Daily report 8 / 14 January 2011

When we enter the room the actors already have started training some basic exercises and choreographies. New members are guided by more experienced actors. Fumio follows the choreography and supports them.

During the rehearsal Fumio tells me the breathing and sound are very important in relation with the movement. There are 4 different sounds made with different positions of the mouth, teeth and  tongue. The breath and sound give energy to the movement. The right combination between sound and movement is very important. Some sounds close and some open. They have to correspond with the movement to support with the right energy.

For women and men the way of breathing is different. The men breathe in and follow the way above from the spine to the head and breathe out going down to the belly. Women breathe in from the belly to the head and breathe out from the head along the spine.

During the rehearsal I saw the men use their voice in the choreographies and the women hardly do this. Miwok told me the energy and quality is different for female and male. The focus of men is more outwardly; women more inwardly. Both are equally strong and have a different quality. For men the Japanese word is 'Tsuyoi' and for women 'Ririshii'.  

During the rehearsals of different choreographies there were a few aspects which draw my attention:

In one of the fights the actress must lead her opponent with her sword. Her movement with the sword must come from the centre and connect and manipulate the energy of her opponent. In this way she uses the energy of her opponent in her own advantage. When both actors play well together their centre points are related / connected. The awareness and skills of the actor can make him master the energy of his opponent in every direction he wants it to go.

In another choreography the timing is not right. One of the actors is a little bit too slow in his movements. The other actors have to wait for a second which breaks the flow of the choreography. Mihoko said it very beautiful: 'The sword is our word'. It revealed a new dimension in my observation of the sword dance.

Later a new choreography was made with 4 women and 1 man. It is interesting how they create together the choreography. The search for the right timing to connect the chosen movements and positions is a puzzle. Finally the floor pattern seems to be right and the movement with the sword has to be improved.

Mihoko surprised me again with a very tasteful sweet Japanese snack called 'Imokin'. It is a traditional Japanese sweet made of potatoes. I liked it very much. And hope to remember this for my next stay in Japan. Mihoko has a very good intuition for interesting Japanese specials. A wonderful introduction to the innumerable Japanese sweets and snacks.

She also asked me to give a workshop with the actors of O-Getsu Ryu. A wonderful suggestion to introduce myself as a director and acting teacher. The best way to exchange is to work together and to practice each other way of working. In return I asked Mihoko and Fumio to watch with me the 2 DVD's of my first and last production and give me their comments. In this way we can exchange our knowledge and insights more and more. I feel very happy this project develops in such an organic way and I hope it will continue and maybe results in an artistic cooperation in some theatre project or production. Somewhere, somehow.....

    Mihoko & Helene