Dance Triennale Tokyo 2012: Shock of the new at Japan’s top contemporary dance fest Posted on September 29, 2012 by dangrunebaum “At the other end of the spectrum from classical ballet, Tokyo possesses one of the world’s busier contemporary dance scenes. In contrast to the starkly uniform, white-painted bodies of Japanese butoh dancers, Japan’s contemporary dance community is a motley lot. Productions vary from the dystopian creations of Yoko Higashino’s Baby-Q company to the satirical pop revues of Ryohei Kondo’s Condors, reflecting Tokyo’s absorption and redefinition of diverse Western contemporary dance forms.” Metropolis, Sep 11, 2012
Seun Kuti: Afrobeat’s new messenger doesn’t mince words Posted on September 10, 2012 by dangrunebaum The youngest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti says Nigerians are “still going through the same shit our fathers went through,” and that he’s determined to keep singing about it. Metropolis, Aug 30, 2012
Patti Smith: Don’t Call Her a Survivor Posted on August 26, 2012 by dangrunebaum “I was deeply concerned about the people and their morale,” Smith says by phone from Amsterdam, where she’s set to play the city’s famous Paradiso. “Lenny [guitarist Lenny Kaye] and I wanted to write a song but we didn’t want to write specifically about the disaster. Lenny was working on some chords and the words just came to me. It’s a simple song based on 16th-17th century Japanese literature. It’s a prayer to the mountain to shelter the people.” Metropolis, Aug 17, 2012
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