One of the true treasures of living in the Durham/Chapel Hill area is having the American Dance Festival here every summer. The ADF is the premiere modern dance festival in the world but with 30+ years here you sometimes forget the greatness in your own back yard. Ellen and I were asked this year to host a post performance party at Cassilhaus for an amazing Japanese dance company called H. Art Chaos. We got to see their unbelievable performance the night before the party. It is difficult to describe but it was an evening of brilliant dance theater with extensive aerial moves with minimal but magically exploited simple props and elaborate costumes.
The company, their technical crew and ADF staff including director Charles Reinhart arrived around 11 pm this past Tuesday. We had some trepidation about the language issue because no one in the company spoke English and they had only 1 translator with them. It was not an issue at all. Art, architecture, and good food proved a good common language and everyone seemed to have a genuinely great time. Having been confined to rehearsals and their hotel with restaurant food for a week they were delighted to get out and about and see a little slice of North Carolina.
H. Art Chaos with Ellen in the "girl power" room.
Dancers discover the Bongo Board
Ellen and director/choreographer Sakiko Oshima chill on the hammock.
Everyone loved the house and it seems to thrive on parties. We are trying to convince Sakiko to come back and choreograph a piece for the gallery......................
All genius is a conquering of chaos and mystery.
---Otto Weininger
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