Tottori GESHISAI 2021 will be held on June 19-20, 2021. in a combined online/offline format.

Tottori GESHISAI(Geshi means Summer Solstice ) is a festival of improvised music and dance held since 2017 at various locations in the city of Tottori.

Since the beginning

1) To create an opportunity for people in Tottori to experience free expressions such as improvised music and contemporary dance.

2) To discover interesting spaces in Tottori. 

3) To create a network of independent artists from Japan and abroad.

We have had 20 to 30 artists participate in the festival every year.

Last year, because of pandemic of COVID-19, the festival became a combination of online and offline workshops. Tottori is a small prefecture, and due to problems with the medical system, there is still a strong sense of caution within the prefecture. So, we decided this year also we can’t invite freely participate from outside of the prefecture, and we hope to evolve the combination of online and offline activities that is unique in this day and age.

 

Over the past four years, more than 80 people have been involved in this project, and we are grateful for everyone's interest in Tottori. We would like to thank you for your interest in Tottori.

 

Event Outline

Date: Saturday evening, June 19, 2021 - Sunday afternoon, June 20, 2021 (Japan time)

Location: Warabekan ( Toy and folklore music museum in Tottori, we held improvisation workshop in there every month。https://warabe.or.jp/history/) and participants' residential areas

 

Night time 19th: Warabekan Night Museum (on-line and off-line)

The event will start at 7:30 p.m. and last about 40 minutes to an hour, considering the sunset time.

The well-known Warabekan will be hijacked for the Tottori GESHISAI Festival. We will explore the toy museum in the middle of the night, and each of us will bring our own ideas for what we would like to do. Before 19th ,June , we will have workshop program( Hackathon)in there.

Artists from overseas and outside of the prefecture will be able to participate in the event via video or on-line. (We have three projectors)

 

 

Morning session on the 20th: Warabekan Event Hall Entrance Hall (on-line and off-line)

Please collect "favorite places", "favorite sounds", "images", "poems", etc. in your area outside of the prefecture.

We will hold a series of sessions as if we were traveling from Tottori to your region.

We will share your collected sounds, photos, videos, etc. on the screen via zoom, and improvise a performance based on them by drawing lots. (About 3 people each)

We will also show the video to the public. The video will also be made available to the public. We will share the video as an archive so that the participants can see it later, but the public viewing will only be one time live streaming.

It will be a version of the lottery dances that we have done in the past, but with a different theme. It will be a good way to introduce the participants to the region by asking them to explain why they chose the dance or the place (sound, poem, etc.) when they present it. It would be great if you could introduce the good points of your own land, dreaming of the day in the future when we will be able to travel to each other.

 

 

Afternoon workshop on the 20th: Nishimachi Park, or Warabekan Event Hall (if it is rain.)

Warabekan Improvised Music and Dance Workshop 

Basically, everyone will dance at the end of the workshop and that's it.

 

Pre-Workshop/Talk

For everyone in Tottori

We organise monthly improvisation workshop in Warabekan. And additional workshop and hackathon will be held. If you have interest please join it.

(2) will be held in the morning of the day of the workshop, and (1) will be held after the workshop. (April 25, May 16, June 13)

1) Improvisation workshop for people in Tottori Prefecture

2) Let's think about what we can do at Warabekan Workshop (Hackathon)

The Warabekan itself is a very interesting place to start, so this is a valuable opportunity to see what you can do there.

 

 

An online talk workshop event that includes people from outside the prefecture.

3) What is improvisation anyway? Talk

4) Talk on how to perform contemporary dance and improvisational expression in rural areas.

This genre is often regarded as a minor genre, not only in rural areas, but it is the basis of physical expression and has potential in the future, including in the field of education. This is a meeting to think about what we can do together while sharing the problems and innovations in each region.

5) Trial for Zoom and other online events

We will not be able to hold as many workshops as we did last year, but we will discuss and devise settings and mechanisms together.

 

Application Guidelines

Eligibility: If you live in Tottori, you are welcome to participate in this event. If you live in Tottori, please participate in the "Improvised Music and Dance Workshop" or "Let's think about what we can do at Warabekan”. If you are in abroad or out of prefecture, we hope to consultation with you at first ( because of time difference), but anyway this might be also the first contact for both. Please send us what you want to do or how we can collaborate.

Genres: Improvised music, dance, theater, video, street performance, etc. Any genres are welcome, but participants must be able to adapt to the situation and enjoy collaborating with others.

 

How to apply:

Please fill in the following information in the Google Form. (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOWYX_zjBC1EpD7ZLGyd0egCgE2quwLthSeWgdQfmA_k9blg/viewform)

Name, (stage name), contact address, email, phone number, years of past Midsummer Festivals you have participated in, a profile of no more than 300 words, and a photo (feel free to use this as a portfolio or to introduce yourself). Deadline: April 15th.

 

Inquiries:

Tottori GESHISAI 2021 Executive Committee

There are other members in Tottori, but the following members are currently playing a central role in the planning.

Chiyo OGINO, Saiko KiNO, Tomomi TAKAHASHI, Etsuko TANAKA, Tetsuya TANAKA, Shuichiro MATSUURA, Michiko MORIMOTO

              

Contact:

4-101 Koyama-cho Minami, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, Japan, Tottori University ART center, Kino Laboratory(Dance /physical expression)

Mail: geshisai2021@gmail.com