生活のすべてが踊り―文化の融合に挑む舞踏家

　Sounds of soft gagaku fill Heidi Durning's huge dance studio in Iwakura, north of Kyoto. Durning, an accomplished Nihon buyo dancer and choreographer, is wearing a wine-colored kimono over an orange, yellow and black dress.

　The Swiss national slowly starts performing her piece "Osaho" (Etiquette), a fusion of Nihon buyo and contemporary dance. She is joined by Leticia Sekito of Brazil, and all of Durning's slow and graceful movements are mirrored by the Brazilian dancer.

　Now both women are spinning quickly around their axes, with arms spread wide like two tropical butterflies. The beautiful performance ends with the dancers sinking to the ground, lying there calm and motionless.

　For Durning, blending East and West comes naturally. She was born in Tokyo to a Swiss father and a Japanese mother. At the age of 4, her family moved to Ashiya, near Kobe. Since early childhood, little Heidi was trained in classical ballet, but started to study Kabuki and Nihon buyo seriously at the Fujima School of Traditional Japanese Dance from age 16.

　After finishing the international school she was attending, she studied child psychology at California State University, but continued her Nihon buyo classes during summers in Japan. After graduation, she returned to Ashiya, where she taught jazz dance. Later, already married and with a 6-month-old baby, she got her master's degrees in modern dance and choreography from the University of Michigan.

　The family then relocated to the foot of Omine-san for one year, where she continued to study Nihon buyo. There she met many artists and composers who regularly gathered at the mountain's shrines, where the goddess of music, dance and arts, Benzaiten, is worshipped.

　"This was a very inspiring time," Durning says.

　In 1988 Durning and her family moved to Kyoto, and for the past 10 years, they have lived in their current house in Iwakura, which her husband built. Durning has taught English at universities and trained Japanese dancers to become modern and contemporary dancers.

　"At the same time, I perfected my own Nihon buyo studies," Durning says. About 15 years ago, she received her natori, and has since used her stage name, Fujima Kanso-o, for her performances.

基本の動きが大切

　Durning stresses the importance of knowing the traditional dances and each movement.

　"The body has to understand, digest and learn the traditional moves before you can create something new and original," she says. "Only by following the classical forms and techniques, can I have a solid basis for becoming free to open up to new ideas for my fusion and modern dances."

　She says that "intuition, charisma and freedom are important elements I am seeking as an artist. And I strive to express these elements naturally."

　Today Durning is not only an accomplished Nihon buyo dancer, but also a well-known cross-cultural choreographer, fusing traditional Japanese dance with contemporary dance.

　"I find my true identity dancing between the cultures," she says. "And I love to collaborate with other dancers, musicians or visual artists."

　Durning enjoys being exposed to and sharing art, "because art brings inspiration and peace to the people."

　Her art is not only beneficial for her audiences, but to herself as well.

　"Dancing keeps me young," she smiles. "The older I get, the younger I seem to get." And, she adds, "For me, my whole life is dancing, whether I walk, cook or work in the garden."