LANI YAMANAKA
Lani Yamanaka in performance
Excerpts from: Giant by Kate Weare, Dead Reckoning by KT Nelson, The Broken Glass by Bryan Arias, Mutual Comfort by Edward Clug, Just Above The Surface by Yin Yue
Video courtesy of ODC/Dance and SF Danceworks
Choreography and Concept: JA Collective | Music: Original score by J. Tyler Ross Johnson | Lighting Design: Jim French | Cinematography by Aaron "Leo" O'Neil
Location: Z Space, San Francisco, CA
Dancers: Aidan Carberry, Jordan Johnson, and Lani Yamanaka
"Akram Khan’s Jungle Book reimagined is a work based on the much-loved story by Rudyard Kipling. With a new sense of urgency, Akram has reinterpreted this known story from another perspective, through the lens of today’s children – those who will inherit our world and become our future storytellers.
Embedded in the roots of Jungle Book is the deep threat that mankind poses towards nature. Akram and his team have reimagined the journey of Mowgli through the eyes of a refugee caught in a world devastated by the impact of climate change. They tell the story of a child who will help us to listen again, not to our voices but to the voices of the natural world that we, the modern world, try to silence. Jungle Book reimagined speaks to all generations as a step to remind, to relearn and to reimagine a new world together."
Choreography: Akram Khan | Music: Jocelyn Pook
Location: Esplanade Theatre, Singapore
Dancers: Lani Yamanaka
Behind the scenes of "Jungle Book Reimagined" on tour in 2024
Choreography: Akram Khan | Music: Jocelyn Pook
Location: Riga, Latvia
Dancers: Akram Khan Company
Choreography: Bryan Arias | Music: Jose Feliciano
Location: ODC Theater, San Francisco, CA
Dancers: Lani Yamanaka
Remount on SF Danceworks
Choreography: Edward Clug | Staging: Aya Misaki, Alex Anderson
Location: ODC Theater, San Francisco, CA
Dancers: Matt Wenckowski and Lani Yamanaka
Remount on SF Danceworks
Choreography: Yin Yue (Yin Yue Dance Company) | Staging: Grace Whitworth | Music: Clyde Dimension
Location: ODC Theater, San Francisco, CA
Dancers: Matt Wenckowski and Lani Yamanaka
"Both of Akram’s parents were born and raised in Bangladesh. He grew up hearing stories of the Bangladesh Liberation War from his family, including his uncle who was a freedom fighter. His mother was studying at prestigious Dhaka University when she went to hear ‘Bongobondhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Ramna Race Course on 7th March 1971, calling out to his people to liberate Bangladesh. It was so crowded, she had to step on a rickshaw to try and catch a glimpse of him. Even today she can remember how his words moved her. For this work, Akram drew on his childhood stories and his families’ sense of national pride to present to Bangladesh the essence of Bongobondhu’s spirit. Using Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s powerful speech as inspiration, Akram invited composer Vincenzo Lamagna to create the score for this special piece. Akram created an 8-min piece titled: Father: Vision of the Floating World that featured as part of the 100 years anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Sheik Mujib on Tuesday 17 March 2020 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The work was performed by three Akram Khan Company dancers who spent four weeks in a rehearsal residency in the heart of the country teaching the movement to 25 dancers from Dhaka."
Composer: Vincenzo Lamagna, devised in collaboration with vocalist Sohini Alam | Lighting Designer: Ric Mountjoy | Costume Designer: Marie Cantenys and collaborator Margaux Lalanne
Rehearsal Director: Yen-Ching Lin
Lead Dance Artist: Lani Yamanaka | AKC Dancers: Raziman Sarbini and Elpida Skourou | Bangladesh Dancers: Umma Habiba, Abu Nayeem, Alka Das Pranti, Amit Chowdhury, Ana Akter, Anandita Khan, Ariful islam, Farzana Yeasmin, Fifa Chakma, Aviroop Hridoy Sharma, Imran Ishtiaque, Maria Farih Upama, MD Hanif, Mehraj Haque Tushar, Mohana Meem, Zuairiyah Mouli, Parsa Evana, Prantik Deb, Samina Husain Prema, Shammy Akhter, SI Evan, SI Shafiq, Sohan Arefin, Sudeshna Swayamprabha Tathoi and Sweety Das.
“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” tells the story of a secret sect in Flushing, Queens, that possesses the magical power to extend human life, and the twin brother and sister caught in the struggle to control it. Directed by Chen Shi-Zheng and written by Kung Fu Panda’s Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” features songs by Sia remixed by Bobby Krlic (a.k.a. The Haxan Cloak) and Arca, movement choreography by Akram Khan, associate movement choreography by Joy Alpuerto Ritter, and martial arts choreography by Zhang Jun. Fast-paced kung fu dance sequences unfold in front of, around, and above the audience in this original production designed specifically for the soaring, flexible space of The McCourt at The Shed.
Location: The Shed at Hudson Yards, New York, NY
Dance Ensemble: Kacie Boblitt, Conner Chew, Erika Choe, Coral Dolphin, Yuriko Hiroura, Abdiel Jacobsen, Elijah Laurant, Carley Marholin, Marla Phelan, Raziman Sarbini, Jacob Thoman, Xavier Townsend, Bret Yamanaka (Dance Captain), Lani Yamanaka (Dance Captain)
"Giant explores the heroic body by fantasizing out loud about potency and valor. Experimenting with scale, Giant flips from idea to idea, toying with assumptions of where - and how - power lies."
Choreography: Kate Weare | Set and Lighting Design: Matthew Antaky | Costume Design: Mary Domenico
Location: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Dancers: ODC Dance Company
"A sabbatical in Death Valley serves as the inspiration for KT Nelson's Dead Reckoning. Original music from celebrated Kronos Quartet cellist Joan Jeanrenaud underscores the story of how humanity has lost its way, and the impact that has on the surrounding natural forces. Dead Reckoning refers to navigating without the predictable reference points of stars, increasing the likelihood of accumulative error. Nelson says "Today at the rate of change in nature is unprecedented. How will we negotiate it? Are we in a time of dead reckoning?""
Choreography: KT Nelson | Music: Joan Jeanrenaud | Set and Lighting Design: Matthew Antaky | Costume Design: Liz Brent
Location: Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob's Pillow
Dancers: ODC Dance Company
“I was thinking about what we keep — not just material things but also what attitudes, what politics, what habits — about holding on and letting go,” says Way.
Choreography: Brenda Way | Set and Lighting Design: Alexander V. Nichols | Costume Design: Natalie Barshow
Location: ODC Dance Commons, San Francisco, CA
Dancers: ODC Dance Company
"An exploration of cleansing, purification, and a collective obsession with shedding internal and external layers."
Choreography: Marissa Osato and Will Johnston
Dancers: Entity Contemporary Dance
A short excerpt
Choreography: Shaun Boyle in collaboration with the artists | Show: Breaking Ground Festival
Dancers: Jestoni Dagdag and Lani Yamanaka