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Literature Vilnius, Lithuania
"Poetry Spring 2006" Festival of Contemporary Poetry, Haiku Composer Ban'ya Natsuishi Participating


Haiku reading by Ban’ya Natsuishi with Agne Steponaviciute at K. Sarbievijus Courtyard of Vilnius University on 28 May
Date：
 14-28 May（International events: 23-28 May）
Venues：
 Many places in Vilnius (Lithuanian Writers’ Club, Cinema Center “Skalvija”, Oriental Centre of Vilnius University, etc.)
Japanese participant：
 Ban’ya Natsuishi(Haiku poet, President of GINYU PRESS, Co-Founder, Director of World Haiku Association
Organized by：
 Lithuanian Writers Union
＊ "Poetry Spring" official website is here!

First held in 1965 and held for the 42nd time this year, Poetry Spring is a poetry festival of considerable history. Poets from Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia and China were invited this year for the particular purpose of introducing East Asian poets to Lithuania. Participating from Japan was the haiku composer Ban'ya Natsuishi. Many poets from European and American countries also participated, and the substantial and extensive program included readings, lectures, symposia, film screenings and concerts in and around Vilnius. We are confident that Natsuishi's participation was an occasion for promoting greater understanding of haiku in Lithuania and reinforcing the network among Japanese and European poets.

Performing Arts Sibiu, Romania
Kanazawa Butoh Kan Performance "HENSHIN" at Sibiu International Theater Festival

Date：
 25 May
Venue：
 National Theatre “Radu Stanca”
Performer：
 Kanazawa Butoh Kan（Japan）/ Theatre ASOU（Austria）
Program：
 "HENSHIN"

The Sibiu International Theater Festival is the third largest in Europe, after the Edinburgh festival in Britain and the Avignon festival in France. Many performing arts groups from some 70 countries, including five groups from Japan, participated in this 13th edition of the festival.
This year's performance by the Kanazawa Butoh Kan is a 2005 joint production with the performing arts group Theater ASOU active in Graz, Austria, on the motif of Kafka's Metamorphosis.

Performing Arts Sibiu, Romania
Black Tent Theater Performance "The Lineage" at Sibiu International Theater Festival

Date：
 31 May
Venue：
 UNIONS HOUSE
Performer：
 Black Tent Theater


Performing Arts Sibiu, Romania
KAZUMO and NEONGYOKU - KYOGEN - Lecture and demonstration - Ohkura Kyogen Actors at Sibiu International Theater Festival

Date：
 31 May
Venue：
 National Theater “Radu Stanca”
Performer：
 Motonari Ohkura


Performing Arts Sibiu, Romania
Dance Company Nomade 〜 s Performance "Face and Phases" at Sibiu International Theater Festival

Date：
 1 Jun.
Venue：
 UNIONS HOUSE
Performer：
 Dance Company Nomade 〜 s


Performing Arts Sibiu, Romania
ZIPANG with African Musicians Performance at Sibiu International Theater Festival

Date：
 2-3 Jun.
Venue：
 CENTRAL SQUARE
Performer：
 Zipang　with African Musicians


Literature Florence, Italy
4th Firenze Poetry Festival


Kazuko Shiraishi
Date：
 12-19 Jun.
Venue：
 Villa Reale di Castello（Crusca Academy）
Performer：
 Taijin Tendo, Kazuko Shiraishi
Organized by：
 Laboratorio Nuova Buonarroti

The Firenze Poetry Festival was launched in 2003 with the aim of creating opportunities for encounters among different cultures and identities. In association with the Genoa Poetry Festival, since 2005 it has included a contemporary poetry program. Participating from Japan were Taijin Tendo and Kazuko Shiraishi, who also appeared at the festival in Genoa.

Literature Genoa, Italy
12th International Genoa Poetry Festival


Taijin Tendo
Date：
 15-22 Jun.
Venue：
 Some places in Genoa (Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Tursi, etc.)
Japanese poets：
 Taijin Tendo, Kazuko Shiraishi
Organized by：
 Circolo del Viaggiatori nel Tempo
Director：
 Claudio Pozzani

At the leadership of Genoese poet Claudio Pozzani, the Genoa Poetry Festival has been held each year since 1995. Many poets from around the world participated, and the diverse program included symposia and musical and fine art collaborations as well as poetry readings. Participating from Japan were Kazuko Shiraishi and Taijin Tendo. We are confident that for the people of Genoa and for the participant poets themselves this festival proved an opportunity for valuable encounters and rich dialog among the poetry and the poets of the world.

Performing Arts Rijeka, Croatia
Kanazawa Butoh Kan Choreography
Choreodrama “The wind in the pines” - Adaptation of Noh Drama “Matsukaze” by Zeami Motokiyo


Rehearsal


Performance Photo: Drazen Sokcevic
Dates for rehearsal：
 19 Jun. - 11 Jul.
Dates for performances：
 12-14 Jul. (3 performances)
Venue：
 Croatian National Theater Ivan pl. Zajc
 
 Choreography：Moe Yamamoto
Assistant choreographer：Kei Shirasaka
Interpreter：Teruko Suzuki
Organized by：
 The City of Rijeka, The City of Rijeka Tourist Board, The Ivan pl. Zajc Croatian National Theatre, Rijeka
*　“Summer Nights in Rijeka” official website is here!

Ivan pl. Zajc, the national theater in Rijeka and one of the oldest theaters in Croatia, is known as the hub of new summer festival "Summer Nights in Rijeka", launched in 2003. At the request of the festival, Moe Yamamoto of the Kanazawa Butoh Kan oversaw the choreography of the Zeami Motokiyo Noh work "Matsukaze" arranged as a butoh opera for dancers from Russia, Romania and Ukraine and ballet dancers from Croatia. This multinational joint production spanning the genres of Noh, butoh and ballet was warmly received by the Croatian audience and proved an extremely valuable experience for the participants. Further performances in Italy are also planned.

Fine Arts Nitra, Slovakia
7th International Ceramics Workshop, Potter Katsunori Nakashima Participating


Katsunori Nakashima, potter


Venue of the workshop: Park Hotel Tartuf


Ceramic art works in the park of the hotel
Date：
 15 Jul. - 4 Aug.
Venue：
 Park Hotel Tartuf （Manor House "Pusty Chotar")
Japanese participant：
 Katsunori Nakashima
Organized by：
 Ing. Jozef Vyskoc EKOSTAVING Nitra
* Exhibition "International Ceramic Workshop Beladice 1999-2006 Selection of Works"
Dates：
 20 Oct. - 5 Nov.
Venue：
 Nitra Gallery
The big exhibition was held in cooperation with Nitra Gallery. There were works of every artist who participated on the workshop, together 47 ceramics artists from 20 countries of the world. Mr. Nakashima's works were also exhibited.

Launched in 1999, this workshop has since been held each year with the aims of expanding the range of activities of the participant artists from various countries and cultural areas and promoting the development of cultural and artistic contacts between Slovakia and the various countries of the world. Each year, ten or so potters visit Nitra to create work for exhibition, and their work from past festivals is on display at the Park Hotel Tartuf (organizer of this workshop) and the park, national cultural monuments, Participating from Japan this year was Katsunori Nakashima. We are confident that the encounters and dialog with superb potters from various countries and producing work with local material were a valuable experience providing him with much stimulation and suggestion.
And also, in October and Novmber, a big exhibtion was held to introduce the activites of the workshop since 1999.

Seminar Alpbach, Austria
Student Exchange Program at European Forum Alpbach

The opening of European Forum Alpbach on 17 Aug. 2006
Date：
 17 Aug. - 2 Sep.
Venue：
 some places in Alpbach
Japanese Participants：
 Yoko Kurogo（University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Doctor Course）
Makiko Mizuno (University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Language and Information Sciences)
Organized by：
 European Forum Alpbach

European Forum Alpbach is a legendary forum that has been held since 1945. Intellectuals, professionals and students from around the world gather to break down the customary walls between disciplines and hold open discussions and exchange opinions on the common challenges of the day. A diverse range of topics are raised at the forum, covering politics, economics, science and technology, architecture and culture. Through a scholarship program, the forum also supports the participation of students from around the world, including two from Japan this year. Our hope is that their participation in this forum and their encounters with the many other participants provided them with much rich stimulus and suggestion.

Performing Arts Bologna, Italy
"Beyond forms": The role of the body in contemporary choreography between Japan and Italy


Shigemi Kitamura

Maki Morishita

Kakuya Ohashi and Dancers
●Performances at “10th Danza Urbana”
Date：
 5-7 Sep.
Venues：
 Many places in Bologna (Cappella Farnese、Piazza S. Domenico、Piazza S.Stefan, etc.)
●The performance tour in the other cities in Italy. Detailed schedule is here
Japanese participants：
（Critics）
 Keisuke Sakurai（Composer, Dance Critic）, Tadashi Uchino（Theatre critic）, Kazuko Kuniyoshi（Dance critic）
Japanese participants：
（Artists）：
 Shigemi Kitamura,Maki Morishita,Kairi Wakikawa, Kakuya Ohashi & Dancers,Yoko Higashino(BABY-Q)
Organized by：
 4th Skin Arts Network, Associatione Culturale Danza Urbana, Associazione Culturale Symballein

