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Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui TeZukA - Dance Work in London

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Date: 2011 August 01 15:23

Posted by Joe

Fans of Tezuka, the arts and dance will be pleased to hear about London's Sadler's Wells' up coming production TeZukA. The world premiere dance work is set to explore Tezuka's fascinating world with help of cast of 10 performers, two musicians and a calligrapher. They'll cover a wide range of his work, including Astro Boy and Buddha.

So keep Tuesday 6th - Saturday 10th September 2011 free and head over to London.

On Thursday 8th September 2011 at 6:15pm they'll also be a special pre-show director's conversation.

Full Story

Press release as follows:

Tezuka (Credit / Copyright Shinji Hosono)

Photo / Credit © Shinji Hosono

For immediate release

A Sadler's Wells Co-Production

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
TeZukA
WORLD PREMIERE
Sadler's Wells
Tuesday 6 - Saturday 10 September 2011
Tickets: £10 - £32
Ticket Office 0844 412 4300 www.sadlerswells.com

Widely hailed as the 'God of Manga', visionary Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka provides the inspiration for internationally renowned choreographer and Sadler's Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's brand new work - TeZukA. The world premiere of Sadler's Wells' latest co-production takes place from Tuesday 6 – Saturday 10 September 2011.

Working with a cast of 10 performers, two musicians and a calligrapher, all drawn from Europe and Asia, Cherkaoui explores Tezuka's fascinating world - a blend of tradition, science fiction, Buddhist philosophy and contemporary reality. With permission secured from Tezuka Productions, Cherkaoui explores Tezuka's rich body of work including characters Astro Boy and Buddha.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui says "In many ways Osamu Tezuka shaped a part of my understanding of Eastern philosophy and aesthetics, my way of moving and seeing art and life, my logic and my humanity."

Osamu Tezuka's works have had a tremendous impact on Japanese culture, literature and film, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most important thinkers of late 20th century Japan. His work focuses on a variety of themes that are still relevant in today's society such as human rights, environmentalism, war and its effects on society, and the cycles of life and death. He produced over 700 different manga titles for adults and children, creating now iconic characters. Tezuka's messages of hope and calls for greater social responsibility have made him one of Japan's most respected and influential artistic figures.

In addition to looking closely at Tezuka's body of work, Cherkaoui leads a discovery of the manga art form, which is not widely read in the UK but is a treasured form of literature in Japan. Combining painting, calligraphy and drawing, manga artists are highly respected in Japan and their work spans a broad range of genres including science fiction, adventure and fantasy.

Cherkaoui's cross-cultural production features a specially commissioned score from award-winning composer and Sadler's Wells Associate Artist Nitin Sawhney, performed live by Japanese ex-Kodo drummer Tsubasa Hori and Korean musician Woo Jae Park. Cherkaoui works with Sawhney on their first major collaboration since the acclaimed 2005 production zero degrees.

The international cast of performers includes Argentinean dancer Daniel Proietto, winner of the National Dance Award 2011 for Outstanding Male Performance (Modern) for his performance in Russell Maliphant's AfterLight. Proietto is joined by Belgian performer Damien Jalet, who has a longstanding creative partnership with Cherkaoui and co-directed 2010 piece Babel. Norwegian performers Jon Filip Fahlstrom, Guro Nagelhus Schia, Vebjorn Sundby and Portugese performer Helder Da Silva Seabra add to the cast. Joining the cast from the East are Japanese calligrapher Tosui Suzuki, Japanese performers Shintaro Oue and Kazutomi Kozuki and Shaolin monks Li Bo and Huang Jiahao, previous performers in the Sadler's Wells production Sutra. The performers' movements trace the physical evolution of Tezuka's drawings from a line on a blank page, to a single Japanese kanji (letter), to a fully-formed manga character.

TeZukA features lighting and visual design by Willy Cessa, accompanied by projections of Tezuka's original illustrations and calligraphy created by Japanese video artist Taiki Ueda. Costumes are by Serbian-born fashion designer Sasa Kovacevic.

Photo / Credit © Shinji Hosono

A Sadler's Wells (London) / Bunkamura (Tokyo) / Eastman (Antwerp) Production
Co-produced by Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg; Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore; Parc de la Villette, Paris; de Singel, Antwerp and Movimentos Festwochen der Autostadt, Wolfsburg

In collaboration with Tezuka Productions

Tezuka (Credit / Copyright Tezuka Productions)

Image / Credit © Tezuka Productions

Part of the Out of Asia season at Sadler's Wells

Out of Asia season at Sadler's Wells
For Autumn 2011 Alistair Spalding, Sadler's Wells Artistic Director and Chief Executive, has chosen to focus on the exciting artistic work happening in Asia. The Out of Asia series of work brings together artists from China (Beijing Dance Theater, TAO Dance Theatre), Vietnam (Ea Sola), Bangladesh (Akram Khan's DESH), Japan (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's TeZukA) and Taiwan (Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan). Listings are as follows:

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
TeZukA
WORLD PREMIERE
Tuesday 6 - Saturday 10 September

Ea Sola
Drought and Rain
Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 September

Akram Khan Company
DESH
Tuesday 4 - Saturday 8 October

Beijing Dance Theater
Haze
UK PREMIERE
Thursday 13 - Saturday 15 October

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
White
UK PREMIERE
Wednesday 9 - Saturday 12 November

TAO Dance Theatre
2 & Weight x 3
LILIAN BAYLIS STUDIO
UK PREMIERE
Tuesday 15 & Wednesday 16 November

Source: Sadler\'s Wells Theatre

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