‘The sun will always shine again', a famous Japanese singer Hiro Takahashi once sang. This message of hope has inspired a performance by one of Japan's most promising choreographers, Kentaro.
The latest in a series of shows by Japanese artistes to coincide with the 60th year of peaceful Indo-Japanese relations, Kentaro's performance titled ‘After rain, it is sunny', at Attakalari, in collaboration with Japan Foundation, reflected hope in the people of Japan following the earthquake of March 2011.
He danced to music he wrote and composed. His style is influenced heavily by hip-hop and free style, with drama and his own contemporary flair thrown in for good measure.
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Swift and fluid movements reflected everyday emotions, following the journey of human emotions from sorrow and melancholy to eventual happiness. His performance rapidly changed moods as the joyful, relaxed hip-hop movements made way for self-reflective contemporary sequences.
At the end of the first part of his performance, Kentaro established a rapport with the audience by directly addressing them and by performing a soulful ballad on heartbreak.
“The schizophrenic appearance of this dance performance reflects the social conditions in Japan right now,” he said. “It is a reflection of human relationships”
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The exhilarating hourlong performance left the audience feeling melancholic, but nevertheless hoping for a brighter tomorrow.