About
YAYOI THEATRE MOVEMENT Society was founded in Japan in 1990 by Yayoi Hirano. The company permanently moved to Vancouver, B.C. in 2002 and became a registered non-profit society in 2006. YTM continues to produce and present work that blends traditional Japanese dance and theatre with telling contemporary and modern narratives. Recent performances include Shinju(2008) at Performance Works on Granville Island. In 2007, the society was part of the Vancouver International Dance Festival performing a piece called Mothers at the Waterfront Theatre. Hirano collaborated with composer Wendy Bross Stuart to produce three stories around the theme of “mothers” from First Nations, Jewish and Japanese ancestry. Using Japanese Noh style masks and Noh techniques the performance weaved together a collection of maternal narratives integrating eastern art forms and diverse contemporary stories. In 2005, Hirano created a new solo work Four Seasons which debuted in October at the Scotia Bank Dance Centre. The uniqueness of YAYOI THEATRE MOVEMENET Society is that it bridges together western and Japanese traditions through the artistic form of dance performance in a way that is moving to people no matter what language or cultural background. Yayoi provide both the traditional training but also the option for a space for contemporary collaboration; the possibility to fuse the traditional arts with other artistic disciplines and even dances forms.
YAYOI HIRANO
Born and raised in Japan, Yayoi has lived in Vancouver since 2002.
She is a graduate of Toho Gakuen College of drama (1972), and in 1975 co-founded Mime Theatre Pierrot-kan to popularize pantomime in Japan through modern works. Over the past 30 years she has continued her study of Japanese dance and movement such as Kagura, Noh, Kyogen, Kabuki-dance as well as western dance both classic ballet and modern dance. Her mime study has been in both Decroux and Lecoq system. Very early in her career she has had a passion for teaching mime, dance and movement.
In 1989, she became the first mime artist to receive the Japanese Ministry of Education Fellowship, and spent a year collaborating with mime and dance artists in Germany and Canada.
In 1990, she founded YAYOI Theatre Movement. Her international performances include festival appearances in Germany, Slovakia and 7 other European countries numerous Asian tours as well as five North American tours.
Her collaboration work with international artists include work with Canadian photographer Courtny Milne(1995), Japanese Jazz musician Terumasa Hino(1996), Halina Witek ( Holland 1997 ,1998). For her collaboration with Bulgarian actor Nikolai Sotirov in both Japan and Bulgaria, she was given the Bulgarian Experimental and Avant-garde Performance Art Award in 2001.
Yayoi’s career as a mask carver began 1996 under the mentorship of Noh-mask Master Fujio Fujimori. Since then she has created 15 unique Noh-style masks which have all been used in various performances.
In 2005 Yayoi created a new solo work “Four Seasons” which debuted in October at the Scotia Bank Dance Centre. In 2007 she collaborated with musician/composer Wendy Bross Stuart to create “Mothers” a dance/musical celebration of motherhood. 2008, she performed in Pangaea.Arts “Life of Paper”, and presented an original “Stories” in collaboration with pianist Sara Davis Buechner at the Powell Street Festival. In the fall of 2008, she co-created and produced “Shinju” with fellow Japanese Canadian actor Manami Hara. Interpreting a traditional Kabuki theatre story Shinju used mime and dance, both traditional Japanese and modern western with Canadian actors on stage.
Stage Work 1995-2008
| Oct.-Nov | 2008 | New Work “Shinju” at the Performance Works |
|---|---|---|
| Aug | 2008 | Performed for the Powell Festival “Stories” with Sara Davis Buechner at Firehall Arts Centre |
| July | 2008 | Performed at the Chinatown Arts & Cultural Festival 2008 in Vancouver |
| May- June | 2008 | Performed in “The Life of Paper” at Roundhouse Performance Centre Vancouver |
| Dec | 2007 | “Departure” for “!2Min. Max XXXIV” at the Firehall Arts Centre Vancouver |
| Sep | 2007 | “Stories” with Sara Davis Buechner in Qualicum Beach BC |
| Sep | 2007 | “ Four Seasons” at “InFringing Dance Festival” in Nanaimo |
| May | 2007 | Role of “a Mother & Grandmother” in “ Okazu” Sea of stories at Gateway Theatre |
| Mar-April | 2007 | “Mothers” at the Waterfront theatre as a part of VIDF |
| Sep | 2006 | “Sumida-river” at VECC for Mosaic Festival |
| July | 2006 | Koken for Canadian Noh Play “The Gull” produced by Pangaea Arts |
| Jan | 2006 | Solo show “Four Seasons” in Grande Prairie AB for 2006 G P LT |
| Oct | 2005 | Solo Show “ Celebration of Life – Four Seasons” at the Scotia Bank Dance Centre |
| June | 2005 | Solo show “UZUME” at Red Strap Market for The Works Fe in Edmonton |
| May | 2005 | Solo show “UZUME” at UBC for Asian Library Open House |
| April | 2005 | Solo show “ Snow Woman” for Cherry Blossom Fes. at Sunrise Pavilion |
