Choreographer and dancer Eiko Otake will perform her site-specific solo A Body in Places.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 30 at 6:30 PM (sunset) and Friday, April 1, at 10:30 AM
WHERE: Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, 3251 South Miami Ave., Miami
HOW: Tickets for March 30th and April 1st are available on Eventbrite.com. Admission at the Wednesday sunset Vizcaya performance is $18 for general admission, with two complimentary drinks, and $50 for Green Room Access – pre-performance cocktail reception and post-performance artist meet-and-greet. The Friday, April 1 performance at Vizcaya is free with museum admission. Admission fee is $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for students.
WHO: Eiko Otake commenced her solo project, A Body in Places, in 2014, when it became clear that her husband and dance partner Koma would not be able to perform due to injury. While her work with Koma created and used the drama of a duo, when performing alone in A Body in Places, her partner becomes the idiosyncratic elements of the places she occupies and those who watch. U.S. performances of A Body in a Station began in October, 2014, in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Amtrak Station, where she performed four consecutive Fridays for three hours each. The project research began in Fukushima, Japan, in response to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. There, she danced in the desolate, irradiated landscapes, communing with the grief and dark beauty of these abandoned towns, beaches, train stations, and roads. She has since performed versions of the piece in Kong, Chile, and other locations. Throughout February and running to late March, 2016, she has organized New York City Dancspace Project’s “Platform 2016: A Body in Places”, a six-week series of performances, workshops and other events including and referencing A Body in Places.
Born and raised in Japan, Eiko Otake is a New York-based movement artist, performer, and choreographer who for over 40 years has worked as the husband-and-wife duo Eiko & Koma. Always performing original choreography, Eiko collaborated with Koma in designing and handcrafting all aspects of their works including sets, costumes, media, and sound. Eiko & Koma presented many works in theaters, outdoor sites and museum galleries, including Breath and Naked, both of which were month-long “living” installations. The first was performed at the Whitney Museum (1998) and the latter at Walker Art Center (2010). They performed The Caravan Project at the MoMA in 2013. Eiko & Koma were honored with two “Bessies,” double Guggenheim fellowships (1984), and the first United States Artists Fellowship (2006). They are the first collaborative pair to share a MacArthur Fellowship (1996), and the first Asian choreographers to receive the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award (2004) as well as the Dance Magazine Award (2006). In its inaugural year (2012), Eiko and Koma individually received Doris Duke Artist Awards.
Using movement study as means of inquiry along with readings and media studies, Eiko teaches interdisciplinary college courses about the atomic bombings and other environmental issues such as mountain top removal, coal mining and nuclear power plants. Eiko is a visiting artist in Dance and East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University. She also teaches regularly at Colorado College.
This performance is presented in partnership with Tigertail productions.