KE 2017 - THE WINNERS!!

HERE ARE THE CHILDREN'S CHOICE AWARDS 2017

KYOTO EXPERIMENT

Very Futuristic/とても近未来だったで賞
& there was no decoration on your stage/ステージにかざりがついていなかったで賞
-> RAM CAMP in Kyoto 2017

Couldn’t Understand because the Words Were in English and It Was Too Dark/ 暗すぎたのと英語だったから意味がわからなかったで賞
& Super miracle everything was brilliant/スーパーミラクルぜんぶよかったで賞
-> Researchlight: Something there

It was so great that I wanted to record it so I can watch it again/ おもしろかったからビデオでとってもう一度みたいで賞
& The action was too crazy and made me feel nervous/
アクションがすごすぎてヒヤヒヤしたで賞
-> Teppei Kaneuji: Tower

I hope you will come back/また来てほしいで賞
& It was so beautiful I couldn't take my eyes off it/きれいすぎてくぎづけになったで賞
-> Xiaoxing Sun: Here Is the Message You Asked For... Don't Tell Anyone Else ;-)

It was dark and made me feel lonely/くらくてさみしくなったで賞
-> Naoko Tanaka: Uninternalized (light)

The show made me consider award/考えさせられたで賞
-> Marcelo Evelin: Demolition Incorporada; Sick Dance

I was so suprised, I almost dislocated my jaw/ びっくりしてアゴがはずれそうになったで賞 -
& BEST OF THE BEST/ベスト・オブ・ザ・ベスト賞
-> Heiner Goebbels & Ensemble Modern: Black on White

The music was too slow and made me sleepy/ 音がゆっくりすぎて眠くなったで賞
-> Ryoji Ikeda & Eklekto: music for percussion

I was suprised that there were many movements I have never seen/ みたことがない動きが多くてびっくりしたで賞
-> Trisha Brown Dance Company: Anthology: Trisha Brown

Sounded like being in a forest of temptation/ ゆうわくの森にいるような音だったで賞
-> Minhee Park: No Longer Gagok: room 5

Teamwork/ チームワーク賞
-> Takuya Murakawa: Independent Living

It was so funny that we all tried to mimic it award/ おもしろすぎてみんなで まねしてしまったで賞
-> Yudai Kamisato / Okazaki Art Theatre: The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso

KE 2017 - The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso

So, the very last show of the CCA 2017 at the Kyoto Experiment Festival was The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso by Yudai Kamisato and Okazaki Art Theatre. We went again to the Kyoto Art Center and enjoyed the evening.

Riko noticed that her outfit looks like a Minion today. 

KE 2017 - Marcelo Evelin / Demolition Incorporada: Sick Dance

Today a few kids saw Sick Dance by Marcelo Evelin/Demolition Incorporada. The show is advertised as 18+ or anyone under the age of 12 being accompanied by a parent. So, we had parents with us too, yay!

Although the show had some challenging subject matter, the Jury still was interested in watching it. With their parents beside them, they braved the dark, uncomfortable sounds, and strange (and sometimes disturbing) movements. Afterwards the kids were a bit speechless but opened up a bit when they got to meet the dancers and Marcelo, himself. One of the dancers told me "...confused is a feeling, too".

KE 2017 - Trisha Brown Dance Company, Anthology: Trisha Brown

Today we saw an amazing dance performance by Trisha Brown Dance Company; Anthology: Trisha Brown. The jury got to see part of the tech rehearsal and was inspired to practice their dance moves before the performance. They ran into the dancers back stage and made quite an impression.

KE 2017 - RAM CAMP

The Jury got a special chance to try the RAM CAMP equipment before they saw the presentation the following day. Each of them got to try it and see what it was like to have a digital-self. Then, the presentation by Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] presented RAM CAMP in Kyoto 2017 Work in Progress Presentation. 

The day started with some candy silliness that Tsukine started by giving colorful candy to Jana.

KE 2017 - Takuya Murakawa: Independent Living

The second typhooooooon made our day a bit dark and wet but we had a good time watching Independent Living!!

First of all, braiding Jana's hair on the minibus...

KE 2017 - Heiner Goebbels & Ensemble Modern: Black on White

We had another double show day. First, we saw Heiner Goebbel's show Black on White.

It was great seeing Heiner after doing CCA at his Ruhrtriennale for three years (2012-2014). He was very welcoming to the VIP and told us that he is curious to hear what new award he will get this time! If you want to know what kind of awards he got from the Children's Choice Awards before, check out his website. He mentions all his awards there! 🏆

KE 2017 - Ryoji Ikeda& Eklekto

Today we went to the Ryoji Ikeda & Eklekto performance music for percussion. It was an exciting day of munching snacks, looking backstage, high-fiving artists, and rhythmic noise making.

