KATA
About
For the first time in history, Karate will be presented in the Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympic Games. The KATA Project seeks to celebrate this milestone and to foster unity, collaboration and friendship between the United States and Japan through the power of knowledge, artistic expression and cultural exchange. In the words of composer Gene Coleman, KATA is a “Docu-Opera” - a truly unique multidisciplinary composition combining martial arts, traditional Japanese music and contemporary music and video. It tells a story about the relationship of our physical and virtual worlds, one that is rooted in the concepts of Zen and recent developments in Neuroscience. KATA features amazing performers and musicians with motion and brain scan technologies that reveal the deep connections of the mind and body. Working with this data and models of Auditory Pathway Architecture manifested as Wagara (traditional Japanese patterns), KATA creates a world that bridges traditional Japanese and contemporary cultures.
KATA will be premiered at Sakura Hall in Tokyo on July 30 and 31, 2021 during the rescheduled Summer Olympic Games, followed by performances in the US in the Fall of 2021.
KATA is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, The US Embassy in Japan, Temple University, The International House of Japan and others. It features outstanding Philadelphia and Japan based collaborators including director, composer and JUSFC Fellow Gene Coleman, electronic musician and Temple University professor Adam Vidiksis, shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura, shamisen player Sansuzu Tsuruzawa, The Hemmi String Quartet, the new music group Ensemble N_JP, conducted by Rei Hotoda and the Montreal based dancer and choreographer Sarah Bronsard.
Collaborators
Gene Coleman - director and composer
Adam Vidiksis - electronics and audio editing
Ota Akiko (Sansuzu Tsuruzawa) - shamisen
Nakamura Akikazu - shakuhachi
Music Video Sketch
A music video sketch from KATA, composed and directed by Gene Coleman. Featuring the musicians Adam Vidiksis (electronics and audio editing), Sansuzu Tsuruzawa (shamisen) and Akikazu Nakamura (shakuhachi). Transient Geometry refers to the creation of complex geometric forms in our brains neural architecture. KATA is a "Docu-Opera" that combines our physical and virtual realities using sound, images and text. It's an exploration of the mind-body relationship, a key principle in martial arts such as Karate and in Zen Buddhism. This video features animation and editing by Michele Fumeo.