US-Japan 21st Century Project
Mary Sano Studio of Duncan Dancing Presents
"Past, Present, and Future: Wishing Moon"
Dates/Times/Locations:
* September 7, 2001, 12:30pm- Peace Plaza, Japan Town, San Francisco
* September 9, 2001, 12:00pm to 5:00pm- Japan Day: Hakone Gardens, Saratoga
Admission: Free to the public
This dance presentation is a collaborative dance piece of Mary Sano and her Duncan Dancers, the Hosenko Dance Company, led by Dafeng Zhenyang from China; Classical Japanese dancers led by Rokushige Fujima, and composer/musician Osamu Kitajima.
The project's themes are peace and harmony between cultures, striving to overcome past differences, and the creation of a new world harmony. The inter-plays of these diverse cultures, representing the past, present, and future of our cultural history, will be expressed through movement and music.
This East and West dance fusion project allows dancers and musicians of different ethnic origins to share their experiences, which will be communicated, through the performance, with multi-ethnic audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In September 2001, the United States and Japan will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, which laid the foundation of peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and, hence, the world.
The Bay Area community, under the auspices of the Japan Society, the Asian Art Museum, and the chairmanship of former Secretary of State G. Schultz, has taken a lead in celebrating this event, calling upon artists to present performances relating to the Peace Treaty and its objectives.
The Duncan dance style embodies the goals of harmony and peace among nature and all peoples, which was the goal of the original treaty. In addition, Ms. Sano brings her personal experiences to the project as she, herself, is an ambassador of dance, bringing the harmony of Duncan dance to both the U.S. and Japan.
With her Japanese heritage, Ms. Sano has endeavored to revitalize Duncan dancing while imbuing with the spirit and cultural touch of Asia. Ms. Sano has an extensive network of dancers of various cultures and styles in the Asia-Pacific region and has tried to bring some of them together for this celebration of peace.
Ms. Sano feels that San Francisco is an inspirational location to present her new dance project since she believes that the Bay Area, with its diverse population, should be the model of the future multi-ethnic society.
The project is composed of three sections of dance which signify the past, the present, and the future spirits of the Asian-Pacific Region to which the U.S. belongs.
The "Past" is choreographed to depict confusion, confrontation, and isolation. These are the themes of inter-cultural relations during that period in our history. American, Japanese, and Chinese dancers will dance separately, but simultaneously, drawing on the technique of Duncan Dance, Japanese traditional dance, and Chinese folk dance, respectively. Each society will use their movements to convey the spirit of each society at that time. Music will be created based on the respective cultures of the three nations by Osamo Kitajima and played by his musicians.
The "Present" is choreographed to express co-existence and exchanges. American dancers will dance to classical western music pieces and then to modern Japanese compositions played on Japanese instruments to symbolize the exchanges between cultures. Likewise, Japanese and Chinese dancers will dance to the modern national and foreign music pieces.
"Future" is choreographed to depict cooperation, harmony, and unity. All dancers will dance to the same music piece in harmony, demonstrating the fusion of cultures.
Mary Sano, director of the Mary Sano Studio of Duncan Dancing, is a protegee of Mignon Garland. Ms. Garland was an authentic Duncan dancer and instructor who was taught by and toured with Irma and Anna Duncan. Ms. Garland founded the Isadora Duncan Heritage Society [IDHS] in San Francisco.
In the Bay Area, Ms. Sano received her MA in Dance from Mills College. She began to choreograph and perform both solo and group pieces of her own as well as traditional Duncan choreography.