YARIN

Recognized as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2024 and 2025 Jadin Wong Fellow, see a moderated discussion and in-process showing of Ikigai, an evening-length work exploring the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster through tap dance, live music, and storytelling. Drawing inspiration from her personal experience and that of her family and friends, Funaki reflects on themes of resilience, loss, and connection. The performance is a rhythm-driven exploration of the emotional and cultural impact of one of Japan’s most devastating tragedies. This presentation brings together a diverse cast of tap dancers, movement artists, and vocalists, underscoring tap’s power as a medium for storytelling and cross-cultural dialogue around cultural resilience in the face of catastrophic events. 

Founded in 2001 in Errenteria in the Basque Country by dancer and choreographer Jon Maya, Kukai Dantza has developed a distinctive form of contemporary dance rooted in Basque culture.  

Kukai Dantza will perform Yarin by Jon Maya and Andrés Marin. Meaning root, encounter, and dialogue, in Yarin, we find two men who look from their roots, who explore them as a way to relate to their surroundings. They arrive with their own origin and essence, they present an encounter to us; they dialogue… The dialogue is not always easy, it’s built by listening, respect… Sometimes it brings us together, sometimes it distances us, sometimes it makes us tense… and also embraces us. Yarin presents us with an intercultural encounter, where the dantzari (traditional Basque dancer) Jon Maya and flamenco dancer Andrés Marín, accompanied by live music by Julen Achiary, meet each other on the basis of an honest dialogue, showing their differences and their desire to share through them a common path towards tomorrow.