My role within the project involves a balancing act between my ego, obeying the logic of the moment, listening and providing structure.
Clouds involves multi-generational, racially diverse, cross-disciplinary communities. They each bring per- spective to the table, and fold a vibrant and essential layer into the growing life of the work. As director and performer, I sit in the center… literally and functionally. In that position I am guided by many forces: my father, the stories and experi- ences of the other elders we’ve inter- viewed for the project, the artistry of the musicians and performers, and the circulation practices shared by David Wei of Wudang West Cultural Center. Being at the locus of all this
man is me. Or everybody. My father said, “Don’t make me an old man!” Acceptance doesn’t come easily. In this inquiry, I’m practicing for death… which I hope meets me far, far down the road. Until that time, I believe this process and practice will enrich my life. I hope it will bring value to others. SHINICHI IOVA-KOGA serves as the Artistic Di- rector of the dance theater company inkBoat. He studies, practices and teaches Daoist Internal Arts (such as Dao Yin and Qi Gong). He is the editor of the book 95 Rituals , a tribute to Anna Halprin, and a contributing writer to The Routledge Com- panion to Butoh Performance . He is featured in the book Butoh America . More at inkboat.com
works in progress at UC Davis, TanzFest in Luzern, Switzerland, the San Francisco International Arts Fes- tival, and the Seattle International Dance Festival. We’re building up the strata of perspectives. One collabora- tor, musician Jon Raskin, had this to say about one of our scores: The sticks are pushing Shinichi into shapes and patterns, and he grabs them and pulls them in a call-and- response type of interaction. The musicians only respond to the par- ticular dancers they are assigned to. What’s fascinating is that it appears
that Shinichi’s movement is being determined by the dancers and musi- cians, but in actuality Shinichi is conducting the movement between himself and the dancers with the sticks, in dialogue with the musi- cians. It is a conducted improvisa- tion where everyone has agency. This push and pull operates both as part of the stage work, and within the inner workings of the collaboration, the process. The heart receives and gives. On stage, I embody a crumbling, elderly person. Jon asks me: “Is your old man… your old man?” My old
aesthetic… or a mess. My role within the project involves a balancing act between my ego, obeying the logic of the moment, listening and providing structure. Even a cloud has structure. We’re a year and a half into a very long development and research pro- cess that began in 2022 and will continue through 2025 and likely beyond. To date, we’ve performed
means receiving lots of information. And sending something back. And trusting the outcome. Letting go. The idea of “letting go” lives within the artistic process of Clouds . I invite collaborators or conditions to change the artistic work. The challenge resides in the balance of chaos and structure. Too far one way or the other results in either an over-controlled, sterile
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In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
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