Ikue Nakagawa - Kuroko (Day 2)

In Japanese, ‘kuroko ni tessuru’ means: to work for someone, take care of their affairs, solve their problems without them knowing and always remaining in the background.

In kabuki theatre, kurokos are also faceless ‘characters’ dressed entirely in black who essentially play the roles of assistants or puppeteers.

Kuroko is therefore never at the centre of the story. Always at the service of –.

For her latest creation, choreographer Ikue Nakagawa has decided to shift the focus and shine a light on these shadows of ourselves. The many facets that make us who we are. Those we like to show to the world, but also those we hide from others and sometimes from ourselves. A show in which the supporting roles, whether appealing or not, take centre stage and, for once, become the focus of the story. A fitting reversal for those facets of ‘ourselves’ that accompany us without ever abandoning us.

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Biography

‘I was born in Japan and came to Europe to be a professional dancer. After ten years as a performer, I began my work as a choreographer based on my drawings, which I use as a means of looking at myself, talking to myself and understanding myself on a daily basis. I draw what I feel in my life as an individual, a mother, a wife and a woman.

I think about choreography when I want to share with the audience what I feel with these drawings, which we translate into stage language with my collaborators.

I have already created two solos with life-size puppets that interact with the body of the choreography: in 2021, NAKAMI at Teatro Pradillo in Madrid, and then TAMANEGI at Les Brigittines in Brussels in 2022, which won the “Grande scène” award in 2023.’

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Design and performance: Ikue Nakagawa

Lighting: Matthieu Vergez and Ryoya Fudetani

Lighting control: Lucas Baccini

Scenography: Camille Panza and Léonard Cornevin

Musical composition: Patrick Belmont

Artistic collaboration & outside view: Lorenzo De Angelis, Salomé Genès, Taka Shamoto

Delegated production: la Balsamine (Bruxelles, Be)

Executive production and distribution: Météores / Charlotte Giteau (administration and production) / Anaïs Guilleminot (distribution and production)

Acknowledgements: 1x2x3 asbl, Yumi Funaya, Yuika Koizumi, Arnaud Timmermans, Moë Nakagawa De Angelis, Aki Nakagawa De Angelis

Coproduction: Charleroi danse, center chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles (Be), Cndc Angers (Fr) ; la Balsamine (Bruxelles, Be), Atelier de Paris / CDCN (Fr), La Place de la danse CDCN Toulouse Occitanie (Fr), La Coop asbl and Shelter Prod

Support: AD Lib’s Residencies (Brussels, Be), Le Bamp (Brussels, Be), La Bellone (Brussels, Be), Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles Paris (Fr), Materias Diversos (Minde, Pt), Montpellier Danse (Fr) as part of the residency at l’Agora, cité internationale de la danse, BNP Paribas, ING, Tax Shelter from the Belgian federal government, la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Wallonie-Bruxelles International and Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse

Accompanied by: Grand Studio (Brussels, Be)