#２Pointe shoe painter Ree【Interview】

Yes, so I drew a picture.

 

I know!  I was a child who came up with various ideas relativery from elementary school student,  I might have a wound there.

My idea was, for example I had a favorite teacher and gave her a poem.  “The voice of teacher looks like a rose.”

Yes.

It’s like love letter.

Yes.  I was hurt very much.  Such a things sometimes happened to me.

 

When I was in the ballet, I could not express straight.  I really categorized myself.

Yes. I categorized myself.  I have both personality, stubborn and obedient.

I managed to live by using obedient while hiding stubborn.

Right. However, since I was about 20 years old, I started thinking about “Is my life OK ?”

 

I asked me “Is my life…OK??”

Yes, I was.

My university was Japan Women’s College of Physical Education.  I specialized in Dance Studies.  I studied Classical ballet and Jazz dance, Contemporary, Modern, Hip hop.  I experienced various genres.

 

I belonged to a big ballet association, where seniority was valued.  As I was serious, I took part in rehearsals without a rest and I acted on the stages.

Yeah. Sometimes I was a teacher of a ballet classroom.  I quit ballet two weeks before the big earthquake occurred.

Exactly.  At that time, I was miserable.  I was afraid to talk with people.

The teacher of the studio where I joined valued a technique very much.  I was not interested in a technique so much.

 

And also, I was not good at a technique so much.

I was good at emotionally energetic dancing.  On the other hand, I was not good at formal delicate motion like 3 revolutions.

My studio’s policy was like “If you cannot do that, you are not qualified to be a dancer.”  This environment let me lost confidence.  I could not dance gradually.

 

After I left the studio and restarted dancing in another studio, but I noticed.  ”My passion has gone away.”  An emotionally energetic dancing was my biggest weapon.  But I couldn’t find a passion.  I was exhausted and thought “It’s all over.”

 

I couldn’t no longer talk while looking at the eyes.

Yes. I turned away my eyes for losing confidence.  I forgot my identity.

 

In such a situation, I started a part-time job.

Everything in my life was a ballet.  It was the first time to work 5 days a week.  I could talk to a customer in the eyes while working.  But, after working hours, I felt uncomfortable.

I was thinking about that I want to know the job related to Art · Design · Fashion.

I always continue to move by my inspiration.  Suddenly, an idea comes to my heart.  The cafe has Art · Design · Fashion.  I surely longed for such a environment.

Before at Bunkamura, I worked at jeans shop, ethnic general store, cake shop, bakery.

The last was Bunkamura.  When did you work at Bunkamura?

I didn’t remember correctly…Oh, I just remembered.  This is also my images.

 

When I was working at Orchard Hall in Bunkamura, I often got an image during work hours.  The image was that I wear black clothes and walk around the audience seats.

The image gave me a vision.  The vision was indicating that I will be backseat player.  I was watching the image from the back.

Yes.  I was looking at the whole from behind.  So I should be a stage director, I thought.  There was a step to be a stage director.  First, I had to be an assistant.  I researched how to be a stage director.

I participated in various workshops to learn the stage. 

 

I acquainted with costume designers and lighting staff there.  They gave me an advice about a company producing the stage.  A lot of people led me.

Then, I told that “I would like to be a stage director.”

I was opposed so much.

Finally, I could work at Bunkamura as a stage director assistant.

The image that I wear black clothes and walk around the audience seats came true.  I thought I am doing it normally.  At that time, I felt that this is something different.

Yes.  I felt this position is something different.  The job was mentally hard for me.

 

Walking around the audience seats with wearing black clothes is the same, but I felt something different then.

I had bosses like papa and mama.  A stage director like papa was big-hearted.  He wanted me to have a lot of experiences, such as how to use saw.

Yes. I have never done such a things.  Do you know gun tucker?

 

When I used it first time, I shot it towards my eye.

It was just before hitting my eye.  It was no wonder that I lost one finger.  Anyway, he made me experiences a lot.  He seemed to be papa who are too soft on his daughter.

