The Space In Back Of You: Paris

Loading Events
Date:
February 10, 2012
Time:
7:00 pm - 11:30 pm
Venue:
The Arts Arena

RSVP: artsarena@aup.edu

The Space In Back Of You – Synopsis
Suzushi Hanayagi; an innovative, even radical, Japanese dancer and choreographer informed the approach of performing arts legend Robert Wilson and became an enduring influence on his work. This film captures her mysterious power, while giving us a rare chance to experience Wilson’s sensibility and working methods firsthand. The film’s director, a former Wilson assistant, examines Suzushi’s artistry in all its complexity, from her ancient Japanese lineage in Kabuki to her transition to modern and post-modern dance.
From the discipline of her early Japanese dance training to her decades of modern performance, this bold indomitable woman uniquely bridged East and West, choreographing works that expanded what classical or modern dance is and could be. Ultimately this is a story of the nature and arc of collaboration, a story of loss (Hanayagi now suffers from Alzheimer’s) and a story of renewal through Wilson’s stage tribute to Suzushi. As we watch his moving visit to her on-screen, Wilson asks of his creative partner, “remember, we have to make a new dance together…” In her poignant reply, although her memory is compromised, a telling remark; “I’m dancing in my mind.”

The Space In Back Of You
music courtesy of David Byrne produced by Hisami Kuroiwa & Richart Rutkowski
presented by See-No-Evil Filmworks, Media Space, Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation,
& Robert Wilson with support from the Center for Asian American Media & The Japan Foundation

www.thespaceinbackofyou.com

The Space In Back Of You will be preceded by a screening of Richard Rutkowski’s film Sunshine Superman about Christopher Knowles.

Sunshine Superman – Synopsis
In 1985 a young Richard Rutkowski, in his first year at Harvard College, met a 27 year-old Christopher Knowles and began a friendship and collaboration on stage and film that continues to this day. Working with Knowles, already at the time a world famous artist and principal collaborator to theater director Robert Wilson, Rutkowski set out to explore the mind and creative impulses of the shy young man whose autism and introvert nature contained a brilliance for patterns and numbers as well as a savant-like memory. Using simple 16mm equipment and working together essentially alone over a two week period, they made Sunshine Superman – its title taken from the 60’s anthem by Donovan – as a portrait of Knowles’ joyful obsessions, a compendium of his creative output, and an interior depiction of his freely expressive imagination.

Einstein on the Beach – The Original Photographs by Philippe Gras
On the eve of the first world tour in 20 years of the extraordinary work, Einstein on the Beach, The Arts Arena presents an exhibition of the photographs taken at the original production by renowned French photographer Philippe Gras.
The exhibition will open at 20h30 following the screenings.

We would love to hear from you! Please complete the form and let us know how we can assist you. The information you provide is confidential and will not be used for any other purpose.

    The Arts Arena
    9-9 Bis Rue des Lesdiguieres
    Paris, France

    Skip to content