Geography: Asia > Eastern Asia > Japan
Year: 2017
Produced by: Kyoto Experiment and Okazaki Art Theatre
Creative Team: Written and directed by Yudai Kamisato; performed by Martín Tchira, Martín Piroyansky, Marina Sarmiento and Eduardo Fukushima
Synopsis: The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso develops from Yudai Kamisato’s 11 month research across Latin America and his own Okinawan-Peruvian family history. Dancers and performers with different relationships to Argentina, Brazil and Japan share a theatrical space where migration is not organised around one national centre. Kamisato is particularly interested in histories that become difficult to classify nationally, including Japanese communities established in Latin America over several generations. The production shifts between travel and remembered family history, questioning whether the idea of homeland survives repeated movement.
Source: Okazaki Art Theatre, official production page: https://okazaki-art-theatre.com/en/work/valparaiso Performing Arts Network Japan, interview and production background: https://performingarts.jpf.go.jp/en/article/7125/