EC Theatre “Chieko Kojima & Takahisa Suda in ‘Dojoji’”

Aug. 16 (Fri) Venue Opens 14:30/Start 15:00/End 16:20 (Approx)

Adult 4,000 yen , Ages 6–14 2,000 yen (+300 yen on the day)

*Please refrain from bringing pre-schoolers (ages 5 & under).

Shukunegi Community Hall

Yoko Kamiyabu

Chieko Kojima [Kodo] (dance, taiko), Takahisa Suda (troubadour), Yoko Kamiyabu (palmas), Kana Hiramatsu (violin), Ryusuke Oishi (Arabian tambourine)

Takahisa Suda

Sukara Abe (artist)

150 people (all free seating)

Chieko Kojima
Dance, taiko

Chieko Kojima first encountered Japanese folk dancing when she moved to Sado to join Sado no Kuni Ondekoza in 1976. She went on to become one of Kodo’s founding members in 1981. In addition to her work with Kodo, she also has an active solo career that includes projects such as “Yukiai,” where she seeks out new encounters and collaborations with artists and taiko groups within Japan and throughout the world. Kojima is known for her original dancing style during Kodo’s taiko-based performances, which is best exemplified by her vivid portrayal of the goddess Ameno-uzume in the first season of “Amaterasu” in 2006. She became a Kodo Distinguished Member in 2012, and was the director of the annual concert series “Kodo Special Performances on Sado Island” for four years, starting from its inaugural season that same year. She continues to ambitiously broaden her expressive outlets, as demonstrated by her recent productions based on the “Tales of Dojoji,” which then became the inspiration for her first photo book, ” Kasane no Kiyohime Monogatari: The Myriad Layers of Kiyohime,” a unique work created with photographer Maiko Miyagawa and released in 2015.

Chieko Kojima Profile

Takahisa Suda
Troubadour

Takahisa Suda is a cantaor (flamenco singer), singing narrator for flamenco, Tsuruta-school Satsuma lute player, and composer. He has studied with numerous Spanish cantaors and guitarists in Japan and Spain.

When he embarked on his flamenco career, he also started to search for his own roots. His studies of the Satsuma lute led him to perform in Japan and abroad, singing narratives to his own lute accompaniment. Suda also learned Noh chanting from two schools of Noh.

These days, Suda calls himself a contemporary troubadour. His work centers around flamenco and singing narratives, self-accompanied on the lute. He also performs songs from around the world with vocals, percussion, and stringed instruments. Suda’s collaborations with artists from other genres are truly diverse: from his origins in flamenco, his work has branched out to include Noh plays, Japanese court music, Argentine tango, bossa nova, chansons, Arabian music, theater accompaniment, classical music, and vocal music. He places no bounds on his wide-ranging activities.

Takahisa Suda Official Website

Yoko Kamiyabu
Producer, palmas

Yoko Kamiyabu is a performance producer, flamenco dancer, and kimono coordinator. Taking advantage of her experience as a flamenco dancer, she plans and produces a broad range of dance and music performances and collaborations. With works centered on flamenco and kimono, Kamiyabu’s distinctive artistic sense and unique flair continue to earn her creations favorable reviews from all sides.

She studied flamenco with Shoji Kojima, a leading figure in flamenco in Japan, and studied dance with Masayuki Fujii, a Hosho School principal performer.

Kamiyabu’s diverse production catalogue naturally includes flamenco, as well as belly dance, tap dance, Noh, Japanese court music, and classical music. She is also developing an original style of kimono under the label, “Kamiyabu KIMONO.”

Producer Portfolio

• Collaboration work with traditional Japanese performing arts “Dojoji” 
• “Noh x Warrior x Flamenco”
• “Noh Flamenco”
• “Noh Exotica”

• “Tap × Flamenco,” tap and flamenco dancer foot technique dance battle

• Belly dance performances including “Ikoku Shokei,” “Tap Ri Belly Na Flamenco,” “AnotherSky,” and “LasChulas”

Yoko Kamiyabu Official Website

Kana Hiramatsu
Violin

Kana Hiramatsu is a violinist and composer who gives over 200 performances a year in Japan and abroad. Her performance style is gypsy jazz, centered around flamenco music and Latin jazz. 

Since 2000, she has been a member of band Spanish Connection, led by flamenco guitar player Yoshiteru Ito. In 2009, Hiramatsu composed the music for “The Three Musketeers,”  a puppet television series created by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. In 2014, she was commissioned to compose all the background music for playwright Koki Mitani’s “Sherlock Holmes,” another NHK puppet series that aired for six months. Several of the pieces in Sherlock Holmes were performed by world-class conductor Daniel Harding and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Hiramatsu’s activities also include leading two bands: “Kana Hiramatsu Special Project” and “Kana Hiramatsu con Armada.” She composes and performs music for flamenco performances, notably performing with the Benito Garcia Dance Company in 2017 on an outdoor stage in Córdoba, Spain. Hiramatsu also composes music for flamenco dancer Antonio Canales.

Kana Hiramatsu Official Website

Ryusuke Oishi
Riq (Arabian tambourine)

Ryusuke Oishi is a riq (Arabian tambourine) player. His pursuit of an original playing style has led him to apply various percussive techniques to riq playing. They include the modern Turkish playing method, drum rudiments, linear drumming for drum kits, and kanjira (South Indian frame drum) playing techniques. 

Oishi studied the riq with Kei Wada. After his own performance style became recognized, Oishi went on to lead riq workshops and lessons in Singapore in 2017. In 2018, he appeared at Nango Summer Jazz Festival and Daiakiyama Kai in Japan.

Collaborations to date include performances with iora, Kana Izumisawa, Takahisa Suda, MiMi, Kiwi and Papaya, Mangos, Shinamayu, Daikichi Yoshida, Kiyohiko Senba, and Mizuki Shikimachi.

The EC Ogi Loop Bus will run between Shukunegi (where EC Theatre events are held) and Ogi (where the main events are held). After EC Theatre, there will be a Loop Bus service to get you back to Ogi in time for the evening Harbour Market Concert.

Tickets go on sale on May 15 (Wed) at 9:30 am (JST). See here for details.