"The Detached" - photos of Lenora Lee, taken by Robbie Sweeny

as a part of its “Through the Looking Glass” short film program:

"The Detached" (2014), 13:01 min

by Lenora Lee and Tatsu Aoki, in association with production partners Lenora Lee Dance, Innocent Eyes and Lenses Films, and Asian Improv aRts

General Admission: $14, Student/Seniors (65+)/Disabled: $13, CAAM Members: $12

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Director/filmmaker Tatsu Aoki, taken by Peter Bell

Tatsu Aoki (director and filmmaker) is a prolific artist, a filmmaker, composer, musician, educator, and a consummate bassist and shamisen lute player. Based in Chicago, Aoki works in a wide range of musical genres, ranging from traditional Japanese music, jazz, experimental, and creative music and producing experimental films.

Aoki was born in Tokyo in 1957 to Toyaki Moto, an artisan family proficient in Okiya, the tradition of working as booking and training agents for geisha in downtown Tokyo. At the age of four, Aoki became part of his family performance crew and received the essence of traditional Tokyo geisha cultural training and studies, which combine history with creativity. In the late 1960s, upon Tokyo’s economic and social decline and his grandmother’s passing, he shifted his training to American pop and experimental music.

By the early 1970s, Aoki was active in Tokyo’s underground arts movement as a member of Gintenkai, an experimental ensemble that combined traditional music and new Western forms. At the same time he began working in small-gauge and experimental films, influenced by his biological father, who was a movie producer at Shintoho Studio.

In 1977, Aoki left Tokyo to study experimental filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is now adjunct associate professor in the Film, Video, and New Media Department, teaching film production and history. He has produced more than 30 experimental films and is one of the most in-demand performers of bass, shamisen, and taiko, appearing in over 90 recording projects. http://tatsuaoki.com/

“The Detached” – photo of Lenora Lee, courtesy of Lenora Lee Dance

Lenora Lee (producer and choreographer)

For the last eight years Lenora Lee has been pushing the envelope of large-scale multimedia dance performance that connects various styles of movement and music to culture, history, and human rights issues. Her work has grown to encompass the creation, presentation, and screening of films, museum and gallery installations, civic engagement and educational programming. Lee creates works that are both set in public and private spaces, intimate and at the same time large-scale, inspired by individual stories as well as community strength.

She has been a dancer, choreographer, artistic director, and producer for the past 18 years in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. In 2013 she was an Artist Fellow at the de Young Museum and a Djerassi Resident Artist. She is currently a Visiting Scholar at New York University, an Artist in Residence at Dance Mission Theater, and recently completed a newly commissioned work by Fort Mason Center in 2015. http://LenoraLeeDance.com

CAST AND CREW LISTING / CREDITS:
The Detached
Conceived & Produced by Lenora Lee
Directed & Edited by Tatsu Aoki
Cinematography by Ben Estabrook, Eric Koziol, Olivia Ting, Joel Wanek
Choreography & Performance by Lenora Lee with Larissa Fong, Raymond Fong,
Marina Fukushima, Chin-chin Hsu, Lynn Huang, Wei-Shan Lai, Yukihiko Noda
Music
De-Clime 2 from CD recording Jonathan Chen Orchestra Returns by Tatsu Aoki and
Jonathan Chen.
DiStilled by Ari Brown, Tatsu Aoki, and Francis Wong.
Michi from CD recording Shadow to Shadow by Melody Takata and Tatsu Aoki.
Steel Toe from CD recording Actual Music by David Pavkovic and Tatsu Aoki.
Moving the Moment by Ari Brown, Tatsu Aoki, and Francis Wong.
All recordings are courtesy of Asian Improv Records.
Lighting – Harry Rubeck
Costumes – Lenora and JoAnn Lee
Painting – Corey Chan
Production Assistance – Tongjia Wang
Special thanks to Angel Island and the California State Parks
In association with production partners Lenora Lee Dance, Innocent Eyes and Lenses
Films, and Asian Improv aRts
Copyright 2014 Lenora Lee Dance