My first act on creating this piece was to assemble performers with different cultures and from different countries. This is because the idea behind this piece is the great number of conflicts caused by misunderstanding or disconnection between nations or cultures. However, this piece does not intend to express political opinions directly. These conflicts create borders between countries which exist anywhere, anytime and might possibly be in the people themselves.

6 performers from different backgrounds represent people who are divided from each other and seek their own identities during the process of the piece. In addition, even without borders there are other ways to achieve complete destruction.  As a Japanese choreographer, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima has been in my thought when creating this piece.

The border will be demolished at the end of the performance, and I would like to consider with the audience how people can then co- exist in the vast space which emerges.

Finally, even though the theme of THE OTHER SIDE is “borders”, I have worked with all who are involved in this project with a “borderless” relationship.

Thank you very much.                                                      Hiromi Ishikawa