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Ryuichi Fujimura

DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER

Contact Ryuichi

T: 0413 836 760

Ryuichi Fujimura is an independent dance artist based in Sydney. Since the mid 1990’s, he has studied contemporary dance technique as well as improvisation and choreography in Australia and overseas.

Over the last fifteen years, Ryuichi has collaborated with both emerging and established international and Australian dance/theatre/visual artists in various dance, theatre, opera, site-specific performance and film projects. He has performed for both established and experimental artists/companies including Xavier le Roy, Asad Raza, Vicki Van Hout, Jim Sharman, Kate Sheman, Force Majeure, De Quincey Co., La Fura dels Baus, Opera Australia and Gravity Research Institute.

Ryuichi began his choreographic practice in 2013. In collaboration with Kate Sherman, he created two site-specific performance works (‘Under Harry’s Circumstances’ in 2014 and ‘Under Different Circumstances’ in 2013). He has also created and performed three short solo works (Fall! Falter!! Dance!!!’ in 2019, ‘How I Practice My Religion’ in 2017 and ‘How Did I Get Here?’ in 2014). He has toured internationally with these solos to Finland (2017) and Taiwan (2018).

He is a recipient of The Australia Council for the Arts’ Strategic International Market Fund for his Taiwan tour (2018) and International Residency (Art OMI, New York 2018), Create NSW’s Artist Support grant for his Finland tour (2017 and Innovating Dance Practice Grant (2016), Ausdance NSW’s DAIR residencies (2018, 2016 and 2015) and Critical Path’s Responsive Choreographic Residency (with Kate Sherman) (2017).

Works

Reviews

Ryuichi Fujimara’s short offering How Did I Get Here? seemed to epitomise the
Culminate experience. His light lament on entering the autumnal period of his life
and/or dance felt resolved in comparison to the other works. I caught a glimpse of
the wit and humour Ryuichi is able to communicate through the melding of spare
architectural form, peppered with small gesture and verbal anecdotes, reflecting his
often unique perspective of/in life, a humour I have only ever seen as a regular
performer in the Whip It improvise exchange evenings. Where his piece seemed to
sum up his developmental experience over his past four years, engaging as a
participant in this and the previous (inaugural) program, the others seem to still be
in the midst of initial explorative discovery.

The third work, How Did I Get Here. was a nifty, delightful delicately incisive solo by
guest artist Ryuichi Fujimura, a Culminate alumni. To the music of Frank Sinatra he
entered, stylishly yet casually dressed and barefoot, carrying a martini. Slo- mo
moves were contrasted with smoothly creamy frenetic ones and plenty of floorwork.
It was gently ironic and self mocking, incisive and catty, and ended with an allusion
to Lloyd Newson’s The Cost of Living.

Vicki Van Hout
Form Dance Projects

The second of the four works presented was Ryuichi Fujimura’s How I Practice My
Religion. Ryuichi’s religion dance had us in thrall, as we were already converts. Every
new revelation, from his childhood discovery of the joy in choreography (despite the
derisive heckling from his fellow monkey dancers), to his performed list of
cumulative kinaesthetic exercises, forged over years and reaffirmed with each
physical practice, had my neurons joyously firing on all pins.
I have followed Ryuichi for quite a few years, so his quiet humour did not catch me
by surprise. Ryuichi has the ability to make even the most decorative sequence seem
essential, coupled with information delivered in the cadence of his first language
(Japanese), spoken in his second (English), and I processed the (well-trodden)
information he imparted with a fresh perspective.

Vicki Van Hout
Form Dance Projects

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