Contemporary Dance with Indigenous Roots

Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater (NAKA) creates interdisciplinary performance works for the stage, street corners, and public spaces. Driven by a curiosity about people's histories, choreographers Jose Navarrete and Debby Kajiyama often make work about the awkward, the vulnerable, the underdog. In the last five years, the themes in NAKA's work have shifted to address our deepening concern with environmental issues. Recent explorations include: genetic modification of native crops, the depletion of natural resources, and cultural colonization. NAKA uses physical theater, sculptural set design, and multimedia installations to complement the intense physicality of live performance.

Their work has been presented by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, ODC Theater, the Queer Arts Festival, Movement Research at Judson Church, California State University East Bay, the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center Performance Series, Oakland Museum of California, and the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. Current repertoire available for touring includes The Revenge of Huitlacoche, an evening-length solo piece with Jose Navarrete, and Atlacualo: The Ceasing of Water with Navarrete and Violeta Luna. NAKA is currently developing BAILOUT!, a site-specific, traveling performance work addressing humanity's relationship with the oceans and how we cope in the face of disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, oil spills, and endangered ocean species.

Visit the NAKA web site:
www.nkdancetheater.com