92NY Presents YURIKO, A CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Event to include spoken tributes from Janet Eilber, Baayork Lee, Ted Chapin, members of Yuriko's family and more.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 13, 2022
The 92nd Street Y, New York Harkness Dance Center's 2022/23 Mainstage Series continues with Yuriko, A Celebration of Life, paying tribute to the trailblazing dancer, choreographer and performing artist Yuriko Kikuchi, in a free event on Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 pm.
Yuriko, an influential force at the Martha Graham Dance Company for more than 50 years - including creating the Martha Graham Ensemble in 1983, now Graham 2 - headlined her first solo choreographic concert on the Kaufmann Concert Hall stage at the 92nd Street Y in 1949, where her company later returned to perform almost every year between 1964 and 1971. She made Broadway history by originating the role of Eliza in Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I and broke barriers not only performing the role on stage and in a major motion picture, but as director for a long-running revival of the musical. Yuriko passed on March 8, 2022 at the age of 102.
Yuriko, A Celebration of Life includes historic performance footage from her time with Martha Graham Dance Company; childhood and family photos including her time in internment camps; personal stories from collaborators, students and artists she inspired; and performances from Martha Graham dancers.
Speakers include George Taylor, Emiko Tokunaga, Lawrence Kikuchi, Janet Eilber, Miki Orihara, Ken Topping, Rika Okamoto, Marianne Handy Hraibi, Ted Chapin, Baayork Lee, Yasuko Tokunaga, Susan Kikuchi, and Cassey Kikuchi Kivnick.
"We're honored to celebrate Yuriko's historic legacy in the space she made her own for many years, our 92NY Kaufmann Concert Hall," comments 92NY Harkness Dance Center director Taryn Kaschock Russell. "Yuriko's impact on dance and theater was immeasurable. She was larger than life and her personal story - including the hope she gave through offering dance to fellow internees during World War II - is one of an unyielding daily pursuit of excellence. She was a lifelong teacher and mentor - and her journey will be illuminated by those whose lives she touched at this very special event."
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