The following text is taken from Front Magazine, vol. V, no. 4, p. 8, March/April 1994:
Tari Ito is a Tokyo-based performance artist. She has performed in Asia, Europe and North America, and has recently taught at George Brown Theatre School and Ontario College of Art. She will be in Vancouver to present this intensive workshop focusing on movement exercises designed to increase body flexibility and body dynamics.
“There are many kind of body exercises to move our bodies consciously. But we seldom train the unconscious movement. I present Katsugen-Undo which was started by Haruchika Noguchi. This exercise reminds the body of it’s own natural mechanisms, returning the body to its original condition and stimulating reflex movement.When you master this exercise the movements done by voluntary muscle will possess flexibility and dynamism. Body expression is realized by the communication with our own body, other bodies, objects, space and sound. In order to physically realize this idea, we need to pay attention to ki. Ki is substance which accompanies emotions which can not be seen visually. So, we can say that movements are appearance of flow of ki. This workshop will present an approach to basic body training and will be valuable for individuals, such as dancers, actors and performance artists, who are interested in body movement.” – Tari Ito