TWO - Minako Seki and Yumiko Yoshioka

Choregraphy and dance: Minako Seki and Yumiko Yoshioka

Direction: Wolfgang A. Piontek

Coproduction: Commedia Futura – Eisfabrik

In 1987 both dancers came together in Berlin and joined the German dancer delta RA’i to create the first German-Japanese Butoh company called “Tatoeba – Théâtre Danse Grotesque”.

In the Tatoeba group they merged the styles of Dance-Love-Mashine and Ariadone, with the influences of the German contemporary dance and the impulse of the creative and wild culture of Berlin. In this way, the Butoh technique was further developed in an intensive exchange with the contemporary expressive forms but without loosing its original intention.

In 1996 the group dissolved to continue their own trajectories. Yumiko Yoshioka and Minako Seki developed their very individual performance aesthetics, which can be identified with the neo and post-butoh practice.

In this year 2017 Yumiko and Minako come together again, to create a new piece. This revival responds to the initiative of the theatre director of the Eis Fabrik Theater in Hannover, Wolfgang Piontek, who wanted to connect the two dancers again. He wants to bring them again into a conversation and contrast their developments of so many years of butoh dance practice.

In their creative research, they worked on ideas like body memory, transformation or aging.

Furthermore, they wanted to analyse their personal relationship, their attachment to their cultural origin and the experience as long career dancers.

On this process, they re-enact old pieces, that they were playing 20 years ago within Tatobea group such as “June hitoe”, “All Moonshine” or “T for Three”.

Coproduction + Direction COMMEDIA FUTURA – Eisfabrik Hannover

Idea / Artistic Direction: Wolfgang A. Piontek, Yumiko Yoshioka, Minako Seki Choreography / Dance: Yumiko Yoshioka, Minako Seki

Production: Wolfgang A. Piontek

Dramaturgy / production management: Elena Polzer, Peter Piontek

Assistant director: Tabea Below, Lara Strautmann

Stage: Wolfgang A. Piontek

Music: Michio

Light design: Wolfgang Denker

Video design: Volker Schreiner