Right.  He softly taught me how fun and severe the stage is.  And there was the other stage director like mama.  She was really scary.

Yes.  I could not get close within the radius of 2m.  I could not sit down together in the dressing room.  Because she was too scary for me.

 

Moreover, she was intelligent.  She could see through everything.  I was often scolded enough to cry.  One day, I was sewing stage curtains with sewing machines.  I was good at such a work.

I was often charged with painting properties for the stage and sewing special curtains.

 

One time, Mama came beside me when I was sewing hard.  I felt scary and scary so much.  So I asked her.  “I’m sorry…did I make a mistake?  Was it different sewing?”  

 

Then Mama laughed a lot and said.  ”You!  I am just being here.  Don’t be so scared!  hahaha!!”  I was too scared abnormally.  Actually she was gentle person.

 

As I was a trainee in the first year, I could work slowly.  But a stage director assistant had to manage by themselves in 3 years.  After the first year, we had to work on own initiative.

 

Assistants who want to be a stage director took the initiative steadily.  But I was working to study.  Maybe the boss have seen through it.

 

My appearance turned strange than usual.  I would like to follow bosses.  I did not want to be a stage director.  I had to think about by myself.  I could not deal with it.

 

I just remembered!  I wanted to dance then!

Nothing.  It was 12 hours work and no break for 1 month.

Sure.

I did not have time to dance at all.

 

This is a very sensory experience.  The cells in my body cried out and said. “I want to dance and dance and dance!!”  So I could not stop crying.  Such a feeling kept in my house for a long time.

 

My appearance was noticed by colleague during work.  My heart was somewhere else. They set an opportunity to talk with me.

Papa wanted me to try for a long time.  He said “You had better continue.  Failure is not a big problem.”  On the other hand, mama said “If you want to leave, I don’t hold you back.”  She has seen through my heart exactly.

At that time, I would like to paint so much.  I could not stop impulse.

That’s true.

That’s why I participated in an artist residence.  When I danced in a wide place, I could make use of what I was doing in assistant director days.

 

On the stage of the ballet, I was laying linoleum, pasting with tape and marking on a stage thoroughly.

 

The work of spreading and pasting the roll paper was exactly the same as what I was doing in the assistant director days.

An ordinary dancer cannot do it.  But I could do it.  Because I was doing this work to the death in the assistant director days.  It was a piece of cake for me.

Right.  “I am doing the same as that time.”  I felt.  And there was a moment that I like very much in director assistant days.  It was when the stage background curtain are rising.

 

Then I got an indescribable excitement.

Maybe, there is not anyone like that.  It seemed like my blood flowing backward. “Arghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!”

 

When I performed at 5 m × 5 m for the first time, I lifted the background.  Then I understood that mysterious excitement I felt might be connected this performance.

Yeah exactly!  This is really simple setting.  I knew how to put it together.  For example If I use this material, it is OK.

 

This setting was tied by a black flat strings all around.  I understood how to tie it.  There might be other better ways, but I could do it in the best way I know.

This was good.  Very good stage was.

There was a rule within 18 minutes.

When I perform in my own project, it’s around 15 minutes to 20 minutes.  Sometimes 40 minutes.

Yes.  I set my project so that audience can watch it while eating and drinking.  At that time, they was staring at me for 40 minutes.

When I performed at TED in Meiji University, audience watched as they like.  They were university student and said to me “Your hands were really good!!”

 

Student is good.  Because they don’t fix their idea.

I take good care of my friends.

I don’t cut.

Maybe I forget it.

I think you can speech in TED.

I did not know TED at all.

Ohh I see.  Therefore when the offer came from a friend, I didn’t know what kind of event is.

 

After taIking about the budget, I decided to accept the offer.  I understood later that TED is the event where everyone want to perform in spite of the budget.  ”Phew, what a relief !”  

 

I’m afraid what I don’t know.  haha.