Session House Award Winners Announced

Sen Ten, “Self,Reality” (Session House Award)

 

On February 7 this year, after the turn of the year, “Dance Flower,” a project supporting young dancers, presented seven competing works. They included a Korean dancer selected by Shunsuke Nabeshima, representing Session House at the festival in Daegu as part of the Japan–Korea dance exchange.

 

After the performance, rigorous judging by the three directors of the General Incorporated Association Session House Planning Office (Yasuyo Omoto, Taiju Matsumoto and Mitsutake Kasai) resulted in this year’s Session House Award going to Sen Ten (Souk Shintani, Daichi Yamaguchi), “Self,Reality.”

 

Miyu Watanabe (渡邉未有), “One Over How Many” (なんぶんのいち) (Audience Award)

 

The selection recognized the intensity of physical expression born from the assurance of accumulated technique, and the distinctive physicality running throughout the work.

 

Beginning this year, we also established the “Audience Award” to honor audience responses and continuously nurture the small theater’s character as a place where creation and appreciation resonate with one another. Based on questionnaires, responses described Miyu Watanabe’s (渡邉未有) “One Over How Many” (なんぶんのいち) as “overwhelming” and Haruka Takeuchi’s (竹内春香) “Reverb” as having “a captivating smile,” and both works received the award.

 

Haruka Takeuchi (竹内春香), “Reverb” (Audience Award)

 

Sen Ten’s work was also invited to the NDA International Dance Festival in Daegu, Korea (judge: Yu Ho-sik [ユ・ホシク]), making it a double award. The reason given was that this duet unfolds its own story on a foundation of pop movements, its simple and delicate use of lighting is highly effective, and it felt superbly realized.