dance artist, Butoh practitioner & qualified somatic movement educator who performs, teaches and collaborates to make performances
HYAKKI YAKOU -
A Night Walk of A Hundred Demons
Site-specific Butoh performance at the Durbar Hall, Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, 2013
Hyakki Yakou literally translates to a night walk of a hundred demons. In 17th century Japan objects were believed to be given lives after nearly serving 100 years and the demons were the spirits of deserted objects. The piece incorporated choreography, light, sound, costume and guided viewing within the architecture. They were equally valued to stimulate a viewer's multidimensional experience. Throughout the piece the choreography drew from stages of the transformation of the objects. HYAKKI YAKOU examined a visual aesthetic with a sensory presence, which totally transformed the Durbar Hall.
flyer design by Fiona Pienkowska
photo by Sin Buzkurt
photo by Sin Buzkurt
flyer design by Fiona Pienkowska
Directed by Yumino Seki. Conceived and performed by Aisa Boaa, Mai Nguyen Tri and Yumino Seki.
Lighting by Jim Roseveare
Soundscape by Nick Weekes
Costume by Anoushka Athique
Photo by Sin Buzkurt
Flyer design by Fiona Pienkowska
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Special thanks to
Arts Council England
The Japan Society
Hastings Borough Council, Hastings Museum
Japan400 and Coastal Currents festival
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Press Release September 2013 BY Cathryn Kemp
DEMONIC spirits, spine-chilling illusion and a fusion of light and sound will take place within the Indian folly at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery in a performance piece created by Japanese dance artist Yumino Seki.
Ms Seki, whose work is inspired by the Butoh tradition of avant-garde dance, has choreographed Hyakki Yakou, which translates as A Night Walk of A Hundred Demons.
The site-specific performance was inspired by the dark atmosphere of The Durbar Hall at Hastings Museum and is based on the tale of terrifying yet comical demons who were believed to be the spirits of deserted objects in 16th century Japan.
Using specially commissioned light and sound effects, and costume, Ms Seki is working with two dancers Aisa Boaa & Mai Nguyen Tri to produce a “kaleidoscopic illusion” within the folly which was built in 1886 and is the centrepiece of the museum.
The project, which runs for three nights during the Coastal Currents visual arts festival, is also part of Japan400 which commemorates the 400th anniversary of Japanese-British relations.
Ms Seki, 52, who lives in St Leonards, said: “Hyakki Yakou forms a bridge between the cultures of Japan and the UK.
“My aim is to create a performance which incorporates the architecture of the space so that the audience experiences three-dimensional performance with dancers on both levels of the Durbar Hall.
“The piece is experimental, expressive and evocative, a fusion of East and West art forms.”
Specially commissioned costumes have been designed by Anoushka Athique with sound works by Nick Weekes and lights by Jim Roseveare.
Ms Seki, who has been practising Butoh since 1999, is a qualified Somatic Movement practitioner.