The Martial Chi

Akiko Kitamura and her company Leni-Basso are valued for a refined choreographic use of video images. With her multidisciplinary approach, she comes up with interesting work based on a kind of clear mathematical logic, devising precisely woven structures through certain patterns in the movement vocabulary. In her signature piece, “Finks,“ which focuses on the domination of a grid, abstract danced movements correspond interestingly to computer-controlled video images. The strength of the dancing body is physically examined through the foil of the images.

In her new piece, “Ghostly Round,“ premiered at the Park Tower Hall in Tokyo and co-produced by Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Kitamura seems to be taking a new approach, investigating the spiritual nature of physical encounter and exploring the flow of “chi“ in dance. At the beginning, a white mist floats onto the stage. Then, into the white circle drawn at the center of the stage, Akiko Kitamura appears in a white costume and, by hitting her arm, promptly changes the flow of energy. With the light circling, her movements also spiral, gradually picking up speed. Her movements are met by a man diagonally opposite, whose high ...