By Shawn Chan

I had the pleasure of conducting an email interview with Ms Mayumi Nagatoshi, the President of An Creative Inc. who recently gave a talk on Japanese contemporary dance on 21 March 2009. It was held at Apsara Asia's Dance Studio. Much thanks to Ms Shallini from KL Pac for making this happen.

M: 1912 will be the date that western dance was introduced to Japan. A ballet master was invited from Italy to train actors who were employed by the Imperial Theatre. The actors improvised their movements to create their own dance works. They are regarded as the pioneers of Japanese modern dance. One of the prominent artistes was Baku Ishii.

M: The Contemporary Dance Association of Japan was founded in the 40s. Its dance works attracted the international stage. The public’s interest in art dropped due to the aftermath of the World War 2 where the government at that time did not offer support for culture to grow. Since then, dance works became more and more conservative till Tatsumi Hjikata created Ankoku Butoh in late 50s. Initially it was not labeled as dance by the Contemporary Dance Association of Japan, but Butoh took the world by storm as an underground art in the 60s. Under Hijikata’s influence many Butoh geniuses appeared with their own methods. But the situation remained the same. Butoh had no financial support and limited recognition in society. In the 70s, the second generation of Butoh performers left Japan to seek opportunities for performance in America and Europe. It is well known that their activities and successes served as a foundation for Butoh, which later added as a new page of history to performing arts in the world.

M: In the 90s, Japan saw new companies such as nest, Strange Kinoko Dance Co., and Leni-Basso, founded by young talented artists who did not belong to the Contemporary Co., and Leni-Basso, founded by young talented artists who did not belong to the Contemporary Dance Association of Japan.  Jo Kanamori, who was the first dance artist to assume the position of artistic director of a theater managed by a local government in Japan, presents his dance company Noism, based in Niigata City, to the world. It is one of fine examples of the big leap in Japanese dance.

M: The fact that many people came to my video presentation on 21March 2009 and present and a variety of question were asked at the end of the presentation; and also the fact that the three Condors’ shows were more than just sold out plus, the last show, for example, had extra chairs to accommodate the high volume of attendance. I’m convinced me that the people in Malaysia have interest in the Japanese culture and art.

President of An Creative Inc.

In 1991, she established An Creative Inc., which plans and produces domestic and international performing arts projects, and also international exchange projects through performing arts.  The company also directs and produces a variety of events of the Japanese government, local governments and corporate bodies by advertising agencies and others, and offers casting services for projects in all the different genres.  Its regularly-held enterprises include JADE International Dance Festival, Dance Selection, Japanese Contemporary dance Showcase in New York, Little Asia Dance project, to name a few.