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Yūko-kai 2021
a personal journey

a concert in honour of master Japanese dancer Fujima Yūko

featuring:
Colleen Lanki (Fujima Sayū)

January 10 (Sunday)
4:00pm PST

LIVESTREAMED

TomoeArts Facebook page
TomoeArts YouTube page
(Excerpt video available for viewing)

**full performance available until January 18**

TomoeArts presents a concert of Japanese classical dance celebrating the life of master dancer and teacher Fujima Yūko (1929-2003). A group or gathering for performance or presentation can be termed "kai" so Yūko-kai is literally "a gathering for Yūko." This year's gathering is especially powerful as it is a concert already postponed twice: The original January 2020 date was postponed due to Colleen breaking her arm. The May 2020 date was then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we will celebrate music, dance and a gathering with friends across the world in a digital realm.

Fujima Yūko was TomoeArts' Artistic Director Colleen Lanki's first teacher of nihon buyoh. Colleen trained intensively with her for seven years, after which she was given a professional dance name, Fujima Sayū, making her part of Yūko-sensei's artistic lineage. Fujima Yūko passed away on January 18, 2003, at the age of 74, days after a major performance at the National Theatre in Tokyo, and although Colleen has since been studying with another master teacher (Fujima Shōgo), her core artistic lineage is with her first teacher.

This year's Yūko-kai concert of classical dance is an invitation to share in Fujima Sayū's journey into Japanese dance. She will share some of her experiences with Yūko-sensei, from her first lesson to her taking a name in an official ceremony at the home of the iemoto, Fujima Kan'emon V. Sayū will dance three pieces from her repertoire: the kouta Hakusen, the Tokiwazu piece Kuruwa Hakkei, and the jiuta-mai Kurokami. This will be a personal celebration of the anniversary of Fujima Yūko's passing.

We are presenting this concert free of charge. Please consider making a donation to TomoeArts.

View PHOTOS of the concert





We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Province of British Columbia



And special thanks to our season sponsor CPE Systems