Special video screening: AMA-Perlentaucherin by Yoriko Maeno
- 7 September - 5 October 2023
- 1:00pm – 2:15pm
- Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle, London NW1 4QP
- https://dajf.org.uk/event/special-video-screening-ama-perlentaucherin-by-yoriko-maeno
- +44 (0)20 7486 4348
- events@dajf.org.uk
- Tweet
AMA – the women of the sea, who use no diving equipment as they submerge their bodies into the ocean. Themed on the past and present of these mermaid women who form a cultural heritage unique to the East Asian region, this dance artwork fuses dance, music, art and video projection.
By focussing on the Ama mermaids, who are said to have 3000 years of history, this work poses serious questions to us, who live in an age in which climate change and ocean pollution have become major issues. The approximately 4000 Ama who worked in Mie Prefecture’s Shima Peninsula 50 years ago have decreased in number by 7/8, with only about 500 left. Most of them are now in their 60s and 70s, so there are fears that the Ama tradition may die out in the next ten to twenty years.
Not only is there a shortage of successors to replace them as they age, but the changing marine environment has been a big factor behind declining catches, so this is another reason for the decline in the precious traditional culture of the Ama.
This work examines these questions from various perspectives and will offer a fresh cinematic experience to many people, using a 360°camera to create a new type of fusion between technology and dance.
The special video screening will be shown in the ground floor library.
7 September – 5 October 2023
Monday–Friday 10:00am–5pm
Admission free, no booking required
Late openings (until 8pm)
14 September
5 October
Admission free, no booking required
About the contributors
Yoriko Maeno
Yoriko Maeno is a dance theatre director and choreographer based in Berlin. She studied contemporary dance at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. Starting her career as a dancer at various venues in Japan, she has worked as an independent choreographer since 2010. In 2013 she received a scholarship for upcoming artists from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs and started to work in Berlin. In 2018, her piece “Lullaby” was awarded the “Audience Prize” at the Tokyo Babylon Dance Collection. She focuses on contemporary social and cultural themes by researching places and interacting with people outside the mainstream of society. She brings them together with many kinds of art forms, including digital and visual art. She explores combinations of opposites that cross the borders between majority and minority, present and past, and reality and fantasy. Her recent productions have been supported by Germany’s district, state, and federal governments. In 2020 she became a member of UNESCO’s Conseil International de la Danse (CID).
