Look to the past as we head for the future
Work
Shikataganai
2019
Created by Yayoi Kambara and Corey Brady
Shikataganai September 21, 2019 ODC Theater
Performers Corey Brady and Yayoi Kambara
Music Steve Jong
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Shikataganai, which translates from Japanese to English as “that which cannot be helped,” explores the profound cultural shift in the Bay Area over the past decade, and how the concept of shikataganai acts as a means to dig deeper into community for survival.
Lateral Bias
2019
Created by Yayoi Kambara
Lateral Bias April 13, 2019 Z Space
Performers Sharon Kung, Terra Liu, Megan Lowe, Aaron Perlstein, and Leesha Zieber
Music Megan Lowe
IKKAI:Once
2018
Created by Yayoi Kambara
Ikkai:Once January 19, 2018 ODC Theater
Performers Corey Brady, Amy Foley, Sharon Kung, Allie Papazian, Aaron Perlstein, Adonis Damian Martin Quiñones, Edisnel Rodriguez González, and Leesha Zieber
Music Dalmacio Payomo, Colin Masahi “Senbei” Ehara
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IKKAI:Once offers audiences an artistic statement about the meaning of democracy, juxtaposed with representations of the discrimination and injustice incurred by Japanese Americans resulting from the induction of Executive Order 9066.
My research into this question began with interviewing friends’ parents, interned as children. Not surprisingly, many are acutely interested in sharing their stories, highly topical today, as they do not wish to see the injustices of history repeated.
to.get.her
2017
Created by Yayoi Kambara
to.get.her January 19, 2018 ODC Theater
Performers Sharon Kung, Allie Papazian, and Brynn Vogel
Music Thrace
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to.get.her was commissioned by Dance Brigade and Dance Mission Theater in 2017.
Near and Dear
2017
Created by Yayoi Kambara
Near and Dear January 19, 2018 ODC Theater
Performers Corey Brady, Amy Foley, Sharon Kung, Allie Papazian, Aaron Perlstein, Adonis Damian Martin Quiñones, Edisnel Rodriguez González, and Leesha Zieber
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I am interested in creating choreography for non-traditional performance spaces, where the boundaries between stage and audience can disappear. Dance set in a proscenium promotes distance between the dancers and the audience and can create a feeling of disconnect. Near and Dear allows the audience the freedom to participate in the performance, thus creating shared intimacy. It also inspires the audience to question what they value most while inviting them to become active participants in the work.
Near and Dear is inspired by living in a time when we mass communicate via social media or text messages, as opposed to phone calls or in-person chats. We sit in front of our technological devices, order goods online for delivery, and then race from one commitment to another. This has created a lack of personal interaction and suppresses the conscious empathy that comes from actually spending time with people. In Near and Dear, dancers intertwine and connect with audience members in the closeness only an installation piece can offer. Each dancer has a movement identity and through their interactions with other dancers, individual movement motifs are exchanged and imprinted on each other. Duets, trios and quartets surface in the intimate venue. A dancer might also hold an audience member’s hand while watching another dancer together to enrich the viewing experience and create an intimate feeling of shared experience.
Installation performances fascinate me, as they allow audience members and dancers alike to participate in the moment without the distance and anonymity of the dark theater. We spend time together, share a movement experience, and hopefully become validated because of it.
The music for Near and Dear is Dancing Through Time, by composer Nancy Galbraith and recorded with the Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Ensemble.
Daniel Nesta Curtis, conductor Stephen Schultz, Baroque flute David Harding, viola
On Trust
2016
Created by Yayoi Kambara
On Trust January 19, 2018 ODC Theater
Performers Corey Brady, Amy Foley, Sharon Kung, Allie Papazian, Adonis Damian Martin Quiñones, Edisnel Rodriguez González, and Leesha Zieber
Music Joan Jeanrenaud
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On Trust seeks to challenge viewers to respond to the following questions: Why do people trust you? Whom do you trust? What happens when trust is lost?
