Master Class at Chacott Shibuya

Six modern dance master classes were conducted in Battery Dance Company “style.” Warm ups were led by Bafana Matea, followed by repertoire segments taught by Stevan Novakovich, Adele LeRoi Nickel, Lydia Tetzlaff and Jeanene Winston, emphasizing excerpts from the BDC repertoire. The studio was filled to capacity with 25 students and 3 Japanese dance teachers who observed.

Japanese dance teachers expressed their hope that BDC would return for performances and extended workshops in Japan. The students did a superb job of picking up the new and challenging material and showed enthusiasm throughout.

Performance at International House Tokyo

With its NGO host Peace Forest and in cooperation with International House Tokyo, BDC organized a performance that included solos by four of its dancers as well as solos by two Japanese guest dancers, with a group work by BDC as the finale. A panel discussion and dialogue with the audience followed the performance. This event was the inaugural performance in International House’s newly rebuilt facilities. Although the hall capacity was mentioned as 80, Peace Forest managed to squeeze in 100 people.

Notable guests included Margot Carrington, Deputy Cultural Attaché and Jeffrey Hill, Deputy Press Attaché, U.S. Embassy; Takao Nishizawa, Program Officer, Tokyo Municipal Government; Professor Fukuchi, President, Peace Forest Japan; Nobuo Shiobara, Executive, Fleishman Hillard Japan; Eiji Kurosawa, General Manager, Chacott Co., Ltd., Japan; and Christopher Blasdel, Artistic Director, International House.

Solo performances were presented by BDC Company members Stevan Novakovich, Lydia T etzlaff, Bafana Solomon Matea and Sean Scantlebury; solo performances by Japanese guest artists Mayuna Shimizu and Megumi Kamimura brought a bilateral touch to the evening.  An ensemble presentation by BDC of “Notebooks” concluded the performance aspect of the program, followed Fellow Daisuke Muto, joined by panelists Kamimura, Shimizu, Hollander and BDC company member and dance critic (The Village Voice) Adele LeRoi Nickel. The panelists discussed their perceptions of contemporary dance in New York and Tokyo and answered questions posed by audience members.