Purple Moon Dance Project: Honoring the Past Through Dance

October 9, 10:11 PMBay Area Theater ExaminerAmy Marie Boulanger

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Bay Area Theater Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Promotional Flyer for "When Dreams Are Interrupted"

Sometimes the ideas for a performance piece come from her own life. A story from her past might lend relevance to an audience. Other times, stories culled from interviews provide the rich texture for an artistic piece. For the current project by Purple Moon Dance, choreographer and artistic director Jill Togawa found inspiration in a fusion of the two methods.

“When Dreams Are Interrupted” premieres this weekend at Purple Moon Dance, in the garden of Togawa's home property in Berkeley. A home in the very neighborhood of South Berkeley referenced in the piece, the site formerly sectioned off for the Japanese community and people of color in 1942. “How different the area is now,” notes Togawa. What began as an idea blossomed into the gathering of many stories, driven by Togawa's motivation to create a profound and meaningful performance piece. The result is a work paying tribute to the personal stories of the Japanese community through the story-telling methods of dance, music, and visual art, incorporating recorded text.

The choreographer and dancer, whose training reaches back to the ballet lessons she began at age five, founded Purple Moon Dance Project in 1992 with the goal of establishing “a good, supportive feeling” for herself and for others. Having worked with both the Asian American Dance Collective as well as a group of gay and lesbian choreographers in the early nineties, Togawa says she “always felt on the outside.”

“Usually, I was the only lesbian choreographer,” she says of her time with the Asian American Dance Collective. Of her experiences with the latter group of choreographers, Togawa says that here, “I was one of two people of color.”

Purple Moon Dance was born after years of dancing and training and battling with the feelings of being on the fringes. Togawa created her collaborative of dancers to “provide a safe and supportive place for lesbians of color. Hopefully, there will be audiences interested in what we do, and dancers who can relate to the company's mission.”

Though dancing since age five, it was not until college that Togawa knew she wanted to make dance her profession. Born in Hawaii, Togawa studied dance at the University of Hawaii before relocating for a few years to New York to train at the Martha Graham School. Settling in California in the mid-seventies, Togawa danced off and on for the next several years before starting her own company, to which she brings her blend of modern and ballet training, and her knowledge of Japanese classic and folk dance. The style of work she prefers plucks inspiration from the aesthetic influences of both Balinese dance, which she studied in Bali and in Hawaii, as well as Hula dance. As a native of Hawaii, Hula has played a major influence in Togawa's dance career.

The traditions of these dances incorporate telling stories, “keeping stories alive” which speaks to Togawa's desire to provide a venue where the past, and people's rich histories, may continue to be told through dance.

“The telling of internment and removal is nothing new,” she says. “But I wanted to know why? Why am I so moved to tell this story?”

Upon learning that the neighborhood of South Berkeley in which she lives once served as the cloistered site for a small Japanese community during World War II, Togawa recalled her own family's history of being sent away from Hawaii. She could relate to the Japanese families removal from their homes.

She knew that this was a story that she must tell. Wednesday, the group gave a school viewing and performed for Berkeley Drama today in the outdoor setting on Togawa's property. The site-specific rehearsal and performance space at her own home has provided an extended family for Togawa's now three and a half year old daughter. Recalling a past project focusing on becoming a parent as a member of the lesbian community, Togawa says, “I didn't realize the energies of dance and parenting would compete. I wanted to take time and enjoy my daughter, and birthing a new piece takes the same amount of energy.”

Returning from a three year hiatus, the choreographer-dancer-mother returns with renewed energy. “I've only just scratched the surface,” she says of the stories stored in the banks of her mind.

Purple Moon Dance Project's “When Dreams Are Interrupted” continues performances Saturday and Sunday October 10th and11th at 2p.m. in Berkeley.

All Shows are Free to the public.

Jill Togawa, Artistic Director, Choreographer
Ellen Bepp, Visual Artist
Musicians: Claudia Cuentas, Laura Inserra, Masayuki Koga (shakuhachi)
Dancers: Ruth Ichinaga, Michelle Fletcher, Arisika Razak, Sharon Sato, Olivia Eng and Jill Togawa

*Photo credit: Theresa Thadani. Dancers Sharon Sato,
Ruth Ichinaga and Arisika Razak in Purple Moon’s
“When Dreams Are Interrupted”