Ryuichi Fujimura
dancer / performance maker
Fall! Falter!! Dance!!!
I have often wondered about the desire to perform. What keeps bringing me back to the stage? Is it the applause from the audience? The lure of the bright spotlight? The brief and torrid moment of connection with an audience reminiscent of a one night stand?
Fall! Falter!! Dance!!! is a humorous, poignant and sincere reflection on a contemporary dancer’s life, in which recognition is limited and the reward is small. Through this solo, self-devised performance work, I ask myself the fundamental question: ‘why perform?’. This work is the last chapter of my HERE NOW Trilogy.
(duration: 35 minutes)
Created and Performed by Ryuichi Fujimura
Video art: Laura Turner
Design Consultation: Tobhiyah Stone Feller
Dramaturg: Carlos Gomes
Mentor: Kate Champion
images by Alex Houy and Heidrun Löhr
Performance History
* 24-26 August 2023 @Sydney Dance Company
* 12-15 August 2023 @Dancehouse, Melbourn
* 11-13 August 2022 @ Parramatta Riverside Theatres (World Premiere)
"Fall! Falter!! Dance!!!" has been developed with the support of Abbotsford Convent, Ausdance NSW, CAAP, FORM Dance Project, Performance Space, The Sydney Fringe and Temperance Hall.”
The world premiere season of “Fall! Falter!! Dance!!! was supported by the Australian Government through Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
The world premiere season and 2023 Melbourne season of “Fall! Falter!! Dance!!! were supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
Reviews
Sydney Morning Herald (2023 SDC INDance season)
Fujimura’s work is frankly more thoughtful, accessible, and downright enjoyable than a lot of the modern dance that makes it to the Opera House. ★★★★ Full review
Sydney Morning Herald (2022 World Premiere season)
While the laughs make such a delightful impact, there is also great poignancy in this dancer’s story. Fujimura reaches out as a human being and we in the audience embrace him.★★★★½ Full review
Dance Informa
He certainly had the audience in the palm of his hand as he landed a standing ovation and rapturous applause at his honest approach. Any dancer sitting in the audience would have felt with him the highs and lows. It was brilliant. Full review
Stage Whispers
Fujimura the actor knows how to introduce humour – and pathos. Fujimura the dancer knows when to intersperse his words with carefully devised dance routines. Fujimura the performer knows exactly when to use stillness and silence. In words and movement, he expressively leads the audience through a range of emotional responses. Full review
Sydney Arts Guide
Ryuichi Fujimura, with pathos, grace and humour, created an engaging show, deftly interweaving movement, gesture, mime, spoken word and song, paired by intriguing video by Laura Turner, illuminated by lighting designer and production manager Frankie Clarke, and consolidated narratively by dramaturg Carlos Gomez and Tobhiyah Stone Feller as the design consultant. Full review
Night Writes
Despite the air of simple celebration conveyed in the pop tunes and funny anecdotes, FALL! FALTER!! DANCE!!!navigated complex contradictions in the professional lives of artists with an intricate and interesting examination of the very art of performance itself. Full review
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