Music, Art and Body

"SKINNERS" - the latest offering from world-famous Saburo Teshigawara

In the twenty-five years since Saburo Teshigawara's breakthrough at the Bagnolet International Choreography Competition in 1986 he has been a giant of world dance. With a unique philosophical approach and ever-exploring forms of expression, Teshigawara performs dance works each year domestically and abroad, not just at theaters and festivals, but is also commissioned to create choreographies for other companies and major troupes, such as the Paris Ballet, the Frankfurt Ballet, and the Nederlands Dans Theater. This year he directed Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" for the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, in which the dancers of KARAS and Teshigawara himself also appeared. Receiving great acclaim for his refined aesthetic sensitivity, he regularly receives requests for performances at opera houses and festivals all over Europe and America. On top of his achievements as a dancer and choreographer, Teshigawara also creates his own sets and lighting, and is admired as a leading director and artist in the film and 3D genres.

György Ligeti and Noise

This new work for F/T 2010, "SKINNERS - Dedicated to Evaporating Things", sees Teshigawara build on Gyorgy Ligeti's music with original Noise sound composed specially for this occasion. Ligeti is the leading post-war composer known for his unique works blending imagination and a highly honed sound beauty. With Ligeti's "Études pour piano", said to go beyond the normal limits of piano music, the dancers will go beyond their physical boundaries.

Pushing dance to the limit

Teshigawara's dancers challenge the very definitions of their physicality, making dance that goes beyond the boundaries of culture or language to move audiences all over the world. The choreographer has received some of the highest dancing honors in Europe, and his collaborations with 2008 Japan Dance Forum Award-winner Rihoko Sato match daintiness with heaviness for a protean, unforgettable dance experience. Further, Teshigawara has devoted much of his energy into educating and training teenage dancers through various education projects, and workshops at his studio. Now some of the teenagers involved in his previous education projects have become members of the company KARAS.