Crooked Man (2013/14)
“Crooked Man” is uncomfortable. It is a non-symmetrical dance that suggests a weak body with the vigour of the strong ones. It insists on putting opposites together such as heaviness and lightness, weakness and strength, being close and far from the audience, balance and unbalance, fluid and interrupted movements, the inside and the outside of the body.

“‘Crooked man’ is a dance that passes through the audience’s eyes: it’s passage, it’s walking, it’s going, it’s insistence, it’s crude and nude movements.”
Eduardo Fukushima.

“Crooked Man” is Eduardo Fukushima’s most recent creation with musical composition by Tom Monteiro. This dance was born in China during a year-long residency in Taiwan under the mentorship of the choreographer, writer and founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Lin Hwai Min. This residency, the Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative Rolex Swiss Prize 2012/2013, brings an artist established worldwide and an emerging young artist together to share their experiences. In 2013 the work was shown for the first time during the Rolex Arts weekend in Venice. It was presented as a site specific work for the dining room of a former renaissance monastery in front of a full scale replica of the painting “The Wedding at Cana” by Paolo Veronese at Fondazione Giorgio Cini. The original painting was made for the monastery but it was then stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte who took it to Paris. “Crooked Man” was inspired by the context described above as well as the experience of the artist as a foreigner in China, and the history and features of the venue in Venice.

“Crooked Man” was shown as a work in process in Taiwan, 2013, in São Paulo at Estúdio Fitacrepe and at SESC Ipiranga (projeto É Logo Ali) in 2014. The work will be presented at the Dance Umbrella Festival in London in 2014. Tanz im August will not only be showing Eduardo Fukushima’s latest piece “Crooked Man”, but also earlier works “How to Overcome the Great Tiredness?” and “Between Contentions”. Through these solos it is possible to witness how the young man and the artist reaches adulthood.

Eduardo Fukushima was born on 15th April 1984. He has been working as a choreographer, dancer and teacher since 2004 in São Paulo, Brazil. He graduated in dance from the course “Communication and Body Arts” at Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC). He created the solos “Exit” in 2004, “Corner” in 2007, “Between Contentions” in 2008 (prize Funarte Klaus Vianna of São Paulo), as well as “How to overcome the great tiredness?” in 2010 (prize “Rumos Dança Itaú Cultural 2009/2010 in Brazil) and “Crooked Man” (Prize Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative 2012/2013). His works were shown in Portugal, Argentina, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, England, Italy, Cyprus, Taiwan and all over Brazil. In 2012 he was part of the festival World Event Young Artists in Nottingham, UK. In 2012 and 2013 he was selected as protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and moved to Taiwan to work with Lin Hwai-min, the artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. He has been working on oriental body practices as well as the Japanese dance Seitai-ho and the Chinese dance Chi Kung since 2005. In addition he studied classical ballet, Brazilian dance, Capoeira Angola, Release Technique, Contact Improvisation, Indian dance and Artistic Gymnastic. He has been teaching dance since 2009. His new work “Crooked Man” premiered in Venice at Rolex Arts Weekend 2013. It will be shown in Düsseldorf, São Paulo, Cuiabá and London in 2014.