Japanese Literary Awards

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Saburo Teshigawara

てしがわら さぶろう

Teshigawara Saburō

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1953-09-15 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
dancer, choreographer, director, actor, university professor
Active Years
1981-
Affiliations
KARAS (company), Rikkyo University (professor), Tama Art University (professor), Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater (advisor / artistic director)
Memberships
Member of the Japan Art Academy

Awards

Bagnolet International Choreography Competition (Second Prize & Special Prize)
1986
Work: Edge of the Wind
Organization: Bagnolet International Choreography Competition organizers
Result: Second Prize & Special Prize
Japan Dance Critics Association Award
1988
Organization: Japan Dance Critics Association
Result: Recipient
Nimura Dance Award
2001
Organization: Nimura Dance Award Committee
Result: Recipient
Asahi Performing Arts Award
2002
Organization: The Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: Recipient
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Prize)
2006
Work: Glass Fang
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs / Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Result: Recipient
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2009
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Honored
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officer)
2017
Organization: French Republic
Result: Officer
Venice Biennale Dance Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
2022
Category: ダンス（功労賞）
Organization: Venice Biennale
Result: Lifetime Achievement
Person of Cultural Merit
2022
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Honored

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Blue Meteorite

1989 Contemporary dance / stage work

One of his early representative pieces. A stage work constructing images through body, light, and silence.

silencephysicalitylight and space

The Moon Is Mercury

Contemporary dance

An experimental stage piece layering poetic images and body techniques.

poetic imagerytransformation

Stone Flower

Dance

A work characterized by sculptural bodily expression.

sculptural qualityduration

Melancholia

Stage work

A stage piece themed on melancholy and stillness.

melancholystillness

Absolute Zero

Contemporary dance

An experimental work that unsettles audience perception using extreme stillness and silence.

silenceextreme stillness

Luminous

Dance

A stage piece focusing on light, exploring the relationship between vision and the body.

lightvision and the body

Bibliography

  • Blue Meteorite (Kyuryudo, 1989)
  • Bones and Air (Hakusuisha, 1994)

Adaptations

  • Film appearance in 'GOJOE' (2000)
  • Film appearance in 'Leonie' (2011)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
minimal, poetic stage language centered on body and silencesculptural bodily expression
Recurring Motifs
silencelight and shadowsustained bodiessculptural quality

Legacy

One of Japan's leading contemporary dancers and choreographers. Commissioned by major companies and theatres internationally, he has received numerous honors and broad recognition. As an educator he has contributed to training younger artists and is known for expanding the expressive range of contemporary dance.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared in the film 'GOJOE' (2000)
  • Appeared in the film 'Leonie' (2011)

Trivia

  • Co-founded the contemporary dance company KARAS in 1985 with Yoshiko Miyata.
  • Since 2014 has been a professor in the Department of Theater, Dance and Design at Tama Art University (previously taught at Rikkyo University).
  • Awarded the Venice Biennale Dance Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2022.
  • Recipient of the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2009.