Ghostly Round

Life and choreography in staccato in the megalopolis of Tokyo. The eight members of the Leni-Basso company (founded in 1994) are the protagonists of a successful generation of young dancers who have gained an international audience over the past few years. They became famous for their breathless choreographies and pulsating dance technique. Their work demonstrates their brilliant use of new media and the latest forms of communication and also reveals the influence of contemporary European dance. "Ghostly Round" is an intense debate on the nature of dance with an imagery of lucid beauty.

Ghostly Round proceeds from a centre of energy at the centre of the stage. A circle of light and chalk thematises the principle of perfection and eternity. The dancers explore the energies of movement and physical boundaries in explosive solos, meditative scenes and futuristic sounds.

Akiko Kitamura (*1970), the artistic focal point of the Leni-Basso company has had a colourful career. Even as a child, she was already performing ballet and Jazz dance. As a teenager she choreographed commercials as well as fashion and TV shows. She went on to study dance theory at the renowned Waseda University in Tokyo. In 1994, she founded the Company with some fellow students. In 1995, Kitamura spent a year in Berlin on a scholarship from the Japanese ministry of culture. Since the year 2000 she has been teaching dance at Shinshu University in the Prefecture of Nagano.In 1994, 1998 and 2000, Akiko Kitamura was chosen for the Japanese entry at the international choreographic competition of Bagnolet. In 1998 she received the Japan Internet Play Awards’ Best Performance Prize. In 2003 she was invited by the American Dance Festival, North Carolina, to choreograph the piece enact oneself - it was awarded the prize for the best work of the year. It was with her production Finks in 2001 that Kitamura really made her international breakthrough.

Tour dates 2006/07

2006

10 + 11 June Cultural capital Europe 2006, Patras , Greece

13 + 14 June Berner Tanztage, Switzerland

17 Junei Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Germany

2007

26 Januar Stadsschouwburg, Arnhem, The Netherlands

1 February Schouwburg, Tilburg, The Netherlands

3 February Stadsschouwburg de Harmonie, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

6 February Rotterdamse Schouwburg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

7 February Toneelschuur, Haarlem, The Netherlands

9. February Cultureel Centrum, Hasselt, Belgium

12 February Stadsschouwburg, Groningen, The Netherlands

13 February Stadsschouwbur, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

15 February Theater De Veste, Delft, The Netherlands

16 February Goudse Schouwburg, Gouda, The Netherlands

“Leni-Basso astonishes us with a performance in which dance and multi-media are in perfect balance and embody an important, central idea with great consistency.” De Volkskrant, The Netherlands