The Yamanakas at Home
The Yamanaka’s At Home (working title) centers on an older couple living in a house in Japan. They eat, they sleep, they do laundry. A figure enters the house leaving mysterious rice circles that surround this man and woman. As much as they sweep up the rice it returns. They wonder if someone is haunting them or trying to protect them?
Collaborating across the world, Tamar Rogoff (USA) and Mei Yamanaka (Japan) forge a partnership. Tamar envisions and directs. Mei directs, edits and dances the intruder/protector. Mei’s parents perform as the couple. For Rogoff this opportunity to mix truth and fiction, a cast of dancers and non-dancers, a kind of site work and merger of dance and film are what she loves. Tamar and Mei were scheduled to work together on Tamar’s piece, The Listeners for LaMama Moves in May 2020. When Covid struck rehearsals ended and Mei went back home to Japan. The Yamanaka’s at Home is their chance to get to know each other and work together despite all odds..