Director’s Program

“The Grasshopper and the Ants”

namstrops × Unlock Dancing Plaza

Created, choreographed: namstrops x Unlock Dancing Plaza
Conception, Direction: Rumiko Takahashi (University of Miyazaki Visiting Professor／Dance Education)

Area

Yabu

Venue

YB fab

Date and Time

Sep.23(Mon)14:00

Performance Duration

Approx. 60 minutes
Reception Open: 60 mins before the show
Doors Open: 30 mins before the show

Performance Language

Performed in Japanese only

Admission Fee

【All seats unreserved】
Advance Tickets: ¥2,500
Same-day Tickets: ¥3,000
Advance Tickets U25/Student/Disabled
Discount: ¥1,500*
Same-day Tickets Disabled Discount: ¥2,000*
U18 for advance and Same-day: Free*
Uzumaku Pass: ¥1,000

Clap Mates*
If there are remaining seats on the day, you can watch the performance for free who aged 19 to 25, or those with a valid student ID.

*Please proof required on the day of the event

Ticket

This work is inspired by the bestselling Japanese book Batta wo Taoshini Afurika e (Going to Africa to Defeat the Grasshoppers) written by a researcher of grasshoppers.
Intrigued by the creature, the three members of namstrops delved deeper into the subject and knew that in Japan there are 445 species of grasshoppers belonging to the same family.
They also found that katydid, which appear in Aesop’s fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, also is said to belong to one of them.

In the fable, which stresses the importance of preparing for the future, the grasshopper is told by the ant to dance through the winter, since it sang through the summer. However, Namstrops is a dance company that emphasizes thinking about things from an upside-down perspective. In this work, they reinterpret the fable as The Grasshopper and the Ants, with the hope of rediscovering how to live a joyful and blissful life, much like the cricket.

Namstrops (sportsman spelled backwards) is joined by Hong Kong-based dance company Unlock Dancing Plaza, to present a dance performance that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Performers: namstrops  
（Akifumi Toyofuku、Souhei Minowa、Takafumi Kodama） 
Unlock Dancing Plaza
（Ong Yong Lock、Paula Wong Pona、Keung Hoi-Ling、Wong Ting）

Staff: Lighting: Shinichi Kudoh
Stage Manager: Kasumi Harada
Sound: Sumie Miyake (campana) 
Video Production: Nishi Junnosuke
Music: Genki Ohno
Costume, Set Design: Yuko Kabashima
Production: Miku Sakamoto, Kaoruko Sato, Jessica Ho

Accessibility

Preschoolers are welcomed

Wheelchair Seats
For wheelchair seats, or the person requests to be accompanied by a caregiver.
Before purchasing tickets, please inquire at the Festival Center counter or fill out the inquiry form.

Credits

Planning and production: General Incorporated Association namstrops, Unlock Dancing Plaza

Supported by Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo)

Presented by Toyooka Theater Festival Executive Committee

namstrops: Founded in 2006, Namstrops sets out to create new values by “looking at things from upside down.” Including Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania, Namstrops has performed their original works in as many as 40 cities in 15 countries. Unlock Dancing Plaza, one of the leading dance companies in Hong Kong, has served as their creative partner since 2016. Namstrops was a finalist at the Yokohama Dance Collection three times, in 2008, 2011 and 2012. Its members have worked at the University of Miyazaki’s Dance Research Institute and obtained an MA in Education. With an academic career in “creative dance,” Namstrops conducts various workshops at schools and as part of corporate training programs. In March 2019, Namstrops opened the International Children and Youth Theater Miyazaki (which received a Kids Design Award in 2019). The venue serves as a gymnasium for nursery children during the day and a theater during the night and weekends. Namstrops is a non-profit general incorporated association.