Daniel Fernández is a graduate student and Rotary Peace Fellow (Class XIII) at ICU. In the spring term, the JICUF awarded a program grant of ¥544,000 for his project, “Rethinking Translation, Memory and Dialogue through Butoh-based Performance.” This experimental performance, entitled “The Mirror with Wings (鏡の翼),” sought to combine Butoh* dance, Shodo art, original music and visual projections to explore the key themes of the Rethinking Peace Studies (RPS) seminars, namely  translation, memory and dialogue. In Daniel’s words, the work aimed “to inspire deep reflections on how translation, memory and dialogue play out in spaces where different cultures and ways to interpret and give meaning to life meet.” He expected the collaboration across disciplines and creatives practices to “yield productive tensions among these concepts, transforming the understanding of them in new ways.” The performance took place in the Diffendorfer Memorial Hall Auditorium at ICU during the culminating conference of the RPS seminar series on June 2nd.

The stunning visual and acoustic project was the fruit of an audacious collaboration. In academic partnership with Dr. Nitin Sawhney, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at The New School, Daniel produced this mixed media performance involving renowned Butoh dancers Yuri Nagaoka (Director of Dance Medium Company) and Seisaku (Butoh dancer with forty years of experience, who studied and performed with Butoh’s founder Tatsumi Hijikata), Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) artist and musician Ryo Honda, Rotary Peace Fellow Ida Suraya Klint who composed original music for the project, and translator Veronika Melekhina. Daniel also contributed his work as a photographer and filmmaker in the form of a video essay projected as part of the performance.

After the performance (a part of if can be seen here) , the collaborating artists engaged in a lively discussion with the audience which included conference participants, students and faculty.

The JICUF was able to ask a few questions to Daniel after the successful completion of the project.

JICUF: What role did you play in the performance? How were you involved?

Daniel: I performed the role of facilitator. It was my idea to combine different forms of art, but each artist had creative autonomy. The Butoh dancers, the calligrapher and musician Ida were free to create their own art. I formed ideas and facilitated collaboration and creation of art, but I did not want to impose my will on the artists. I wanted to give them the freedom to express themselves.

The music, dance and calligraphy were developed in parallel, not in any order.
My goal was not to present an exotic work, but to provide an organic and engaged experience that would challenge and at the same time satisfy everyone involved.

JICUF: What was the most significant achievement of this entire experience?

Daniel: One, to have an intercultural and transdisciplinary team come together and make something meaningful. Two, doing all this in the spirit of Rethinking Peace Studies. And three, to find new ways of exploring peace through art.

JICUF: What are your plans after you graduate?

Daniel: I’m returning to Spain in July and tend to my vegetable garden. After that I’m hoping to continue my research on peace education, examining best practices and exploring non-Western methods. I’d like to develop a curriculum and conduct a pilot, perhaps simultaneously at a university in the U.S. and ICU.

Thank you Daniel, and congratulations on the completion of your graduate studies at ICU!

We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

*Butoh is an avant-garde performance art, which originated in Japan during the 1960’s. Its founders included a young rebellious modern dancer named Tatsumi Hijikata (1928 -1986), and his partner Kazuo Ohno (1906-2010). Hijikata was dissatisfied with the Japanese modern dance scene, feeling that it was merely mimicking Western practices. He wanted to establish a form of expression that was purely Japanese, and one that allowed the body to “speak” for itself, through unconscious improvised movement. Hijikata says: “In terms of the mournful nature of Butoh, there is an element of catharsis. It is closer to a process of mourning rather than a complete and utter resignation. First you enter into the world of darkness and then from that point you seek joy, happiness and satisfaction.”