| Jan | 2005 | Solo mime “Mime for the Kids” Children’s Festival in Whitehorse |
| April | 2004 | Solo show “Rondo” at UBC for Asian Library Open House |
| May | 2004 | Solo show “Rondo” at Roundhouse Theatre for Explor Asian |
| Nov | 2003 | Solo show “Mask” at Round House Theatre for Dance All Sorts in Van. |
| June | 2003 | Participated in the Charity Concert at UBC Recital Hall with “Bolero” |
| May | 2003 | Solo show “Rondo” for Vancouver International Children’s Festival |
| Mar | 2003 | Solo show “ Mask” at UBC Robson Square theatre in Vancouver |
| Feb | 2003 | Solo show “Rondo” for Pre Olympic Cultural Celebration Event |
| Jan | 2003 | Participated in “UBC Year of Japan” Art Exhibition |
| Nov-Dec | 2002 | Mask exhibition at Centre A in Vancouver |
| Oct | 2002 | Solo show “ Mask” at Centre A in Vancouver |
| July – Aug | 2002 | Directed & performed ensemble show “Wind’s Traveler” at Winnipeg, Saskatoon Swift Current , Edmonton Fringe Festivals |
| June | 2002 | Solo show “Mask” in Tokyo Japan at Umewaka-Noh-theatre |
| Jan | 2002 | “Wind’s Traveler” ensemble movement performance in Tokyo |
| Feb | 2002 | Solo show “Sumida-river” in Tokyo |
| Mar | 2001 | Nana Bush in “Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing” at Theatre X in Tokyo |
| July | 2001 | Collaboration work with RAKUDO dance company in Tokyo |
| July-Aug | 2001 | Collaboration work with N. Sotirov “Daughter of Snow”at Military Club in Sofia Bulgaria, Kyoto and Tokyo in Japan |
| Aug.-Nov. | 2001 | “A Human Nature” Collaboration work with RAKUDO at the Fringe Festival in Edmonton ,Victoria, Vancouver and in Tokyo. |
| June | 2000 | “Happy Days” by S. Beckett at Ginza Miyukikan-Theatre |
| July | 2000 | “Opera Gala – mime & tenor” with Jin Young Zhe in Tokyo |
| Sept | 2000 | “UZUME” at Ebina-City Culture Center in Japan |
| June-July | 1999 | “KUROZUKA” at Drama Theatre for European Culture Month 1999 in Plovdiv Bulgaria and Tokyo |
| Mar | 1998 | Exhibition and performance of Masks in New York, USA |
| April | 1998 | Collaboration work “La Commedia Devine” with Hlina Witek at Theatre Het Klein in Eindhoven, Holland |
| May | 1998 | Solo show “Bolero” at Theatre Het Klein in Eindhoven, Holland, Muzeum Historyczne in Wroclaw, Poland, House of Culture Sredezm, in Sofia, Bulgaria |
| May | 1998 | Solo show “UZUME” at Chunchon International Mime Festival, in South Korea |
| June | 1998 | Solo show “Bolero” at Singapore Festival of Arts |
| Nov | 1998 | Solo show “UZUME” at UPS studio in Tokyo |
| April | 1997 | Collaboration work “Blaubarrd” with Halina Witek at Theatre Het Klein |
| Nov | 1997 | Solo show “Bolero” with full orchestra in Tokyo |
| Sept-Oct | 1996 | Solo show “UZUME” at Theater Het Klein in Eindhoven, Hollandat at Hackesches Hof-Theatre in Berlin, at Japanese Culture Center in Koln, Germany, at international mime festival in Blatislava Slovakia, Millennium Festival at Theater Brett in Wien, Austria Hungary 1102 Festival at Mu-theatre in Budapest ,Japanese Culture Week at Ivan Bazov National Theater in Sofia |
| Oct. | 1996 | Solo show “UZUME” at Umewaka Noh-theatre in Tokyo |
Recent Work on Choreograph
■Mothers(2007)
■Stories（2007）
■Departure(2007)
■Sumida-river（2006）
■Four Seasons（2005）
Major Original Work
■Earth Celebration(1992)
■YAYOI DOJOJI(1993)
■Scene Z(1994)
■Divine Commedia(1995)
■UZUME(1996)
■Bolero(1997)
■Kurozuka(1999)
■Wind’s Traveler(2001)
■Mask(2002)
■Four seasons(2005)
■Mothers( 2007)
Awards and Grants
Collaborations
| 2001 | “Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing” with Jocelyne Montpetit |
|---|---|
| 2001 | “Daughter of Snow” with Bulgarian artist, Nicky Sotirov |
| 2001 | “A Human Nature” with dance troop, Rakudo |
| 2000 | “Happy Days” with Bulgarian Director, Dimiter Stefanov |
| 2000 | “Carmen” with Chinese Opera Tenor, Jin Young Zhe |
| 1998 | “Divine Commedia” with Halina Witek |
| 1997 | “Blaubaad” with Artistic Director Halina Witek in Holland, |
| 1997 | “Bolero” with Fuchu City Orchestra |
| 1996 | “UZUME” with Japanese Jazz Trumpet player, Terumasa Hino |
| 1995 | “The Sacred Earth” Canadian Photographer, Courtney Milne |
| 1994 | “Scene Z ” with Artistic Director of Fools Company in NY, M. Russell |
| 1993 | “Dojoji” with Taiko troop “Musashikokufu-taiko” |
Education
| 1994 | Jacques Lecoq (Movement Mime) |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Kazuo Ohno (Butoh ), Hideo Kanze (Noh- Theatre Dance) |
| 1990 | Jane Henderson (Clown) in Edmonton Canada |
| 1990 | Peter Baumgart (Ensemble Mime) in Berlin Germany |
| 1989 – 1990 | Gizela Peters (dance technique of Kurt Joorss) in Koln Germany |
| 1989 – 1990 | Milan Sladek (Mime) in Koln Germany |
| 1988 | Rubi Shang, Betty Jones modern dance of summer class |
| 1987 | Yuriko Kimura (Graham technique) summer class |
| 1986 – 1993 | Takeko Sudo Japanese Ancient Dance |
| 1982 – 1988 | Hiroko-Izumida Ballet School (Modern dance) |
| 1972 – 1973 | Hanayagi Japanese Kabuki dance |
| 1972 | Graduated from Toho Gakuen College of Drama |