The Oyaji Café that enthused many people in spring will be back in autumn in a new version!! We can’t avert our eyes from the charming “Oyaji” (uncles).

The “Oyaji Café” that enthused many people, who stopped by and stayed for a drink in this weird surrounding in F/T 09 Spring will be back in Ikebukuro in autumn. The café staff will be recruited in the same way as last time – seeking people calling themselves “Oyaji” (uncle).
After a the café staff members have completed a training led by the café manager Kim Itoh, in which the gentlemen will exert their fascinating physicality and turn to charming “Oyaji”, they will stretch all their muscles to let the customers enjoy their hospitality.
This time, a group of “senior Oyaji”, who already served in spring and a group of beginners, the “new Oyaji” will appear. Will the new Oyaji manage to unfold their so far unknown glamorous self, while the senior Oyaji work on improving their sophisticated appearance?
The Oyaji will perform a dance that creates a fascinating aura in mixing up “cool” and “uncool” manners in a charming way.

Kim ItohKim Itoh | Choreographer, dancer

Kim Itoh began studies under the Butoh artist Anzu Furukawa in 1987 and began solo performing in 1990. In 1995 he founded the dance company Kim Itoh + The Glorious Future. His works employ satire and a unique sense of humor in portraying “the extraordinary within the everyday.” In 1996, his group won the Rencontres Choregraphiques Internationales de Saint-Denis for Dead and Alive—Body on the Borderline, which led to an increasing number of overseas performances. Since then Itoh and his company have presented new works at a pace of about one a year. In addition to Japan, Itoh has performed in countries including France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Argentina, the Netherlands, the U.S., Canada and Denmark. In 2001, Itoh choreographed a work for two invited countertenors and dancers from overseas and five chamber musicians in a work titled Close the door, open your mouth (produced by the New National Theater, Tokyo) and his company also presented the new work Hageshii Niwa (Screaming Garden). For these activities Itoh received the Shuji Terayama Award in the 1st Asahi Performing Arts Awards, which is awarded to individuals or groups who demonstrate outstanding and innovative work. Besides performances in the conventional theater space, Itoh began a new type of dance performance in public spaces called Kaidan Shugi (Stair-ism) and based on a concept of throwing the body into the everyday spaces of staircases. This series has now included performances in the seven cities of Osaka, Kochi, Kobe, Tokyo, Sasebo and Iwate. In 2005, he served as overall director for the pre-opening parade for the Aichi World Exposition. That year he also introduced new works Kinjiki, as a duo work with Tsuyoshi Shirai, and his company’s work Mirai no Ki. From 2005 into ’06 Itoh backpacked around the world for six months. From the spring of 2007, the name of his company will be changed from Kim Itoh + The Glorious Future to just The Glorious Future and begin activities again in a new style.