Catch a peak of who's in the window...

KE 2017 - Two Artist Talks (Minhee Park & Xiaoxing Sun)

We had a double date today! We talked to Minhee Park and Xiaoxing Sun about their shows. 

Finally we got some answers about those stuffed animals and Minhee's show that made the kids feel majestic. 

Sani and Riko gave us a little performance before the QnA

KE 2017 - No longer GAGOK: room 5

This time everything was a bit different and special. At No longer GAGOK: room 5 by Minhee Park only one person was allowed to enter the performance at a time. So we took only 4 judges and each of them had to experience the performance by themselves. 

 Sani and Shoko on the minibus. Sani as cool as always.

KE 2017 - Unverinnerlicht

Yesterday we took the jury to Unverinnerlicht by Naoka Tanaka.

Walking the red carpet. The jury is still a bit shy but we'll get there.

Lots of broken chairs on the stage.

KE 2017 - Here Is the Message You Asked For...Don‘t Tell Anyone Else ;-)

Today's show was Here Is the Message You Asked For...Don't Tell Anyone Else ;-)

by Xiaoxing Sun. We were very surprised by the ending of the show and a bit overwhelmed. The jury had a hard time focusing on anything else afterwards. Was that the intention of the show?

On our way to the show we found this giant umbrella 

in front of the Kyoto Art Theater Shunjuza

KE 2017 - Researchlight Tour #2

Round 2 of the Jury viewing researchlight's SOMETHING HERE. It was a packed couple of hours with lots of singing on the minibus.

KE2017 - Researchlight Tour #1

Today the Jury travelled around Kyoto to view the Kyoto Experiment installations by researchlight, SOMETHING HERE. Two of the artists on the project joined us and explained each installation to them along the way.

KE 2017 - Performance 1 - Teppei Kanuji - tower (THEATRE)

The first performance the Jury saw together was Teppei Kanuji's tower (THEATRE). They didn't know what to expect. We rolled up in VIP treatment and the Jury walked the red carpet for the first time! The performance was a very interesting fusion of sculpture, performance, music, and script. They had lots to say when the performance was over and got to interview the artist, himself.

KE 2017 - THE OPENING CEREMONY!

The Festival began with a lot of excitement! I don't know which jury member wins the award for most excited. It's a tough competition. The Jury was invited to the Opening Ceremony and they certainly got noticed. They even received an official certificate recognizing them as jury members. The jury got to rub shoulders with the artists and eat lots of fancy food. Phew, what a night!

KE 2017 - Final Workshop - Creating the trophies!

These kids don't have any problems with creativity. The goal was to create trophies for the winners of the awards and also make some decorations for the minibus we will be arriving to the shows in. Everyone will know we are VIP when we show up before the events in a bus covered in colour and glitter!

KE 2017 - Workshop #3 - Choosing the Awards!

We had the 3rd workshop with the Kinrin Elementary School kids: deciding the award categories.  

KE 2017 - Workshop #2! What Kids Can't Do

Today we ask the Kinrin Elementary School kids what they are allowed to do (and not allowed to do!).

KE 2017 - Workshop #1 at the Kinrin Elementary School

We are here! We are in Kyoto, Japan and extremely excited to meet the official VIP jury of the festival KYOTO EXPERIMENT 2017. We are going to meet the 40 judges on Wednesday at the Kinrin Elementary school, so get the red carpet ready and stay tuned!

🌟🏆🎉🌟

THE WINNERS!

The show we would send into outer space so that it’s the first thing aliens see when they want to find out about humanity: Standard Life Opening Event: Deep Time 

"This show was an absolute visual delight in an incredible historic setting. I hope the aliens enjoy it as much as I did!"
- Daisy

The award for the ‘best use of paper’ goes to: Flit

"Made their entire set out of paper, made stop motion wheels out of paper, and even their animations were made out of paper…In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were made out of paper…"
- Sean

The award for the dancer better than Beyoncé: Chotto Desh 

"Goes to the show that with one lone dancer and numerous mind-warping body movements managed to create a display more beautiful than most could do with 20."
- Louis

The award for the weirdest one: Shake

"A show written mostly in French with a cast of 5 and only a few beach huts as a set. However despite this, the comedy, including a few terrible doctor jokes and a cruel practical joke, still let me enjoy the show even though I had no idea what was going on most of the time."
- Jordon 

The show that made me think: The Destroyed Room 

"A show based on a photo, based on a painting. A political discussion that quickly turns into a metaphorical disaster. Walls tumble, lives are destroyed, and contestants on a televised political debate crash and burn. The characters are truly compelling, as is the concept."
- Charlotte 

