In “Tristan and Isolde” Japanese choreographer Saburo Teshigawara meets Richard Wagner’s unmistakable music, which, in spite of being clearly European, has the power to transcend spatial and temporal boundaries.
With dancer Rihoko Sato Teshigawara condenses Wagner’s eponymous opera and tells the tragic story of Tristan and Isolde in a one-hour-long duet, without any words. The curtain rises on a man and woman, both dressed in black, on a simple black-box stage. In their performance the story at the heart of the opera – a love that can never be – begins to glow.
Without ever touching one another the dancers fill the space with palpable passion and unquenchable desire. Arms and emotions flow and ebb in wave-like movements and transform the stage into a fascinating world where love confronts death – to the bitter end.
The choreographic approach to and abstraction of Wagner’s opera is not the only distinguishing feature of this production; there also is the unique relationship and interpretative practice of these two dance artists.
Both look back on long and successful careers; they have been working together for nearly 30 years. In 2024 Rihoko Sato and Saburo Teshigawara will still share the stage as Tristan and Isolde. In 2022 Teshigawara was awarded the Golden Lion for his life’s work at the Biennale Danza in Venice.
Simply put: This piece is a duet. It tells the tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde. The music is by Richard Wagner. Two people from Japan dance on stage. One of them is over fifty, the other over seventy years old.
Info
Duration: 60 minutes, no intermission
Spoken language: none
Age recommendation: none
Content warnings: none
World premiere: 8.6.2016, Karas Apparatus Tokyo
Further information: st-karas.com
Hora recommends “Tristan and Isolde”: “A story for the senses – and really big emotions”
introduction and follow-up talk: Theater Basel is offering an introduction and a post-show discussion on May 16th. Further information
During the festival period, the Theater Basel features “Verwandlung”, an evening with two additional works by Saburo Teshigawara, performed by the Ballett Basel with shows on April 26, as well as May 4 and 14. Information about the performances can be found on the Theater Basel website. With the purchase of a ticket for “Tristan and Isolde” at Theater Basel, you receive a 20% discount on a performance of "Verwandlung".
On May 15th, a dance workshop for professionals, semi-professionals and interested individuals with Ján Špoták will take place at the Theater Basel from 5pm to 7pm. Špoták, choreographic assistant of Saburo Teshigawara, provides an intensive insight into the artist's movement methods. Further information
Credits
Choreography, lighting design: Saburo Teshigawara
Artistic collaboration: Rihoko Sato
Dancers: Rihoko Sato, Saburo Teshigawara
Music: extracts from “Tristan und Isolde” by Richard Wagner
Technical coordination/lighting operation: Sergio Pessanha
Wardrobe: Mie Kawamura
Production: Karas Apparatus
Production, tours: Epidemic (Richard Castelli, Mélanie Roger, Florence Berthaud)
With the support of: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, Japan Arts Council
Saburo Teshigawara
Saburo Teshigawara is a Japanese dancer and choreographer. He was born in 1953 and began his career in Tokyo in the 1980s, studying both fine arts and classical ballet. He founded the KARAS ensemble with Kei Miyata in 1985. For over forty years Teshigawara has been choreographing for acclaimed ballet companies and has been devising pieces for international stages. The seamless integration of different art forms accounts for the particular quality of his work: light meets the stage, movement, body, and music. Teshigawara’s work has received numerous accolades and awards, including the Bessie Award in 2007, 2009, and 2017; the honour medal of the Japanese emperor; and the Golden Lion at the 2022 Biennale Danza in Venice for his life’s work. He shares a long-standing bond with the Japanese dancer Rihoko Sato both on and off the stage. She has been an important part of his artistic work for nearly three decades. For “Tristan and Isolde” they did not only collaborate on the choreography but will also share the stage as dancers. Picture © Akihito Abe
Rihoko Sato
Rihoko Sato is a Japanese dancer and choreographer. She studied gymnastics in the UK and the US, where she lived until the age of 15. In 1996 she joined the KARAS ensemble. Ever since Sato has been involved in all the company’s productions and has worked closely alongside Saburo Teshigawara. She also supervises his choreographies and their realizations as a ballet master. Her characteristically physical dance style derives from her education as a gymnast. She received numerous awards over the course of her career, including for best dancer in the duet “Scream and Whisper” with Vaclav Kunes at the 2005 “Les Étoiles de Ballet 2000” in Cannes, the Japan Dance Award in 2007, and the Premio Positano Léonide Massine in 2012. Aside from her own choreographies, which have been performed at Aterballetto in Italy, among other places, Sato curates for the educational projects of KARAS and S.T.E.P (Saburo Teshigawara Educational Project) and continues to perform as a dancer, including in her latest solo “Forrest of Confession.” Picture © Akihito Abe
