Kokoro Dance through the decades: On the early years and being on edge
Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi created their own style of dance amid many challenges
Sunyata was a ground-breaking piece by Kokoro Dance. Photo by Laurence M. Svirchev.
Kokoro Dance was established as a non-profit society and registered charitable organization in 1986, a few years after founders Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi saw a striking style of dance called butoh by the company Harupin-Ha. Since then, Kokoro Dance has created pieces inspired by butoh and Western ballet-based modes of expression, among other forms, and has gone on to earn national and international acclaim. The early days, however, were difficult.
It’s a story of perseverance and passion.
Kokoro Dance faced obstacles right from the get-go, first with its name. Kokoro means heart, soul, and spirit in Japanese. At the time, though, few dance companies in Canada used a non-English or French name, and concerns were raised about a non-Western-sounding name affecting the organization’s success.
Unlike anything Vancouver audiences had ever seen, Kokoro’s cross-cultural work was initially often considered unconventional and challenging. Those perceptions led to financial and emotional struggles. Undeterred, Bourget and Hirabayashi continued to create their own way of dancing.
Sunyata. Photo by Diana Miale.
Then there was nudity present in Kokoro’s work, often with white painted bodies and shaved heads. The artists felt that they were best able to express their humanity with their full bodies visible rather than masked.
For some, nudity in dance was neither understood nor accepted. Again, they persisted.
“Our interest is in reflecting something of humanity that our audiences can see in themselves,” Hirabayashi has said. “They may not initially recognize themselves from the outward appearance of our bodies, but through our movement we evoke emotional responses that everybody has and can feel, and sometimes don’t allow themselves to feel. Live butoh dance is an opportunity where people can sit, reflect on what they’re seeing, and feel it in their bodies from what our bodies are expressing.”
Among the works presented in its beginnings were X-Roads and Embryotrophic Cavatina. Sunyata proved to be a ground-breaking piece; it was staged without funding in 1991.
Sunyata was a powerful example of Kokoro’s unique vocabulary. To help people better understand their distinct style, the couple created a newsletter called Kokoro Moon, from 1991 to 1994. Their candid viewpoints proved controversial. “But I think controversy helps you define yourself,” Bourget said. “It’s stimulating. If you never butt up against something how do you define yourself?”
The two admit they felt isolated, even ostracized. But they were committed to their artistic vision.
Sunyata. Photo by Paul Gibbons.
After several years of applying unsuccessfully for grants from the Canada Council for the Arts (further contributing to the company’s financial troubles), Kokoro Dance finally received funding in 1992. With that, they began to gain more attention and credibility.
“It’s more than money to produce your work – it’s the recognition of your peers,” Bourget said.
Those first six years weren’t the last of the company’s trials and triumphs, but they helped cement Kokoro’s spirit. “I think we need to be always on the edge, Jay and I,” Bourget said. “We wouldn’t want to run the risk of flattening out because everything was too easy.”
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Kokoro’s story…
Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi, 1990.
This post was sponsored by Kokoro Dance.