The Best Costuming, Hair and Make-up: Barry Humphries' Weimar Cabaret

The show that left a lasting impression: monumental 

"The award for the show that left a lasting impression goes to a show that really resonated with me, and that’s why I’m honoured to be the one to present it.  Not only does this show capture some of the biggest struggles we face today, the combination of music, dance and projections encompasses the theme of humanity’s ignorance and resilience. To sum it up, the performance was beautifully unnerving."
- Lily 

The show I felt most lost in: Sigur Rós 

"This performance blew me away. It featured 3 performers, who created and played ethereal sounds. They experimented with different musical objects to produce monumental sounds, such as playing the electric guitar with a bow. I gazed in awe at the captivating light sequences the band played along to. I was so taken in, I didn’t flinch, or even draw a breath throughout the entire show."
- James 

The award for the show with the best set: The Toad Knew

"A show which used their set not only to create a vivid and imaginative sense of virtual reality and space but also to further the sense of surrealism, wonder and beauty brought by the talented cast."
- Louis

The award for the funniest and most serious: Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs

"The show that made us all laugh by telling us about Liza Minelli and her powder puff. Also for making us feel emotional by telling us another story but this time about finding his granddad."
- Ashleigh

This performance is winning the award for being the most ‘churchy': Songlines

"Although, this performance allowed the public to sing along with the choir and required no tickets, it is strong in our minds because of one reason and one reason only. Snapchat filters. If you don’t know what I mean it’s basically like taking a photo/video with a special effect that changes the way you look. This is memorable because a certain someone took a photo of a tenor singer filtered into wearing a watermelon as a hat. But I’m getting off topic, so without further ado I would like to present the award for ‘most churchy one’ to, drumroll please…"
- Marc

The award for the Judgiest Audience:  Magdalena Kožená and Malcolm Martineau 

Show that portrayed everything wrong with the 1930s, 40s , 50s etc: Così Fan Tutte

"The show that this award is going to covered some very touchy themes. Most shows wouldn’t even try to cover the themes this show covered. This show made audiences very uncomfortable, sparking controversy. The funny thing is that this show was portrayed as a comedy… this was not a comedy."
- Olivia 

The Award for the show that was sex to my ears: Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette

"Montagues and Capulets,
A story of two young lovers who tragically met.
Berlioz had lots of hoes
The Capulets always wanted a square go.

The old people smell of sweat
Definitely my favourite of them yet

Romeo looked for love that couldn’t be found
Then Juliet’s Da went
Eh naw pal
That’s no sound."

- Harry 

The award for the show with the most striking visuals: Hopelessness

"With a massive screen playing videos of various women lip-syncing to the songs being played this performance was sure to make a lasting impression."
- Emma

The award for the best playwrights: Anything That Gives Off Light  

"Dragged everyone on a journey to the states and then to the Scottish highlands. The Scottish language is not one that is easily understood but the actions that followed made it all the clearer."
- Rebecca 

The award for the show we’d most like to see recreated with cats: Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

"Because:

1. Cats; and it’d be funny to see the cats interact with the different instruments."

- Emma

Most hottest, most buff, most shirtless, most homo-erotic  male dancers on stage: Scottish Ballet

Best Choreography: Natalia Osipova and Guests

The BEST OF THE BEST: Anything That Gives Off Light

EIF 2016 - Anything That Gives Off Light

Funny that I mentioned Scottish-ness in yesterday's post for Songlines, because today we went to a show all about the idea of Scottish-ness. What is it? What even counts as Scotland? Are the Highlands, in fact, the purest form of this elusive, anguished, political, kilt-and-tartan-ed up idea of Scotland?

Well, I dunno. I'm not from here. But this question is what Anything That Gives Off Light orbits around and around for its entire two hours.

Our jury left the show with positive reactions. They found it funny and entertaining, with a political edge that reminded some of them of The Destroyed Room. Without delving into thorny problem of national identity, they found the show itself creative. The show used a minimal of props and a single setting to represent a bar, a caravan, a house in Virginia, and a croft house in quick succession. Imaginative, but also confusing to some of our jury.

After the show, we also scored a chat with the cast and two of the play's writers. The play was a collaboration between the National Theatre of Scotland and the experimental American company The TEAM (Theatre of the Emerging American Moment). The two Scots in the play were played by Scottish actors (one with the same name as his character), and same goes for the American woman. In the sense that she's also played by a real American, not in the sense that she's also, somehow, a Scottish man. Just to clear that up.

