放課後タイバーシティ・ダンス

After-school Diversity Dance (ADD)

ADD is a process-oriented project in which children are exposed to a variety of dances at schools and children's centers as an after-school activity, experiencing and thinking about cultural diversity, and creating and presenting their own dance works. By researching local dance-related culture and activities, and connecting the people, places, and information related to them, we aim to build a structure in which diverse cultures can stimulate each other and generate new dance in the multicultural age.

Introduction by the Director

Documentary Films

“After-school Diversity Dance 2019-2021”

ADD Minato City

ADD Kunitachi City

ADD Hinode Town

* COVID-19 prevention measures implemented.

Documentary Film Director

Tomoko Mikanagi

After graduating from Waseda University, Tomoko Mikanagi worked as a director at an advertising movie production company before going independent in 2011. Since then, she has worked in a wide range of genres including music videos, documentaries, and dance productions. For some of her works, she handles the camera herself and faces the subject.
http://heyabaji.com

What is After-school Diversity Dance?

After-school Diversity Dance (ADD) is a project to give children the opportunity to experience cultural diversity through dance, implemented simultaneously in Minato City, Kunitachi City, and Hinode Town in Tokyo.

The children learned a wide variety of dances, from street dance to traditional dances from Japan and abroad, in a workshop format, and challenged themselves to choreograph and create dances based on these experiences.

The instructors are mainly people who live in the area where the program is held and are engaged in various dances (we call them "experienced local"). By having local people appear one after another, the children will encounter a variety of dances rooted in the neighborhood where they live and the people who sustain the culture. In this way, the children will be able to experience not only the forms and techniques of dance, but also the people's lives and values behind them, and have a deeper idea of the local culture. It also brings about cross-cultural contact among the adults who join as instructors.

On the other hand, we asked professional dancers who are active on the front lines of respective genres to guide them in creating their own original choreography based on the various dances that the children have learned (we call them "dispatched dance expert").

Process

The ADD process can be roughly divided into three stages.

Research

The researcher finds out what kind of dance culture exists in the area. Based on this survey, the researcher picks up and commissions instructors as "experienced locals".

Workshop

Workshops will be conducted by the "experienced locals" and "dispatched dance expert".

Creation

Under the supervision of the "dispatched dance expert", the children will come up with their original choreography to create a piece.

Initially, the plan was to gather the pieces created by children in the three regions and perform them all at once at a theatre in Tokyo (the stage 5 in the flow), but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to make a major alteration. Instead of finishing the pieces, we chose to conduct workshops to let the participants experience the earliest phases of the creation process, and present the results to their parents and other people involved. Some of the workshops were also forced to be online. Despite these many limitations, the children were still able to have valuable experience not only in learning specific dance forms, but also in giving shape to their own ideas.

AFTER-SCHOOL DIVERSITY DANCE Document 2019-2021

Organizers

Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)

About Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL

Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL is an initiative that unfolds a variety of cultural programs in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Tokyo, promoting its appeal as a city of arts and culture.

About Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Arts Council Tokyo sought a wide range of creative and innovative ideas from the public for projects that would become the core of the cultural programs for the Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL. From a total of 2,436 project proposals submitted from within Japan and overseas, 13 were selected for implementation. The 13 projects are collectively named "Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13," and are being implemented in sequence.

Project Designer

ADD Executive Committee

Director

Daisuke Muto

Producer

Keiichi Hayashi

Production Cooperator

Laox Media Solutions Co., Ltd. (LMS)

Advisor

Miki Sato

Assistant Production Manager

Saeko Hagiya

Contact: add2020.office@gmail.com