The audience is a witness, participant, or even a voyeur in this installation piece where dance arrives at an unexpected time and place. Performance docents stand with audience members, so they don’t feel like they have to back away. The docents help the audience ‘trust’ the dancers with simple gestures, such as holding an audience member’s hand or putting their arms on their shoulder. The intent is for the audience to stay in close proximity to the performance.
When presented in a proscenium, dance can be formal and distant, or at least feel that way. In this case, the audience can listen to interviews, hear others’ perspectives on trust, and see partnering movements articulating trust. All this occurs in the lobby and spaces where theater goers don’t usually expect a live performance. My goal is to create a unique experience for the audience before they take their seats in the proscenium hopefully priming them for more art. I challenge the audience to meditate on the meaning of trust and art in their lives while hopefully surprising and delighting them.
Film by David and Hi-jin Hodge
Performers Corey Brady, Lani Dickinson, Amy Foley, Sharon Kung, and Leesha Zieber
Music Joan Jeanrenaud
The Bridge Part I & Part II
2016
Created by Yayoi Kambara and Jeremy Smith
in collaboration with Matthew Francis
The Bridge Part 1 May 21, 2016 ODC Dance Commons
Performers Yayoi Kambara and Matthew Francis
The Bridge Part 2 May 21, 2016 ODC Dance Commons
Performers Matthew Francis, Lani Dickinson, Amy Foley, Sharon Kung, Dalmacio Payomo, Sharon Kung, and Leesha Zieber
Music Ben Juodvalkis
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Homelessness is the most pressing issue in the city of San Francisco. How can we help? How can I bridge the gap between me and someone who is living on the streets? The Bridge Part 1 & Part 2 strives to connect people with different life experiences.
Commissioned by Dance Mission Theater for their 2016 Dance in Revolting Times Festival.
Work.Place.Hazzard
2014
Created by Yayoi Kambara with Jeremy Smith
Work.Place.Hazard December 16, 2014 Z Space
Performers José Carlos Alarcón Chacón, Adonis Damian Martin, and Jeremy Smith
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Work.Place.Hazard was originally created with Matt Linzer, Jeremy Smith, Delvis Savigne, José Carlos Alarcón Chacón, and Adonis Damian Martin. The dancers really threw themselves into this creative process when I was having a tough time navigating my life, and I found it was a spiritual respite to come to rehearsals to work with these incredibly talented dancers.
This piece was made possible by the generosity of Krissy Keefer and Dance Mission Theater.
Beanie and the Dress
2014
Created by Yayoi Kambara with Jeremy Smith
Beanie And A Dress May 21, 2016 ODC Dance Commons
Performers Sharon Kung and Leesha Zieber
Music Musette Explosion
Performance
PUSHfest 2019
September 20 — 22 2019
ODC Theater
PUSH Dance Company's mixed-genre dance festival PUSHfest returns for its sixth year with four must-see programs! This year's festival brings together 24 choreographers, working in a wide range of styles, including Yayoi Kambara.
D.I.R.T. Festival 2019
March 9 – 10 2019
Dance Mission Theater
KAMBARA + DANCERS with singer Megan Lowe will present Lateral Bias — a new commission for Dance Mission Theater in collaboration with architects Zoe Prillinger and Luke Ogrydziak contemplating climate change. The D.I.R.T. Festival, or Dance In Revolt(ing) Times, is a social political dance festival in its 4th year. D.I.R.T. presents the work of artists that explicitly address local/global challenges through their creative process.
Sunday Celebration: A Day Of Remembrance
February 17 2019
GLIDE
On Sunday, February 17, GLIDE Church welcomes guest speaker Miguel Bustos, the Director of the GLIDE Center for Social Justice, and will also feature performances by KAMBARA + DANCERS set to a spoken word piece in observation of A Day of Remembrance. Choreographer Yayoi Kambara began this project by interviewing Japanese Americans who shared their personal stories. Many of her interviewees are concerned that the injustices they endured are being repeated. An excerpt of IKKAI:Once will feature GLIDE Co-Founder Janice Mirikitani reading her poem, “Prisons of Silence.”
Choreofest
June 2 2018
Yerba Buena Gardens
Choreofest at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival — a shared concert with Chris Black, Bianca Cabrera, Blind Tiger Society, Angela Dice Nguyen.
