Paraffin

Inspired by Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes, the piece follows the evolution of two characters: an insect collector who disappeared from society and an uncivilized creature just born on a deserted alley. Caught between the societal forces and the desire for illusions, their journeys mesh with multiple relationships of love, temptation, and struggle to rediscover the forgotten humanity. In the sensual and fiery landscape, body reveals ‘unspeakables’ and ‘invisibles,’ shedding light on the deep and dark places of our souls.

Paraffin is a synthesis of movements, sound, projection, and objects, bringing spare elegance and rich texture on stage.

A Winner of Best Dance Performance in Best of Baltimore 2009.

Premiered in:

2010 (Baltimore Theatre Project, Baltimore MD)

Tour:

Questfest, Washington DC (2010), Dance Place, Washington DC (2010)

Length:

75 minutes

Choreography/Direction/Scenography:

Naoko Maeshiba

Costume:

Kathy Abbott

Lighting:

Kel Millionie, Rebecca Wolf

Performance (core):

Skyler Brungardt, Ben Buhrman, Elizabeth Cassedy, Todd Herman, and Naoko Maeshiba

Photography:

Joe Castor, Kel Millionie

Absence

The piece explores a sense of loss through the visual/physical motifs of presence and absence. On the opaque white palette, the fluctuating state of absence gradually gets revealed in the color of yellow, red, and sky blue.

Premiered in:

2007 (M25, Warsaw, Poland)

Length:

55 minutes

Choreography/Direction/Scenography/Costume:

Naoko Maeshiba

Performance:

Naoko Maeshiba, Tatsuya Aoyagi

Music:

Kinior & Makaruk

Photography:

Ania Ostalska, Lukasz Ogorek

Remains of Shadow

Based on the story of the friendship doll exchange between Japan and America during WWI, Remains of Shadow illuminates the conflicts and the connection between the past and the present.

Part I (Blue-Eyed Doll) has at its center the journey of a blue-eyed doll, following her relationship with two characters, 'Man' and 'Woman.' Part II (Shiju-Kunichi/Forty Nine Days) further examines the 'shadow' through the dream of a Japanese doll during the forty-nine days after death. Remains of Shadow takes the audience through the vivid landscape created with text, movement, objects, voice, music, and video projection. See press reviews.

Premiered in:

2005 (Ko Festival of Performance, Amherst, MA)

Tour:

Questfest (2006), Capital Fringe Festval (2006), Theatre of Yugen (2007)

Length:

1 hour 20 minutes. (Part I—1 hour. Part II—20 minutes.)

Direction/Choreography/Scenography/Sound Design:

Naoko Maeshiba

Video Design:

Chas Marsh

Lighting Design:

Sabrina Hamilton (original)

Performance:

Tatsuya Aoyagi, Naoko Maeshiba

Photography:

Adam Golfer, Ben Coolik

Trace

This multi-disciplinary work examines the state of displacement through the 'traces' within one's body and mind as well as in a society.

Six individual segments treat various states of collision such as the collision between nature and technology, the disposable culture and the longing for the spirituality, tradition and freedom.

Commissioned by:

The Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project

Premiered in:

2004 (The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage)

Length:

60 minutes

Direction/Choreography:

Naoko Maeshiba

Set Design/Sound Design:

Naoko Maeshiba

Costume Design:

Jenifer Alonzo

Lighting Design:

Cathy Eliot

Video Design:

Chas Marsh

Animation Design:

Jackie Milad, Dan Breen

Performance:

Tatsuya Aoyagi, Ben King, Jennifer Young, Naoko Maeshiba

Cello/Voice:

Audrey Chen

Photography:

Mark Fink

The Voyage

The piece consists of five stories about the voyage captured at the points of departures and arrivals. Intricate human relationships, our conflicted existence. The journey between life and death is vividly depicted through layers of images in the evocative visual poetry. See press reviews.

Premiered in:

2004 (Baltimore Theatre Project)

Length:

55 minutes

Direction/Choreography:

Naoko Maeshiba

Scenography:

Seth Foster

Costume Design:

Meredith Wallace

Lighting Design:

Mark Fink

Music Composition:

Jason Sloan

Sound Design:

Gabriel Walker

Performance:

Tatsuya Aoyagi, Dan Awkward, Seth Foster, Grace Herman, Mare Hieronimus, Anthony Hyatt, Naoko Maeshiba, Jennifer Young

Photography:

Jay Herzog

Streamscape: Gyroscope Project

Streamscape is a site-specific work that was created for the special exhibit at the Hirshhorn Mueseum called Gyroscope Project. The piece focused on the relationship between body and space. Each performance was constructed based on the performers' exploration of this relationship.

In this project, performance inside of the museum and outside happened simultaneously, sweeping the whole museum.

Created in:

2003 (Hirshorn Museum of Smithsonian Institution, DC)

Length:

60 minutes

Direction/Costume Design:

Naoko Maeshiba

Sound Design:

Lukas Zarwell

Performance:

Tatsuya Aoyagi, Dan Awkward, Seth Foster, Grace Herman, Anthony Hyatt, Naoko Maeshiba, Mike Wong, Meredith Wallace, Jennifer Young

Photography:

Ben Tankerskey, David Israel

Communitas

Inspired by Victor Turner's concept of 'Communitas', the piece taps into the uncertainty of our beings through the issues that vex today's world, such as unbalanced resources, youth violence, and aging.

In the landscape of destruction, people wander about searching for a connection: with people, places, and the past. Through images of death and birth in nature, the piece illuminates the human figures which long for love, hope, and beauty, asking the ultimate question: "where are we going?"

Funded by the D.C. Commissions on Arts and Humanities.

Premiered in:

2002 (The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, DC)

Tour:

Hirshhorn Museum at Smithsonian Institution (2002), Baltimore Theatre Project (2003)

Length:

55 minutes

Direction/Choreography:

Naoko Maeshiba

Costume Design:

Azurah Hassan

Lighting Design:

Scott Rothenseld

Sound Design:

Lukas Zarwell

Song Composition:

Sarah Sathya

Performance:

Tatsuya Aoyagi, Dan Awkward, Seth Foster, Denise Jacobsberg, Anthony Hyatt, Cynthia B. Lin, Naoko Maeshiba, Lindsay Sworski, Genevieve Villamora, Mike Wong, Meredith Wallace, Jennifer Young

Photography:

Naoto Yagi