During the Company's 36th year, Saeko Ichinohe focuses on contemporary Japanese arts. The program will include three pieces, Chuya Nakahara - Poignant Poems, Shadows Pierce My Soul, and Pearl.


Chuya Nakahara - Poignant Poems Saeko's new work for 2006 introduces the verse of Chuya Nakahara, one of the finest Japanese poets writing in the 20th century. Chuya Nakahara's poems cover the range of human experiences - joy, hope, defeat, confidence, death and love. Through his perception he sees dead souls and spirits in every natural phenomenon, even seeing his own dead body.

Shadows Pierce My Soul, choreographed by Jeff Moen, incorporates Japanese themes into dance. In the work 3 spirits meet and discover they share the same soul. Each spirit lived in a different Japanese era (Heian, Edo, and Heisei) and are now meeting for the first time.

Pearl (Revival) A prayer for peace and harmony in honor of those who have lost their lives by terrorist attacks and by natural disasters.Cornelia Ruehlicke's paintings are a meditation on the universal symbolism of the pearl. She is exploring the metaphor for light and transcendence of this mysterious object of nature.