IDFA, Amsterdam 2023
”Close” is a VR experience based on an intimate encounter with a juitamai dancer. Jiutamai is a variation of Japanese classical dance that is traditionally practiced by women, mainly but not exclusively by geishas.
Traditional choreographies tell the stories of women, usually nameless, whose experiences, sometimes joyful, but more often filled with sadness and a sense of injustice, have been told over and over again for at least 200 years by successive generations of dancers. Experiences and events too small to be remembered by History live thanks to the continuity of the dance practice, and with each performance gather new contemporary meanings.
In “Close”, juitamai is both, updated in the close relationship with the viewer which was already lost due to stage conditions, and used to finally emphasize the agency and subjectivity of the dancer. The three characters appearing in the experience differ but the dance is the same, allowing the immersant to look very closely (but never touch) and see how the movement changes depending on the costume and narrative.
The immersant is equipped with hands which allow a certain level of influence. By making appropriate gestures, creating an own bodily choreography, one can (repeatedly) choose the soundtrack of the experience (or actually create a unique one), which will give a specific meaning to the meeting.
In “Close”, Hana Umeda and Sada Hanasaki, who represent two dance experiences in one body, two stories arranged in an intimate confession, await you. Their voices can also be interwoven with silence that allows to contemplate the movement itself. In the end, however, the safe circle and the rhythm of a close encounter are broken. The performer takes control of reality.
Concept, direction, choreography, text, performance: Hana Umeda
Dramaturgy, cooperation on the text, co-director: Dorota Sosnowska
Producer: Krzysztof Pijarski, Krzysztof Franek, Pola Borkiewicz, Jacek Nagłowski
Executive producer: Marcin Marczyk
Cinematography: Zuzanna Kernbach, Marek Titow
Editing: Marek Titow
Music: Jan Tomza-Osiecki
Song and lyrics: Maria-Magdalena Kozłowska
Sound design: Przemysław Danowski
Developer: Jakub Rogalski
Graphic design: Marcin Nowicki
Trailer: Bartosz Kozakiewicz
Produced by: Lodz Film School