Kumu Kahua Theatre Presents courage, 7/13 & 14

As part of the Dark Night Series at Kumu Kahua Theatre, Ruinedmap dance will be presenting a new work that features live stone flute accompaniment by Kazuya Yokozawa. "We are proud to collaborate with him on a dance work that will feature his talents paired with unforgettable choreography," says Director and Choreographer, Abel Coelho.

Ruinedmap dance company's new work "courage" is an expression of will, effort, and power. Conflict, cooperation, the irrational, and the temptation to self-destruct are primary motivations of this onstage journey.

Dancers Gwen Arbaugh, Spencer Garrod, and Junco Mizumochi - known as the "brown rice brigade" have trained extensively-tapping into new muscle groups in their bodies so that they can dance choreographies so unfamiliar that they might as well be learning a new genre of dance.

And yet, by internalizing all the emotional themes of the piece, every movement acquires meaning and depth, so that even in an abstract work without words, every moment will communicate deeply to the audience.

By combining this style of choreography with Kazuya Yokozawa's stone flute, "courage" will become an organic and wholistic work of abstract art that promises to be truly compelling.

Kazuya Yokozawa

Special Guest: Stone Flute Player

Kazuya Yokozawa hails from Nagano, Japan. He is a graduate of Osaka Art University, and specializes in playing all styles of flutes - everything from traditional Japanese bamboo flutes to the fife. In 1985, he started experimenting with using flutes made out of stone, and has since then carved a niche for himself as a specialist in the stone flute. In fact, he may be the only professional stone flute player in the world.

His reputation as a musician has led to many tours around the world, and he is not an unfamiliar face at Carnegie Hall in New York, not to mention being a regular performer at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands (one of the biggest Jazz festivals in the world), and the Montreax Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Kazuya Yokozawa has toured extensively across Europe and Asia; as of this April, he just completed another successful tour of the US Mainland, starting in New York City and concluding in San Francisco. He has been hailed by critics as one of the most innovative, contemporary musicians, creating a new style of flute playing that leaps beyond national borders.

During the course of his Hawai'i performance, he will play several flutes, some of which he carved by hand, and others which are "found" stone flutes – rocks with holes in them – from the seaside. The sound from a stone flute is unexpectedly piercing and strong, and seems to directly speak to some primal part of the consciousness. His music will be sure to move Hawai'i audiences, who will find in his sounds an echo of the vitality of nature that plays such an important role in life in Hawai'i.

Abel Coelho

Director / Choreographer

After spending the first 13 years of his life in Rio de Janeiro, the cultural shock of moving to America was somewhat lessened for Abel when he found a niche working backstage at a local theatre.

Spending several years as a lighting designer, his envy of onstage colleagues eventually led to him starting his own dance group - the Ruinedmap Dance Company - and completing an MFA in Asian Theatre from the University of Hawaii.

As a Brazilian/American with extensive experience in Asian forms of theatre, Abel Coelho has always been drawn to art that transcends cultural borders: art that uses effective imagery to speak truths that go beyond language.

It is his experience and conviction that, just like a wordless symphony, abstract movement/dance images can move an audience, especially since he uses one of the most affective instruments around: the human body.

Performances are tonight, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 at 8:00 PM. The Kumu Kahua Theatre box office is open Monday-Friday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Call 808-536-4442 or visit 46 Merchant Street.

Kumu Kahua Theatre's Dark Night Series was created to offer other theatre groups, playwrights, and performance artists the opportunity to present their work to the community. This series is presented during dark nights, evenings when Kumu Kahua's regular season shows are not being performed. To be part of the Dark Night Series artists must submit a proposal, which is reviewed by the Board of Directors of Kumu Kahua. From these proposals, projects are chosen that Kumu Kahua feels will promote the development of the theatrical arts and benefit local artists. Kumu Kahua sees this as another way to enhance and enrich the cultural diversity and artistic climate of Honolulu.

Kumu Kahua productions are made possible with support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, celebrating more than thirty years of culture and the arts in Hawai'i, and the National Endowment for the Arts; paid for in part by the taxpayers of the City & County of Honolulu; the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts; The Annenberg Foundation, McInerny Foundation (Bank of Hawaii, Trustee); and other Foundations, Businesses and Patrons.

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