Olivierde Schrynmakers, Arisaka created the piece "Industrial 03" which premiered Feb. 25-27 at the Japan Foundation Forum.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree