Thursday 25 September – Friday 24 June 2011
New Ideas of the Dancing Body
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by ResCen Research Centre, Middlesex University, in partnership with the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
A seminar discussion examining the ways in which the body has been reconceived in contemporary performance, from the perspectives of choreographer, designer and producer.
Organised by ResCen Research Centre, Middlesex University in partnership with The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation as part of Artists Open Doors: Japan/UK
Welcome: Professor Michael Driscoll, Vice Chancellor, Middlesex University
Panel discussion: Farooq Chaudhry (Producer, Akram Khan Company), Kei Ito (Designer), Un Yamada (Choreographer), Professor Christopher Bannerman (Head of ResCen; chair)
Reception and Demonstration by Un Yamada
This event is affiliated with Artists Open Doors: Japan/UK see www.rescen.net for further details
About the contributors
Farooq Chaudhry – Producer, Akram Khan Company
Farooq Chaudhry is Producer for the Akram Khan Company. He was born in Pakistan and graduated from the London Contemporary Dance School in 1986. As a professional dance artist he worked in a variety of dance mediums in various European countries, the highlight being his time as a company member of the Belgian modern dance company Rosas during the mid nineties. In 1988 he received an Asian Achievement Award for his work as a dancer. He retired from dancing in 1999 after which he completed an MA in Arts Management from City University in London. As a freelance dance manager he teamed up with Akram Khan in 1999. A year later they co-founded the Akram Khan Company. Farooq Chaudhry has played a key role in forming innovative business models for Akram Khan’s artistic ambitions as well as offering creative support during the development of Akram Khan’s projects; he is currently the company producer. Chaudhry is a “project champion” for Arts Council England’s Cultural Leadership programme and a member of Dance UK’s Board. He was recently acknowledged in a new publication by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a list of the world’s top hundred cultural actors and entrepreneurs.
Kei Ito - Designer
Kei Ito started working in Tokyo as a graphic designer and then switched to fashion design. First studying at Women’s College of Art, Tokyo and then Central St Martins, for the last 14 years Kei has run her own fashion and costume studio and in 1998 she established an accessory label called Always Sky Above. Her exhibition include Ruthin Craft Centre (1999), Decadence, Crafts Council (1999), On Paper, Crafts Council (2000), Double Vision, Japan Embassy (2003), Import Export, British Council, V&A (2004), Centro de Artesania e Deseno, Spain (2005), Avantcraft, Spain (2007), Crafting Beauty Show case, British Museum (2007), Supernatural, Queens nails Annex, San Francisco (2007) and The Fabric of Cultures, Museum of Craft & Folk Art, CA (2008). Costume designs have been produced for Yolande Snaith Theatre Dance, Calypso Theatre Company Dublin, Temenos Project, Story Tellers Theatre Company, Akram Khan, Zero Degree (2005), Variation for vibes, strings & pianos (2006), Akram Khan and Sylvie Guillem, Sacred Monsters(2007) Russell Maliphant and Sylvie Guillem, PUSH (2008) and recent work for Akram Khan and Juliette Binoche In-I (2008).
Un Yamada - Choreographer
Un Yamada her career as a choreographer in 1996 and has been invited to many festivals in Europe and Asia. Her works have been widely performed in Japan and overseas, and her workshop activities for dancers, children, the elderly and the disabled are highly acclaimed. She finds inspiration and motifs in life-size gestures and actions, and blends them with her unique sense of humour and wit. Un’s activities have included theatre and collaborations with musicians. She established her own company, Co.Yamada Un in 2002, and is currently living in Tokyo.