New York-based Yoshiko Chuma and Madaba-based Ryuji Yamaguchi Dance present a multimedia experimental dance performance at The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts. Using the School of Hard Knocks method, created by Chuma and furthered by Yamaguchi, twenty highly skilled dancers will collaborate from their different backgrounds: from dabke to breakdancing and from Jabal Nuzha to Lweibdeh.

With both Japanese artists having been engaged with Amman since 2007, Secret Journey: Amman” is a chaotic multilayered documentation of their experiences with the people and the landscape of the city. Using a variety of measures such as video, spoken texts, moving bodies in space, and props emerging on red cafeteria trays, the performance dynamically poses the question: how does one frame an experience?

Here’s are samples from July 2019:

https://vimeo.com/354088996

This presentation also marks the formal launching of a new organization Midan: Amman Dance Lab ميدان: مختبر عمان للرقص. Midan is a figurative meeting ground for dance in Amman, promoting dialogue and collaboration across genre, geography, and socioeconomic class.

Yoshiko Chuma (conceptual artist, choreographer/artistic director of The School of Hard Knocks) has been an important and utterly unique figure in the dance scene of New York City since the 1980s. Chuma has consistently produced thought-provoking work that is neither dance nor theater nor film nor any other pre-determined category. Her career has spanned 40 years and 35 countries, working with over 2000 artists along the way. In Jordan and Palestine between 2007 and 2016, Yoshiko has directed and produced 6 major dance productions in collaboration with Ryuji Yamaguchi.

Ryuji Yamaguchi, originally from Japan, is a dancer and educator based in Madaba, Jordan. In 2007, Ryuji moved to Jordan as a founding faculty member at King’s Academy, a coeducational boarding high school with a strong local identity and financial aid program. With Yoshiko Chuma, Ryuji has produced six major productions in Jordan and Palestine, invited over 40 Japanese and American artists to the region, and worked alongside Jordanian and Palestinian artists. Ryuji also collaborates with Hungarian dancer Rita Gobi with their duo, Vibration. Ryuji is a member of Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard Knocks.

Secret Journey-Amman
Concept and Direction: Yoshiko Chuma
Co-direction: Ryuji Yamaguchi
Performers: Anas AlQatawe, Alaeddin Pasha, Raneem Wajeeh Nahhas, Emran Al-amareen, Valeria Dimitrova, Asem Abu Sham, Adam Wawi, Salleh Bellagon, Noor Aljamal, Zaid Aljamal, Haneen Shraim, Mahmoud Shraim, Yiran Zhao, Duanduan Lin, Yanlin Li, Ziqi Yu, Hanae Yoshida, Teera Altal, Hala Aldur, Zaid Zoubi, Mera Diab

Produced by: Midan: Amman Dance Lab ميدان: مختبر عمان للرقص, Ryuji Yamaguchi Dance
In cooperation with: King’s Academy, The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, Yoshiko Chuma and The School of Hard Knocks, Wa’ad Youth Organization مؤسسة وعد الشبابية