Set designer Shizuka Hariu from SHSH Architect + Scenography has designed a new scenography Cloud/Crowd for the Japon Dance Production at the New National Theatre Tokyo, Japan in August 2014. Shizuka has been creating the Cloud series scenography over three years.
This Cloud scenography is the last of the trilogy.
Echoing the theme of the performance, a large cloud was created above the main stage, its volume, height and size can be transformed throughout the performance. At the first scene, the Cloud was suspended overhead which provides dancers a large dance space on the stage. As the performance continued, the cloud was slowly lowered and it emphasised the dynamic movement of the dancers. At the second scene, the Cloud was transformed into a backdrop scenography, it was sometimes lifted up and down to enable dancers to enter or leave the stage, this movement of the Cloud gives the feeling that the dancers are performing in the sky.
In this time, she combined materials of Organza and Cotton. These hybrid textures can create a thin simultaneously strong fabric, which can hold the shape without using any heavy structure on the stage. The cotton was placed by hand carefully on the organza, in order to create unevenness and organic textures. The lighting effects and the Cloud complimented each other to support context of the performance.
One of the challenges in this project is to explore the great amount of depth from the front to the backstage at the New National Theatre Tokyo and turn it into imaginative visual aspects. A transparent screen was installed behind the Cloud, the position of the screen is carefully calculated and it was used to further exaggerate the depth by approximately 50m with the help of the stand lights. It also gave different perspectives, reflections of the stage and dancers appear on the screen in some of the lighting effects. It created a surreal mirage effect where dancers look as if they are floating.
“Even without the ornate production, the transformation of the scenography and the lighting effects brought out various impactful scenes under the influence of the dancers’ movements. There is no limit between architecture and scenography, this modern scenography took us to somewhere delightful.”
Maki Hashida- Vogue Japan Executive Editor, 15/09/2014
“The best part was the undulated movements of the enormous textile, as an audience, it was like looking up to the light from under a deep sea… Long shadows and tactile texture on the textile was created by the lighting effects…the scenography resembled the natural environment, it was such a set!”
Naomi Shibata- Architecture Critic, 6/9/2014
Overall, the Cloud is performing alongside the performers and the scenography provides a different ambience for the space continuously.
Japon Dance Project
Director : Japon Dance Project
Producer : New National Theatre Tokyo,
le logoscope Monaco
Place : New National Theatre Tokyo, Japan
Choreograhers+dancers: Yasuyuki Endo, Naoya Aoki, MasahiroYanagimoto, Mimoza Koike, Hokuto Kodama
Guest dancers : Kenta Kojiri, Yui Yonezawa, Ayako Ono, Akimitsu Yahata, Chiaki Horita, Mikio Kato
Scenography : Shizuka Hariu
Lighting : Hisashi Adachi
Music : Davy Bergier
Costume : Akemi So
Stage manager : Hajime Morioka
Model Making assistant: Agnes Tai
Study Phase 3D modelling assistant: Umberto D Tanna