私はWestern Australian Academy of Performing Arts(WAAPA：西オーストラリア・パフォーミングアート・アカデミー)で学び始めて、学ぶことに対するより強い喜びとともに、歴史におけるダンスの影響と身体に興味を抱きました。また、そこで、他のアーティストとの親密な関係を育み、周囲をインスパイアする助言者から学び、そしてパフォーミングアーツを職業にする可能性を見出すことが出来ました。2011年にダンスの学士号(BA)を取得して卒業すると、私はすぐにオーストラリア国内でフリーランスのダンス／パフォーマンスのアーティストとして様々なダンスの仕事を手に入れ、プロとしての人生を歩み出したのです。
I grew up in a household where the presence
of hip-hop and R&B music could always be heard. I suppose this is where my
interest in rhythm and movement began. You could always find a young me
preforming in the living room, and directing choreographed dance pieces staring
my reluctant friends.
I had tried different hobbies and sports
but none ever really sparked my interest. It wasn’t until my mother encouraged
me to explore this interest in movement by taking me to my first dance class at
the age of ten. I had found a place that catered to my love of attention but
still challenged my abilities. It was a space to be creative, it was a space to
be free.
I continued dance throughout high school,
where I attended a specialist dance high school. This was my first contact with
contemporary dance. I had become enamoured with contemporary & abstract
dance, and began doing my own research into this fascinating sector of the
dance world. While other students were obsessing over pretty movements and how
many turns they could do, I was in awe of the videos of dancers throwing
themselves at the ground and finding the beauty of stillness in choreography.
Although I had the love and talent for
dance I still never thought of it as being an eligible option for a career. I
had originally wanted to be an architect, unfortunately my grades in school
were never going to allow that to happen. I had never really been an
academically strong student, and with failing grades I dropped out of high
school before my final year. But with the encouragement and help from one of my
very supportive dance teachers, I found myself in University studying dance;
circumventing the educational system, and proving that most archaic educational
systems do not allow students to show their true intelligence and prove their
potential.
I began to study at the Western Academy of
Performing Arts, finding a renewed joy for learning and an interest in the
effects of dance on history and the body. It was there where I fostered close
relationships with other artists, learnt from inspiring mentors and discovered
the possibility of a career in the performing arts. I graduated with a Bachelor
of Arts in 2011 and began my professional life immediately, securing various
dance jobs as a freelance dance/performance artist, in Australia.
It didn’t take long after beginning my
professional career, that I realised I had more interest in being a
choreographer than a performer. I began to focus more on choreographic
endeavours, and less on performing. Yet early on I found myself hitting
creative walls, and not having enough experience meant that I struggled to see
my creative visions come to fruition. I decided that in order for me to be a
successful choreographer I needed to stay as active as a dancer as I am a
choreographer; working with and learning from different choreographers to build
my arsenal of choreographic methods.
At an age where I would still consider myself to be a “young” artist, I continue my research, delving into the choreographic processes of different artists of various generational, racial and social backgrounds. I believe we have a lot to learn from each other especially as artists, and I hope the knowledge I gain will help me create art that inspires others.
ところが幕があいて最初の作品は、井関佐和子の踊る金森の最新作『The Dream of the Swan』だった。舞台にはベッドが置かれ、そこに井関がひとり寝ているという意外なシチュエーションに、心が揺れた。病院でよく見るようなベッドの上には、室内灯がさがり、やや狭い空間の印象。どう見てもバレリーナが寝ている優雅な部屋とは思えない。そこでの井関の動きは、寝ていることの苦しさから、なんとか脱出しようといった「もがき」から始まった。細かな動きを積み重ね、ついにベッドの外へ。彼女の動きはますます加速され、ついには狂おしいまでに高調し、ベッドの周辺にまで広がったが、それはすべて 夢の中のことなのだ。すべては、バレリーナを夢見る少女の生態の精密な描写だった（もしかすると怪我で動けないダンサーの・・・）。井関の迫真の演技が、見る者の心を鋭くえぐった。しかしそこに描かれていたのは、どこかにはなやかささえ感じさせる、よくある普通の情景だった。
バレリーナが踊るソロ作品は、意外なことにほとんど無い。アンナ・パヴロワが踊ったフォーキンの名作『瀕死の白鳥』ぐらいしか思い出せない。バレエの世界で女性がソロを踊る時には、グラン・パ・ド・ドゥのバリエーションが選ばれることが多い。そんなバレエ界に出現した『The Dream of the Swan』は今後たびたび見たい作品のひとつになる可能性を秘めている。
『NINA－物質化する生け贄』は今から10年以上前に発表された人工の知能を備えたロボットの反乱を描いたようにも見える問題作だ。冒頭の大音響で観客を別の世界へ隔離して、以後の衝撃的な展開を語りつぐ。その前に『The Dream of the Swan』を置いて、異界への転異の衝撃を和らげた金森の配慮には意味があった。今後、このふたつの作品は同時に上演されるようになるのかもしれない。
初めて見た『NINA』は、期待通りのインパクトのある作品だった。Noism1のダンサーたちの、感情を交えない動きの不気味な展開は、我々の生きる未来の風景だった。彼らの好演を恐々見終わった後、『The Dream of the Swan』の人間感情の横溢するどこか危うい世界をもう一度懐かしく思い出すことになった。
