Mission Loc@l

Monday, August 6th and
Tuesday, August 7th
8:00pm
Tickets $8-15 sliding

“Christmas Light Vibes” is a 30-minute experimental music/movement work that occasionally is a foot massage. Vibrations can be good like that. New tensions, meanings and releases are generated from random combinations of spatial forms and sounds. “Who are you” asked the sock to the mitten. This is a story in reverse – a quoting of the source, a seasonal illumination of interconnectedness. Destiny and chance scream to be hung out to dry.

The Eurostache group is a project centering around electro-acoustic real-time collaborative experiments in sound. Our key experimental technique is using custom hand-built and circuit-bent instruments in unusual combinations with traditional ones. Traditional musical constructs of composition are set aside to explore the fringes of sound. Extended vocal techniques humanize the highly transient nature of the live exploration. Along with sound, performances have incorporated additional layers of interaction with elements such as improvisational comedy and live scoring to films. Eurostache was founded in 2008 and has six regular members that employ instruments that range from circuit-bent electronics, laptops, toys, a waterphone, and a singing tea kettle, to a cello, euphonium, and clarinet. The core ensemble is frequently augmented with guests from the San Francisco Bay Area. The group has previously performed at spaces such as Olympia Experimental Music Festival 2011 (Olympia, WA), Vessel Gallery (Oakland, CA), Krowswork Gallery (Oakland, CA), San Francisco State University, CELLspace Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Mama Buzz Cafe (Oakland, CA) and Maker Faire (San Mateo, CA). http://www.eurostache.com/

WANG WEI
Wang Wei’s musical career started when his father taught him the yangqin, the Chinese hammered dulcimer, at the age of 4. His musical talent and accomplishment in the instrument was acknowledged at the China Music Conservatory, where he attended middle and high school from 1983-1989. During that time, he began to explore percussion, studying with Zhu Xiaolin, a master Chinese percussion, and Fang Guoqing, a master in Western classical instruments, including the xylophone, marimba, and snare drum. Graduating first in his class, Wei was immediately accepted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. There he trained under the best percussion teachers in Shanghai, continuing his studies in Chinese percussion with Li Mingxiong and Western percussion with Xue Baolun. After graduating in 1993, he joined the Shanghai Song and Dance Ensemble as their only percussion soloist.

In 1994, Wei joined musicians from Germany, Inner Mongolia, Nanjing, Chengdu, and Hangzhou to form an East-West ensemble called Crossing. Together, they won first place in the 1994 Beijing Jazz Competition. In 1996, Wei was awarded a two year Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DADD) scholarship which allowed him to study and perform in Berlin. This German Academic Exchange Program made possible musical exchanges between Germany and other countries. During those two years, he worked with many other musicians and performed for such notables as the president of Germany. Wei, as part of the trio Omen, won first place at Berlin’s prestigious World Music Competition in October of 1996. In 1998 after completion of the scholarship, Wei attended the Berlin Conservatory of Music, becoming the school’s first student ever to pursue a double major program in both jazz drums and hand drums/world percussion. After his graduation in 2000, he was invited by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to perform as a guest bangu soloist with Maestro Kent Nagano in the “Rhythm and Dance” Concert.

He has recorded extensively and has been featured in “Sister Drum” and the music for “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. As the founder of the North America Chinese Percussion Society, Wang Wei now actively promotes Chinese traditional percussion through concerts, workshops and lectures, and continues to perform all around the U.S. in festivals, concerts, residencies, and for workshops. He is currently developing a neo-Chinese dagu touring ensemble incorporating the cross-cultural ideas and explorations he has pilot tested in short-term ensembles such as “Crossing” (China), “Omen” (Germany), and “Chinese and World Percussion Masters” (ODC Theater, U.S.). In addition to his work as a master performer, Wang Wei also teach Chinese traditional percussion to youth in several schools within the San Francisco Unified School District. http://youtu.be/M518lWf7u2Q

“Unravelings”
by ONENESS BUTOH & TAIKOPEACE COLLECTIVE, with special guest artists

In a triad of original pieces, the provocative butoh dance form merges with Japanese traditional instruments to weave a riveting story of human travesty to triumphant hope. Threads of the human spirit unravel in abstractions of dance meandering with strikes of taiko drum, whispers of fue, strums of koto, and poetic soliloquy. Unexpected body shapes, contorted tracings, and sensual sounds will escort you on a journey exploring the dark, demented realms of consciousness healed by compassion and transformed by artistic self-discovery.

Lacing storytelling with improvisation, the artists dwell in the authenticity of the moment reveling between structure and free form. The characteristic slow cadence of butoh dance allows the organic beauty of the moment to unfold with a soft edge. What results is an intense exposé of the soul further illuminated by the painted snow white faces of the artists.

This program includes works that mark the emergence of an exciting experimental genre of butoh taiko as co-created by Judith Kajiwara of OnenessButoh and PJ Hirabayashi of TaikoPeace. Judy and PJ share the vision of exploiting the energy of dance and drumming towards a consciousness of peace. These trailblazing artists, who’ve nurtured and honed their respective art forms for over four decades, invite you to be fully immersed and uplifted by this avant garde experience heightened by the intimacy of NOHspace.

About OnenessButoh
Butoh (boo-TOE) is a slow-motion, labored, improvisational dance that originated in Tokyo during the late 1950s. Judith Kajiwara’s ever-evolving, style of Butoh comes from a place of deep awareness. She is self-taught and constantly uncovers new layers of her Spiritual Self. Kajiwara calls her style of Butoh OnenessButoh as it is the dancer’s journey back to reclaiming his/her true Self as an artist. OnenessButoh is a place of transparency, where the power of the dance transcends physical space into non-physical realms, becoming a true reflection of Oneness with all of Life and Beyond. It is here that tears silently fall. And it is from this higher place that Butoh must continue to be seen and felt both personally and globally.

About TaikoPeace
TaikoPeace, created by PJ Hirabayashi, is a movement, mindset, and mantra dedicated to unleash creativity, spark new connections of co-creativity, and heal the human spirit through the dynamic energy of taiko drumming. It is inspired by Karen Armstrong’s Charter for Compassion, a document supported by leading thinkers from many traditions that activates the Golden Rule around the world. The TaikoPeace experience integrates taiko drumming with artistic modalities such as Japanese butoh dancing, chanting, and spoken word to awaken self-expression in disruptive, yet positive ways. It is PJ’s dream that this artistic empowerment will inspire heart-centered and gratitude-conscious individuals to be the change they seek.

Artists:
Judith Kajiwara, Creative Director, dancer, choreographer, 2012 Oakland Asian Cultural Center’s Artist in Residence
butoh dancer

PJ Hirabayashi, Creator of TaikoPeace, Peace Ambassador, Artistic Director Emeritus and founding member of San Jose Taiko,
taiko drum, butoh dancer, chant, bells

Roy Hirabayashi, Founding member of San Jose Taiko
fue, percussion

Shoko Hikage, world-class koto musician
koto

Pear Urushima, Associate Member, San Jose Taiko
poetry