Nothing is certain in Pappa Tarahumara’s performances. The group will come to the Power Center at 8 p.m. tonight to perform a modern, multimedia theatrical piece, “Ship in a View,” choreographed by famed Japanese director Hiroshi Koike.
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Koike’s inspiration for his modern dance pieces come from Japanese Noh theater, a traditional genre dating back 1,300 years. Koike has remixed the Noh into his own modern vision. The movements of the 12 Pappa T dancers are a slow, meditative mix of acrobatics reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil, while still evocative of the Noh theater. They also incorporate a vocal element – not with sung lyrics, but rather with raw gurgles and howls.
Koike makes a point of using as many media as possible, emphasizing interactive sets, costumes, lighting and props to go with the synthesized sound of his composer, Masahiro Sugaya. The lighting designer, Yukiko Sekine, also plays a major role in the productions, winning the Lighting Designers and Engineers Association of Japan in award 1991.
The fusion of kinetic lighting, intense voices and fluid dance movements allows the audience to interpret the story through their own imaginations. While keeping these traditional aspects of theater, the group also explores new-age technology through video art. This is perhaps what gives Pappa T its uncommon universality.
The group has performed a number of productions in exotic locales such as Taipei, Amsterdam, Vienna and Paris. All pieces have been unique in their performance and strive to discover truth through time and motion. Each Pappa Tarahumara performance is an exchange of ideas among people across the world.
Koike will bring his multi sensory experience in this evening’s “Ship in a View.” The production is set in the 1960s at a town by the sea. The ship in the performance will symbolizes a connection between the town and the outside world as the citizens contemplate their seclusion. Expect characters to paint the stage with both defined and abstract dance movements. Through allegory and the beauty of the dance, Koike sets to explore various relationships of humans to the exterior world, in which he finds a common ground.
Koike’s works suggest the possibility of performing arts that transcend cultural boundaries and conventional performance genres.
Ship in a View
Tonight at 8 p.m.
$16-36
At the Power Center