Anatoly Gankevich

FUJI-GOLF

FUJI-GOLF. PERFORMANCE

by A. Gankevich

The main part of the performance takes place on the golf course and represents a mix of traditional «Kato» dance with the sports aesthetics of golf. Samurai performs seven improvised dances. After each dance, the warrior hits the ball to the Fuji crater; only the true samurai can hit the crater of Fuji, its landscape is projected on a large video screen made of rice paper. Each dance is motivated by a certain engraving and has its own mood and atmosphere. First is the Dawn Dance, then the Jungle, followed by the Rain, the River, the Snow, the Wind, and the Sunset. The action is accompanied by traditional and popular Japanese music, as well as flashing stroboscopes that create an effect of animation. The story development and the choreography of the performance are controlled by the director, with the help of handheld radios attached to each participant. The warrior receives «an order» from the «master-puppeteer» directly into his ears and performs it with devotion – expressing in dance the images that appear in his head.

On both sides of the samurai are Japanese girls walking on the course with their faces painted white. They are dressed in kimonos, but instead of carrying umbrellas on their shoulders, they carry golf clubs. The girls slowly walk up to the balls, put the clubs on the grass, and strike quietly. They try to hit the circle where the samurai dances, thus attracting his attention and making it harder to concentrate. They do it slowly, strike after strike, directing seven balls into the «Samurai Circle», after which the samurai has only to strike the balls into the hole of Fuji – the game ends.

The exhibition and performance are made with the intention to create a sensual experience for the audience, who are invited to immerse into the pulsating metaphysical environment of «Fuji-golf» games, transforming the certain plot from the two-dimensional space of mosaic works into multimedia space and multidimensional reality.