This year is the tenth for the Danza Urbana international festival held in Bologna, Italy, presenting dance and dramatic performances in an urban landscape. The dance and drama taking place in ordinary spaces provide opportunities to rediscover such ordinary spaces as squares, avenues and street corners by looking at them with a fresh view and, by deepening the bonds between the city and its people, work toward the goal of constructing a new identity that encourages active participation in the life of the city.
The Japanese art organization 4th Skin Arts Network, meanwhile, this year initiated a project with Danza Urbana towards the formation of a robust network of Japanese and Italian artists and other persons involved in culture and the arts.
As a first step, a group of five Japanese artists are to participate in Danza Urbana this year and introduce the contemporary dance of Japan, which differs in both style and its linguistic system from that of Europe. A series of conferences for Japanese and Italian critics will also be initiated. The project further includes a performance tour of several other Italian cities, including Treviso and Ravenna. Through these activities, the project will explore the theme of the role of the body in contemporary urban spaces.
Subsequent performances and presentations in Japan on these Italian activities are planned, as well as the publication in 2008 of a book titled "Politics of the body" as a survey of these activities.

Fine Arts Southampton and London, United Kingdom
"Slow Life": Contemporary Art by Japanese and European Artists


Tomoyasu Murata

Wilfrid Almendra
●In Southampton
Date：
 11 Sep. 2006 - 28 Oct. 2006
Venue：
 John Hansard Gallery
●In London
Date：
 4-28 Jan. 2007
Venue：
 APT Gallery

Artists：
 Wilfrid Almendra(France), Dale Berning (South Africa), Mark Karasick (Canada) , Ryota Kuwakubo (Japan), Beltran Obregon (Colombia), Tomoyasu Murata (Japan), Wolfgang Staehle (Germany)
Curator：
 Yuu Takehisa
Organized by：
 John Hansard Gallery, Limehouse Arts Foundation, “Slow Life” Operating Committee

With the development of technology and the use of machines and computers, our contemporary lives become more convenient day by day. On the other hand, direct interpersonal exchanges are waning, and we are being swallowed by a wave of overabundant information incurred by the Internet and other communications technologies. Is it not ironic that we more we pursue convenience and efficiency in our contemporary society, the more we are losing of our humanity and comfort? This exhibition and the participating artists provide an opportunity to pause for a moment and consider the way we currently live centered around convenience.

Performing Arts Kiel, Germany
5th International Monodrama Festival THESPIS , Nozomi Satomi Participating

Date：
 11 Nov.
Venues：
 Schauspielhaus (Studio)
Japanese Participant：
 Nozomi Satomi (mime artist), Joji Takahashi (musician)
Program：
 “Who am I?”
Organized by：
 Thespis
＊ The official website for this festival is here!

Sixteen artists from 14 countries are to appear in the 5th International Monodrama Festival, for which not only performances but also workshops, discussions and symposia are scheduled. The simple and economic theater called monodrama (one-man performance) is sustainable free of political or economic pressure and thus may treat fundamental themes of life either seriously or humorously, probing its audience accordingly. The goals of the festival, through performances by and exchanges among thespians of different countries over the course of one week, are for the progress and development of monodrama.
Participating from Japan will be the mime Nozomi Satomi. Whereas mainstream monodrama employs the spoken word, Satomi's distinctive performance using movement and objects for expression should serve as a stimulant to monodrama originating in Japan. We hope also that the performances by thespians from other countries and discussions with them will provide input for her work in future and for the development of monodrama in Japan.

Youth & Music Patras, Greece
International Music Festival for Youth in Patras:
Yutaka Shiina Trio, Kitami Junior Jazz Orchestra, and Plucked Strings Orchestra


Kitami Junior Jazz Orchestra


Yutaka Shiina


Plucked Strings Orchestra
Date：
 26-29 Mar.2007
Participants：
 Yutaka Shiina Trio
（Piano/Yutaka Shiina , Bass / Yuhei Motokawa, Drums / Junji Hirose）
Kitami Junior Jazz Orchestra
Plucked Strings Orchestra

Following their joint concert at the Cultural Capital of Europe Patras 2006, jazz pianist Yutaka Shiina and the Plucked Strings Orchestra are now engaged in a new project.
The Kitami Junior Jazz Orchestra was formed in connection with the jazz workshops and lectures offered by Shiina in the city of Kitami. Plans include such activities as homestays with local families, joint practices and performances with the Plucked Strings Orchestra and a field trip to Olympia. We hope that these activities will contribute across borders to the development of musical activities of high quality and to fostering friendship through the music of the two orchestras.

 
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