Yoshiko Chuma
Encyclopedia
is a dancer, a choreographer and the director of the Bessie Award winning performance art
group The School of Hard Knocks. Described in 2007 by Bloomberg
as "a fixture on New York's downtown scene for over a quarter- century", her work spans from early "absurdist gaiety" to more recent serious reflection, which nevertheless represents the "maverick imagination and crazy-quilt multimedia work" for which the artist is known. Dance commentators have found her work difficult to classify; in a 2006 profile, Dance Magazine
speculated that "One might call her a postmodern choreographer, a movement designer, or a visual artist whose primary medium is human beings--dancers, musicians, pedestrians". Chuma favors abstract
art and discourages efforts to interpret her work, telling Bloomberg that "What I do is ambiguous. I don't have a statement. If I had a statement, I'd be a writer". In 2007, Chuma received a Bessie Award honoring her sustained achievements as a choreographer.
from her native Japan
in 1977, settling in Manhattan
and subsequently becoming a leader in modern American dance. In 2007, The New York Times
remarked on her involvement "in one of the great populist moments in New York dance" when, in 1988, she staged an audience-participatory performance art swim-dance in the Astoria
pools in Queens
. Her avant-garde pieces have included the seven-hour long "Sundown", an exploration of cubism
mounted at Issue Project Space in 2006.
In addition to directing The School of Hard Knocks, Chuma also directed the Daghdha Dance Company of Ireland
, commuting internationally between 2000 and 2004.
and the opera
Einstein on the Beach
. After meeting notable beat poet Allen Ginsberg
, she incorporated into her dances his philosophy on spontaneity, encapsulated in his phrase "First thought, best thought." Chuma also credits artist
Alex Katz
and composer
Alvin Curran
as among her diverse inspirations.
. The name was inspired by Chuma's interest in American
idiom
s during her early days in the United States. In 1984, the group received a Bessie Award for its Collective Work.
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
group The School of Hard Knocks. Described in 2007 by Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
as "a fixture on New York's downtown scene for over a quarter- century", her work spans from early "absurdist gaiety" to more recent serious reflection, which nevertheless represents the "maverick imagination and crazy-quilt multimedia work" for which the artist is known. Dance commentators have found her work difficult to classify; in a 2006 profile, Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine
Dance Magazine is an "influential" American trade publication for dance, currently published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as The American Dancer. William Como was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to his death in 1989. Wendy Perron became its editor-in...
speculated that "One might call her a postmodern choreographer, a movement designer, or a visual artist whose primary medium is human beings--dancers, musicians, pedestrians". Chuma favors abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
art and discourages efforts to interpret her work, telling Bloomberg that "What I do is ambiguous. I don't have a statement. If I had a statement, I'd be a writer". In 2007, Chuma received a Bessie Award honoring her sustained achievements as a choreographer.
Biography
Chuma arrived in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from her native Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1977, settling in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and subsequently becoming a leader in modern American dance. In 2007, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
remarked on her involvement "in one of the great populist moments in New York dance" when, in 1988, she staged an audience-participatory performance art swim-dance in the Astoria
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
pools in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. Her avant-garde pieces have included the seven-hour long "Sundown", an exploration of cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
mounted at Issue Project Space in 2006.
In addition to directing The School of Hard Knocks, Chuma also directed the Daghdha Dance Company of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, commuting internationally between 2000 and 2004.
Influences
Chuma cites American television as a major part of her childhood, and critics have detected influence in her "raucous dance/music/theater spectacles on American pop themes". She has also been inspired by Japanese cinema. Specific art influences include the school of minimalismMinimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
and the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach is an opera that premiered on July 25, 1976 at the Avignon Festival in France, scored and written by Philip Glass and designed and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson. It also contains writings by Christopher Knowles, Samuel M. Johnson and Lucinda Childs...
. After meeting notable beat poet Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, she incorporated into her dances his philosophy on spontaneity, encapsulated in his phrase "First thought, best thought." Chuma also credits artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Alex Katz
Alex Katz
Alex Katz is an American figurative artist associated with the Pop art movement. In particular, he is known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints and is represented by numerous galleries internationally.-Life and work:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran
Composer Alvin Curran , is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of Musica Elettronica Viva, and a former student of Elliott Carter. Curran's music often makes use of electronics and environmental found sounds....
as among her diverse inspirations.
The School of Hard Knocks
The School of Hard Knocks, more fully titled "Yoshiko Chuma & The School of Hard Knocks," was founded in 1982 and is located in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The name was inspired by Chuma's interest in American
American language
American language may refer to:* American English, the English language as spoken in the United States* Generically, one of the many indigenous languages of the Americas*The American Language, a dictionary about American English....
idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
s during her early days in the United States. In 1984, the group received a Bessie Award for its Collective Work.
Further reading and listening
- Big Picture (1987) review, The New York Times.
- Daghdha Dance Company review (2001), Dance Magazine
- Yellow Room (2003), Irish Times
- Sundown (2006) review, Village Voice
- A Page Out of Order: M (2007) review, The New York Times.
- X2 (2009) review, The New York Times
- X2 (2009) review Village Voice
- POOM2 (2008) review, The New York Times
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/arts/dance/22dance.htmlThe New York Times.
- (recorded interview with Yoshiko Chuma), Kadmus Arts
- A-C-E One (2010) review The New York Times
- Hold the Clock (2010) review Japan Times