Indeed, according to the Japanese soul, life prepares us for death but this does not mean that we must keep thinking of death. We just have to live in a way that makes us unafraid of death when it comes. My answer, my goal is to reach the purest form of life, this is what I am looking for, and I am gradually approaching it, so that when I reach it, I will have no fear of death.
You have been living in France for decades. To what extent do you feel Japanese and to what extent do you feel European? How can these two cultures co-exist in your life?
Even though I live in France, I never left Japan and I do not know French culture thoroughly enough. Of course, I am receptive to everything I see and sense there and this obviously shows in my work, in what I show from myself, but my soul is Japanese.
Why have you chosen France?
I happened to receive lots of invitations from France and they came so frequently that I had to realise it was these audiences that needed what I could give. After a while, it seemed to make sense to buy a flat there (I do not have a flat in Tokyo at the moment). So I have been living in Bordeaux for ten years, but because my body keeps travelling and Paris is the place you can reach from everywhere, this city has been of key importance in my life.
You formed your Ariadone troupe at the end of the seventies (you said you have been following Arieadne's thread in your performing career night after night) and now you will present in Budapest a solo piece made 12 years ago, inspired by Marguerite Duras.
I was reading one of her novels when I came across a tape of her speaking. Her voice and the way she was talking about her childhood immediately started something in me, in my feelings and movements.
The French writer was born in Indochina and she lived there until the age of 17. To what extent are you linked by this shared experience of the Far East?
It was certainly no accident that her voice, her text and her life caught my attention. On the tape she also talked about Hiroshima, but that part was so strong that I decided to eliminate it from the performance. I had no intention to use this recording as an accompaniment to my solo piece but eventually I returned to it.
How much are you changing the solo night after night?
Changing? I do not understand the question. Every performance is different. Each is a different solo. First of all, just think about how different my body was 12 years ago. My body is different at every performance. At every performance I show what I have and this can never be the same. Of course, the tension and the concentration are always equally strong. But can concentration be the same quality? Perhaps not. Life is continually changing with one's experiences. Time is feeding it...
Japanese art seems to stand closer to the French soul more than any other European nation's. Have you experienced this?
I live there and I cannot say how they compare to other nations, but I indeed experience a strong attraction by the French. Music is perhaps a bit more difficult for them, but they like Japanese dance and art very much.
How will Hungarians receive your performance? Can you give us some sort of "instructions manual?"
All nations have their cultural force and this reacts with others. Dance is a language beyond nations, but its deep local roots cannot be questioned. Let's take for instance your country. I do not know it very well, but there is something that I always feel in Eastern Europe: a direct and sincere force. When I watch for instance a performance by Jozef Nadj, I definitely feel that there is a primal force there. All kinds of trends influence this force, everywhere, I believe also in your country. I stay far away from new trends. When I dance, being Japanese, I perhaps represent the same primal force as what I talked about before. On this level, we can all understand each other.
Do the audience's reactions during performance influence you?
Certainly. Every performance is a joint affair with the audience. I send out energy and receive back energy from them. What's important is not the actual movements I make but the fact that we exchange emotions.
Compagnie Ariadone/Carlotta Ikeda: Waiting
8pm, January 9-10, Trafó
Interviewer: Katalin Lőrinc
