Ryohei Kondo, who founded the popular male dance troupe Condors in 1996, is always brimfull of innovative ideas — even when they're garbed in traditional clothing.
When Maimi Sato, Saitama Arts Theatre's head producer of dance, asked the choreographer to interpret a Japanese folk tale of his choosing, the result was 2006's "Nezumi no Sumo" ("Rats' Sumo"), based on a story of the same name and performed by Condors dancers.
This weekend, the theater revisits that piece in the second installment of its Nihon Mukashi Banashi no Dance (Dancing Japanese Old Tales) series, where it shares a double bill geared to all ages with "Issunboushi" ("One Inch Boy"), a new piece by Naomi Shimotsukasa, a young choreographer Sato invited on board after seeing the work of her company, Dorobo Taisaku Light.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.