In the middle: Brian Ferguson, Sandy Grierson, Rachel Chavkin, Jessica Almasy

And what else? Two of our young jurors - Daisy and Lily - were on BBC radio today to speak about this project. Lily heroically woke up at 6am so she could rehearse and play her violin with the house band, which is pretty amazing for a Monday. Thanks to both of them!

Thank you to Lily (violin), joining our @BBCJFCulture House Band. Listen from 2.45pm! #PuttingTheBandBackTogether pic.twitter.com/M2zVlRjn9C

— Unfolding Theatre (@unfoldingtheatr) 22 August 2016

Listen from 1.20: #EdintFest Director @FergusLinehan, @yanntiersen & our Young Jurors on @BBCJFCulture https://t.co/3oPRDhV61C #EdintFest ^E

— edintfest (@edintfest) 22 August 2016

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To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

EIF 2016 - Songlines

Can you believe it? Church on a Sunday? School's started already in Scotland, and here we are, asking students to come to church on a weekend. Well that's just what we have to do for Songlines, the EIF's city-wide singing event.

Something about sitting in church naturally induces an attack of the giggles, I'm afraid, which only got worse when a few of the jury using their Snapchat filters to film the poor soloist standing in front of the crowd. But the Edinburgh Gay Men's Chorus came on with their arrangement of Conchita Wurst's "Rise Like a Phoenix", which won us over (see the version they performed for the Orlando vigil here). Follow that with "Wild Mountain Thyme", and most couldn't help but join in. Even I, Chinese-Canadian from Montreal that I am, left that church feeling fifty-percent more Scottish.

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To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

EIF 2016 - Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs

Tonight's menu - showbiz anecdotes and sappy songs, from Scottish native Alan Cumming! Luckily, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs is performed right in the Hub, where our youth jury meet everyday before walking to the venues. This night's transit time took thirty seconds and traversed one single corridor, which left plenty of time for playing (more) Cards Against Humanity.

And how to describe the man himself? He was funny, charismatic, had great biceps (according to a few jury members) and performed a range of songs from a traditional Glaswegian ballad to Avril Lavigne. He punctuated the singing with a few personal stories. Our favorite was the one about removing a tattoo of an ex-lover's name on his groin, which relies so much on delivery, and is totally sweet and hilarious all at once. A few of the jury tried to hang around Dunnard bar in the Hub in order to sneak into the after-show party, but we were all asked to leave because most of them aren't eighteen yet. Another time!

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To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.

EIF 2016 - Scottish Ballet

Tonight - the Scottish Ballet!

We got a post-show talk with the chief executive/artistic director Christopher Hampson, who sat us all down on the floor backstage and took some questions. Aside from the usual ones about how he selected the double bill, which one is his favorite, etc. etc. we all wanted to know: "how did that ballerina get all the sellotape off?"

A little explanation: there is a bit in the first set, MC-14, where one dancer slowly tapes all another dancer's limbs to each other to stop him from moving. It was striking, powerful, and all that jazz, but we were fascinated by how quickly he removed the massive amount of tape from his bare skin. It was layered on half a mummy thick, by my estimation. And the secret, according to Christoper Hampson, is to use the cheapest brand available, because it's less sticky than the name brands. A bit of fun showbiz trivia for the ballet fans.

And also - today we have a special treat: a special jury-written review for the night's performance. Take it away, Daisy:

Review writer Daisy Lewis

"At this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, Scottish Ballet has presented a sensational performance of two halves. The first is the disturbing yet brilliant, MC 14/22 (ceci est mon corps) and the latter, Emergence - a ballet inspired by swarm intelligence in insects. 

With twelve dancers to represent the apostles, MC 14 is a work dripping with biblical symbolism. The performers are never in between brutish or vulnerable. The effect being a piece of powerful commentary on masculinity. Performed at times with cult-like synchronicity, Angelin Preljoçaj’s choreography is stunning.

A stark set of neon blue lights and cold, surgical tables gives a seedy, basement feel. Lain out like cadavers, six of the men ready for the mortuary are beaten and dominated by the other six, a violent display of human capabilities. In one scene the performers launch themselves into the arms of the others repeatedly, like a beautiful, rotating, suicidal mechanism. The music is alien and pounding or hauntingly not there at all, drawing all attention to the sounds of the body’s movements.

Emergence is a piece of thirty seven performers, often all on stage at once absorbing the audience in the visuals.  Myriad female dancers enter the stage en pointe and their lighting speed creates the illusion of a mass of scuttling critters. Whispered counts rise in volume, emulating the buzzes of flying swarms. They stop being human, convincingly consumed by the hive setting. Choreographed by Crystal Pite, everything about this performance is astonishing and just as impressive as the first one. A complete must-see!" 

- Daisy

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To follow our adventures during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, check out more at our Instagram @JuryassicPark.