Yoshiko Chuma

is a dancer, a choreographer and the director of the Bessie Award winning performance art group The School of Hard Knocks. [Dunning, Jennifer. (March 25 1979) "Miss Chuma and Dennis Dance". "The New York Times". [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712FA3C5D12718DDDAC0A94DB405B898BF1D3 article preview] . Retrieved 2008-08-05.] Kriegsman, Alan M. (October 11 1987) [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73850052.html?dids=73850052:73850052&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=OCT+11%2C+1987&author=Alan+M.+Kriegsman&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=The+Week+of+Giant+Steps%3BNew+York+City+Ballet+Headlines+D.C.'s+Intensive+Days+of+Dance&pqatl=google The week of giant steps] "The Washington Post". Retrieved 2008-08-05.] 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.Tobias, Tobi. (January 15 2007) [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aIn5njOPtHX4&refer=muse Chuma's crazy-quilt choreography returns to Chelsea: N.Y. Dance] Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2008-08-05.] 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.

Biography

Chuma arrived in the United States 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. [Dunning, Jennifer. (August 25 2007) [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/arts/dance/25solo.html?_r=1&ref=dance&oref=slogin Spirited reminders of a time long gone] "The New York Times". Retrieved 2008-08-05.] Her avant-garde pieces have included the seven-hour long "Sundown", an exploration of cubism mounted at Issue Project Space in 2006. [Kourlas, Gia. (July 29 2006) [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/29/arts/dance/29chum.html?ref=dance For Dance, a Cubism of a different sort] . "The New York Times". Retrieved 2008-08-05.]

In addition to directing The School of Hard Knocks, Chuma also directed the Daghdha Dance Company of Ireland, 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 minimalism 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." [Deresiewicz, William. (April 8 2001). [http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/08/reviews/010408.08deresit.html First Thought, Best Thought] "The New York Times". Retrieved 2008-08-05.] Chuma also credits artist Alex Katz and composer Alvin Curran 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,"Smith, Amanda. (December 1 2006) [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28894006_ITM The magic pilgrim: intuition, humor, and a unique perspective inspire Yoshiko Chuma's work.] "Dance Magazine". Retrieved 2008-08-05.] was founded in 1982 and is located in New York.Temin, Christine. (October 20 1985) "Yoshiko Chuma Dance 'From Zero to 20'" "The Boston Globe". [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEB1BE590A59A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Excerpt] Retrieved 2008-08-05.] The name was inspired by Chuma's interest in American idioms during her early days in the United States. In 1984, the group received a Bessie Award for its Collective Work.Danspace Project. [http://www.danspaceproject.org/about/pressreleases/CompleteList.pdf Past recipients] . Retrieved 2008-08-05.]

References

Further reading

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD61530F934A15752C0A961948260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "Big Picture" (1987) review] , "The New York Times".
* [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-10776713_ITM Daghdha Dance Company review (2001)] , "Dance Magazine"
* [http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-08-08/dance/framing-sevens/ "Sundown" (2006) review] , "Village Voice"
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/arts/dance/24chum.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all "A Page Out of Order: M" (2007) review] , "The New York Times".

External links

* [http://www.yoshikochuma.org/ Official website]