Hiroshi Koike

Hiroshi Koike（小池博史 Koike Hiroshi、born on 25 January 1956, in Japan）is a Japanese director, playwright and choreographer. After his former performing arts group, Pappa TARAHUMARA was dissolved in 2012, he formed Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (HKBP) about Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project - Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project official site. Hiroshi has been best known for his unique blend of aesthetics and physical theatrereview of pappa tarahumara final festival by Nobuo Shiga - Small Theater Review Magazine "Wonderland". He has been conducting physical acting training workshops based on his original method called “slow movement” all over the world.
== Career ==
Born in Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki. When he came to Tokyo in order to take a college entrance examination for the department of architecture and was shocked to see a movie directed by Federico Fellini, he changed his mind and decided to be a movie director. When he was studying sociology at Hitotsubashi University School, he started to produce a stage instead of film as a result of being told that "movies and theatre are the same" by his friends, and ended up hosting a student theatre companyHiroshi Koike "What’s Performing Arts?" (Suiseisha, 2017) pp.22-25. 
Graduating from university, he worked as a TV director of documentary programs, but he left the company in two years. In 1982 he founded Pappa TARAHUMARA with his collegemates including Ogawa Michikothe members of pappa tarahumara - pappa tarahumara official site>. Koike was involved in all 55 productions of the group including "PARADE," "SHIP IN A VIEW," and "Three Sisters" as the director, playwright, and choreographer for 30 years until 2012, when the company dissolved. 
On March 11, 2011, after 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, he decided to dissolve the group. In the same year, the group held Papa-Tara Final Festival. As the reasons for dissolution, Koike told that it was his reaction to the feeling of entrapment in Japan and to Japanese cultural administration such as grant system"web dice interview "Hiroshi Koike talks about the dissolution of Papa Tarahumara". 
In June 2012, soon after the dissolution of Pappa TARAHUMARA, he established Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (HKBP). Focusing on education, publication, and creation with creativity as the core, HKBP has been strongly aware of "cross-culture" and "multicultural," and experienced a number of international collaborative projects. Since 2013, HKBP has been working on theater adaptation of the ancient epic Mahabharata with artists from various Asian countries for 8 years. Other productions of HKBP includes The Restaurant of Many Orders which is based on Kenji Miyazawa's novel and "World Series" in which Koike deeply deals with social problems today with his unique "sensory approach."web dice interview "Hiroshi Koike talks about the dissolution of Papa Tarahumara"
Koike has been known for his unique artistic approach which is beyond the conventional genres such as drama, dance and visual arts. His productions has been internationally highly acclaimed and invited from many international festivals and theaters such as the Next Wave Festival at Brooklyn Academy of Music. Koike's works have been performed in 40 countries. In addition to his work with many international artists and productions all over the world, he has also internationally conducted workshops for both professional artists and citizens.
Koike he has served Tsukuba Art Center as the artistic director from 1997 to 2004, the Asian Performing Arts Forum as the Executive Committee in 1998, and Japan Foundation as the member of the Special Donation Council from 2005 to 2011. Koike established a school for performing arts, PAI, in 1995, and has been working as the president.
== Slow movement ==
By converting every movement to a speed of 1/100 or less of the daily speed and communicating in a slow movement, it is said to deepen the awareness of one's "body". Advocated a method called "slow movement""Slow Movement" work shop - 21st Century Museum of Comtemporary Kanazawa. From the idea that "the brain that thinks and the mind that feels, the internal organs and muscles, the arms, the legs, the head, etc. are all included in the'body'", "feel the whole" body "and feel others and thingsabout body work shop - SAI Inc. official site . The purpose is to draw out new ideas and ideas from the depths of oneself by feeling the relationship with the space and awakening the sleeping sensibilities. In addition, based on this method, many workshops for professionals and citizens are held in Japan and overseas. This workshop has been held in 25 countries around the world. Also, at the workshop, regardless of long-term or short-term, he always makes a work and finally makes a presentationworks - Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project official site
. 
== Major Works ==
=== Pappa TARAHUMARA ===
1982 In Honor of the Fragile Thing 
1983 Opera in the Dark, La Mangeuse – The Woman Who Eats, Typo – A Life in 5,400 Seconds 
1984 Sleep in the Sun, The Black Solar Game, Colors’ Dance 
1985 Mary in Blue, Picnic on the Shore 
1986 MONK 
1987 Pocket of Fever, ALEJO – To Praise the Wind 
1988 Zoo of the Sea 
1989 Parade 
1991 Stone Age 
1992 The Bush of Ghost 
1994 AO-Blue 
1995 Archeology of MACBETH 
1996 KUSAMEIKYU – Water Moon Mirror Flower *collaborative project with Zuni 
1997 SHIP IN A VIEW, Island 
1998 Spring Day 
2001 WD, Love Letter 
2002 Birds on Board, The Sound of Future SYNC 
2003 Blue Brain Bull, Street of Crocodiles Project 1, Spring in Kuala Lumpur 
2005 Three Sisters, Heart of Gold-One Hundred Years of Solitude 
2006 My Blue Sky, Pappa TARAHUMARA's "Cinderella" 
2007 Tokyo⇔Buenos Aires LETTERS 
2008 New “Cinderella”, Gulliver& Swift-Writer Jonathan Swift's Cat Cooking Recipes- 
2009 Garibaba’s strange World, Punk Don Quixote 
2010 Nobody, NO BODY , Swift sweets, Snow White 
2011 Between the Line 
=== Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project ===
2012 The Restaurant of Many Orders 
2013 Mahabharata Part 1 
2014 Milky Way Train, Odyssey of Wind 
2015 Mahabharata Part 2, Mahabharata Part 2.5 
2016 Mahabharata Part 3 
2017 World Conference, Mahabharata Part 4 
2018 2030 World Drifting, Strawberry Fields 
2019 Vagabond~SAKURAGAWA, Endless BRIDGE~The Mhabharata, Fools on the Hill 
2020 Seven Nights' Dream 
2021 The Mhabharata~Chapter of Desire/Chapter of Tempest 
== Publications ==
* Long Goodbye – Pappa TARAHUMARA and Its Era  (Seigensha Art Publishing, 2011)
* Listen to the Body (Shinchosha Publishing Co, Ltd., 2013)
* What’s Performing Arts? (Suiseisha, 2017)
* The Journey to the Night and the End of the World – The Collection Book of Hiroshi Koike’s Works (Suiseisha, 2017)
Category:1956 births
Category:Japanese directors
Category:Japanese dramatists and playwrights
Category:Choreographers