Nine dancers dressed in muted tones with bright orange touches stand on a stage in a circle surrounding a woman in orange standing in the center of a large piece of white fabric
IKKAI MEANS ONCE A Transplanted Pilgrimage

IKKAI means once: a transplanted pilgrimage incorporates selections from poet and activist Janice Mirikitani (1942-2021), live accompaniment by taiko artist PJ Hirabayashi, and original music by Paul Chihara, PJ Hirabayashi, and Roy Hirabayashi, with a movement score performed by the dancers of KAMBARA+ to take the audience on a journey from the normalcy of life through the brutal process of being uprooted and incarcerated. The work culminates in a circle dance of gratitude and recognition in which we are all invited to participate.

“I wanted to center the experience of Japanese Americans, not the institutions and governments that history focuses on. I hope you feel the people who inspired this dance,” writes choreographer Yayoi Kambara, a California-based dance maker and director of KAMBARA+.

IKKAI will be performed by KAMBARA+ on Saturday, September 16 at the Ferst Center for the Arts. Audience members will be seated on stage, sharing space with the dancers and musicians and building a community of trust and understanding.

IKKAI was primarily created in Muwekma, Ohlone, and Tamien territories.

Buy Your Tickets Now
View IKKAI Program
On a dark stage a small group of dancers are illuminated by light from above. One man is mid air, his arms raised, surrounded by the other dancers in mid-motion.
A woman in orange stands in the center of a large piece of white fabric, a fan in her upraised arm
A female dancer is in mid-turn, one leg raised and bent behind her. Other dancers are standing, scattered around the stage along with old suitcases and Taiko drums.

Photos of Kambara+ dancers performing IKKAI (c) Bruce Ghent