Collaboration brings two worlds together

A troupe of Ohio University School of Dance seniors opened the cultural borders of their minds in Japan last year, absorbing a mix of Buddhist temples and modern skyscrapers, breakfasts of salmon and seaweed and the slow, spare movements of the butoh dance style.

Fourteen seniors and four faculty members spent nearly two weeks in November performing in Japan with a group of dancers from that country.

"I hope students came back with the sense that they belong to the world and see themselves in a less provincial way," says Associate Professor of Dance Mickie Geller, who coordinated the trip. "Cultural differences are exciting. We shouldn't let them separate us."

The trip was the idea of Japan native and OU dance major Kaoru Joe Takahashi. She helped bring 10 Japanese dancers to Athens in the fall for a collaborative performance and made arrangements for the Ohio University seniors' trip to her home country. The project was financed through a $30,000 1804 Fund award from the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees, student fund-raising and support from the Provost's Office and the College of Fine Arts.

"I've seen interesting performances in Tokyo and Ohio, and they're created by young artists who have the same worries and hopes about their creative lives," Takahashi says. "That's when I thought about bringing them together to experience their similarities and differences."

Students spent their days rehearsing with Japanese dancers in studios throughout Tokyo and touring the immense city. During one particularly memorable class on Thanksgiving Day, students learned a contemporary Japanese dance form called butoh from a 93-year-old expert who surprised them with a spread of tuna, cabbage, saki and cookies for their holiday dinner.

"Butoh is about trying to find beauty and peace in every situation," says senior Tenille Barlow of Dayton, Ohio. "It's such a magical dance - and it was such a magical day - that we won't forget."