As Iseki exits, a large square of light spreads out from where she stood, a smaller square of light opening on the floor between Kanamori and his doppelganger. The dance sequence begins as the first two dancers act as a doorway, opening up to the repeated entrances of more umbrella men. At some point, Kanamori exits and an identical dancer slides into his place. The men partner each other into the larger square of light, a surreal progression of movement and pause. Soon after, a female dancer enters opposite, clad identically to Iseki. The umbrella men exit, sans one—now without an umbrella. A male and female pas de deux follows, but the sequence overlaps again, as another couple enter, and then another. Each successive pas de deux feels fresh, despite the repeating motifs, where hats are exchanged, women dragged, embraces made and broken. 

What sets Kanamori’s work apart is his uncanny choreographic oneness with the music. Coupled with his exciting staging, it’s hard to blink, as every note is seen. Here, the tension of each slow piano key is translated to subtle but striking motion. Every step or gesture feels organically natural, precisely effective in tone and emphasis. 

The work was commissioned to honor the 120th anniversary of Sakaguchi’s birth, and in researching Sakaguchi, Kanamori discovered the author’s affinity for Satie. The story itself is a rumination on the repetitious cycle of an unfulfilling, erotic relationship where the narrator’s intense physical desire for his partner, a former prostitute, cannot surmount her barriers to emotional closeness—or his own. 

With its looping repetitions, Kanamori’s work captures the waves of yearning and retreat in any relationship. The cycles hit a crest on his re-entrance as a dancer. The minimalistic backdrop changes to a view of the sea as Iseki too returns onstage. Artistic director of the International Activities Division of Noism, Iseki is also Kanamori’s partner in life. Their final pas de deux tops a work of searingly raw honesty—and delivers a clever surreal twist to end.