Performance Series with the Ninja Ballet Dance Company of New York
“Natural Abstractions” January 2020
Keyes Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
“Natural Abstractions” was an immersive art experience inspired by Bill Claps’ Natural Abstractions series artworks, performed in collaboration with The Ninja Ballet Dance Company of NY. The original performances took place in January 2020 at Keyes Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. They were a series of dance movements inspired by the groups of artworks in Claps’ exhibition “Natural Abstractions IV”, incorporating traditional Japanese and Chinese martial arts and dance, fused with classical ballet and contemporary dance, with an original score performed live by composer/musician William Catanzaro.
“Natural Abstractions” Performance I, Jan. 8, 2020
“Natural Abstractions” Performance II, Jan. 22, 2020
About Ninja Ballet Dance Company www.ninjaballet.com
A fusion of Eastern and Western dance methodology, practice, and performance, the Ninja Ballet Dance Company seeks to bridge the gap between Classical Ballet and Martial Arts to create a new genre: 'Swan Lake' meets 'The Matrix’. Ninja Ballet performers blur the line between real and imaginary, using acrobatics, fire and weapons, combined with contemporary technologies, to facilitate an interactive theater experience. Ninja Ballet seeks to reconnect people with nature and to create a space where dance, music and visual arts merge as one.
Ninja Ballet is led by dancer/choreographer Shoko Tamai, a classically trained ballet dancer who has performed with leading dance companies in venues around the world, including Dance Theater of Harlem, Ballet Central of UK, Tokyo Ballet, and Cirque du Soleil, at the Royal Opera House in London, Lincoln Center, and Jacob’s Pillow, among others. Shoko received the Solo Seal award from the Royal Academy of Dance in London and was a finalist in the World Ballet Competition. She has studied with Jamie H.J. Guan, martial arts trainer from the Beijing Opera.