1. Center of the Crowd/Chaos 2. Old Japanese house

On May 7, an edgy dance performance unit, Away at Performing Arts (AAPA) had a performance at an edgy location -- in the middle of a traditional shopping alley in Tachikawa, West Tokyo. (Story behind this area and venue -- check the previous AAPA-related article.)

The performance was carried out in the middle of crowd -- the dancers were performing between the spectators, which created a sense of extraordinary-ness in an ordinary atmosphere.

Just like many other AAPA's performance, it was viewable from many angles, this time, also from the "above".






And AAPA is about to have another performance this weekend.

At over 70 years old Showa-style, modern house in Tsukuba.
(Located 80km away from Tokyo, to the northeast.)




Yanaka Estate, one of the registered cultural properties of Japan, was built in 1938. Its original owner, Mr. Yanaka was an inventor of a waterproof agent for cement, Manol. After his death, the house was abandoned for more than four decades, being recognized as "mess" by the local.

From the last year, things began to change.

The current owner of the house, the local community, and young students at Tsukuba University got together to revitalize the house. After spending a year and half, cleaning up over 40 years of accumulated dust, the party began to realize that the house itself has a historical value. As its consequence, they decided to found an non-profit organization to decide how the house can be utilized for good.

As a part of this revitalization process, AAPA will be giving a performance at Yanaka Estate.

May 22, 2010 from 1830
Yanaka Estate, Tsukuba

This performance is a part of a day long event, "TxT project, Photo-made Playing Card Cycling in Tsukuba."

Session 1: Photo-made Playing Card Cycling

1100-1830
Photo-made Playing Card is a unique way to produce own playing card. By taking pictures that matches the pattern of each number on a card, one can create a set of playing card that resonates with the environment where the pictures are taken.

Examples are here.

Session 2: Barbeque and AAPA performance
1830-2100

JPY,6,000 (including an accommodation at Yanaka Estate)

If you wish to participate,
Contact from here with a title, "Participating 05/22 Event", your name, telephone number, and e-mail address.