SEAM Support and Elevate Artist Mothers
September 29 – October 1 2017
Dance Mission Theater
A new collective on the San Francisco/Bay Area dance landscape makes their inaugural appearance this Fall at Dance Mission in a shared evening program. With a focus on helping to navigate the complex relationship that is art-making and motherhood, SEAM (Support and Elevate Artist Mothers) is thrilled to present work by Tanya Bello, Kristen Daley, Amy Foley and Yayoi Kambara. KAMBARA + DANCERS will perform IKKAI:Once and Near and Dear as an excerpt.
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
June 11 2017
Yerba Buena Gardens Esplanade
IKKAI:Once will be performed as an excerpt. Free.
Mardi Gras With Garrison Keillor
February 28 2017
Nourse Theater
Celebrate Mardi Gras with this colloboration with Garrisaon Keillor of Prarrie Home Companion.
COMMONPLACE
May 20 – 21 2016
ODC Dance Commons
Celebrate an evening of dance with KAMBARA + DANCERS and Khamla Somphann.
Round Antennae: INSIGHT 1
July 27 2015
Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
Short Shorts will be performed as part of Round Antennae's INSIGHT 1 at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. Free.
David Herrera’s 10th Anniversary Season
April 11 — 13 2019
ZSpace
KAMBARA + DANCERS are guests at David Herrera’s 10th Anniversary Season at Z Space. KAMBARA+ will perform Lateral Bias, a new collaboration with set design by OPA architects and singer/songwriter Megan Lowe. Lateral Bias contemplates the effects of our biases and our habits on the earth, as well as their impact on climate change. Lateral Bias was commissioned in 2019 by Dance Mission Theater.
Hope Mohr Bridge Project’s Dancing Around Race Public Gathering
February 28 2019
The Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics
Yayoi Kambara and KAMBARA + DANCERS are very excited for Hope Mohr Bridge Project’s community engagement program's final Dancing Around Race Public Gathering on February 28, featuring guest speaker Thomas F. DeFrantz, professor of African and African-American Studies, Dance, and Theater Studies at Duke University. We will be joined by the artist cohort, Sammay Dizon, Raissa Simpson, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and David Herrera. We hope you or a representative from your respective institutions can join us for this discussion about institutional thinking and models for implementing equity in the dance community.
KAMBARA + DANCERS Fundraiser
November 14 2018
Bluxome Street Winery
KAMBARA + DANCERS will have our annual fundraiser at Bluxome Street Winery in SoMa. This year’s event features a special excerpt of IKKAI:Once with Poet Laureate of San Francisco and Glide Memorial Co-Founder Janice Mirikitani and a preview of new work! Sip on Bluxome Winery Wines, delight in vegan sopa verde from Now Planting with other nibbles, and compete with fellow attendees in a silent auction. Please join us and support our upcoming work!
KAMBARA + DANCERS Inaugural Home Season
January 19 – 20 2018
ODC Theater
This inaugural season features the world premiere of IKKAI:Once and includes the performance installation of on Trust, Near and Dear, and the new women’s trio commissioned from Dance Brigade and Dance Mission Theater to.get.her. This season is made possible by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation Opportunity Work Fund Grant, the 2017 CA$H grant, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Dance Brigade, Dance Mission Theater, and our generous supporters.
On Trust
April 20 2017
Asian Art Museum
A performance installation in collaboration with filmmakers David and Hi-Jin Hodge, and composer Joan Jeanrennaud.
Z Space Lobby Installation
September 7 – 29 2016
Z Space
On Trust will be performed in a sight specific work in the lobby of Z Space prior to the West Wave Dance Festival. Free.
Dance In Revolting Times Festival
February 9 2016
Dance Mission Theater
The Bridge will be performed. Commissioned by The Dance Mission Theater for their Dance in Revolting Times Festival
Round Antennae: INSIGHT 2
December 18 2015
Kim Turos' Visual Art Studio
Yayoi as Matthew, Matthew as Yayoi will be performed.
Night Out
April 17 2015
California Academy of Science
Landing will be performed as part of The California Academy of Sciences Night Out.