Voices of the Wind - The Story of the Ninja (a.k.a. The Ninja Project) is a new musical based on historical accounts of Ninja in Japan, currently in development under Katie Takahashi's artistic direction.

Voices of the Wind - The Story of the Ninja creates a unique and authentic view of Japanese history for American audiences through the description of the complex lives of ninja during the civil war period in 16th Century Japan. The fictional story is closely aligned with, and inspired by, Japanese history wherein repetitious cycles of retaliation were constant, clearly speaks to the need for less violent solutions to social and political conflict, and reflects upon current events and the need for world peace in the 21st century. The Ninja, a cross between intelligence agent and warrior, with strong family bond, engaged in espionage activities for the powerful feudal lords and lived in the shadows of their glory. The presentation also strives to move past today’s stereotypes of the Ninja as violent, as heartless individuals, but instead the ones who struggled between personal desires and community responsibility.

Theatrical Carifornia Roll

Voices of the Wind - The Story of the Ninja combines East and West in all aspects of the production. Exploring stylistic relationships between cultures (particularly music that have nomadic roots), original song book is cross-over world music influenced by Flamenco, Bossa Nova, and Rock in which Japanese traditional instument, Koto, is used as one of the string instruments. Choreography explores a marriage of martial arts-inspired movements, Japanese dance, modern and ballet.

Truly an innovative way of telling an authentic 16-Century Japanese period drama.

Check out the review on our show at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2005

Voices of the Wind
reviewed by Jo Ann Rosen August 2005

Katie Takahashi, playwright, artistic director, and co-composer, embarks
on a massive, glorious undertaking with Voices of the Wind—
the Story of the Ninja, a cross-cultural work that is still in progress.
In this two-hour performance, powerful feudal lords in 16th century Japan
engage Ninja warriors in a civil war to expand their empires.

In this story, Fuga and Kazané, two of the Ninjas, forge a strong
relationship when they are young, with Fuga vowing to protect Kazané
if something should happen to her. Over time, two princes, who are half-brothers,
reign over separate provinces,and both are goaded into overtaking the territory of
the other. As the impetus for war builds, Prince Ukyo meets and falls in love with
Kazané. But Kazané is loyal to his brother, Prince Tohkro, and wants to
complete her mission for him by killing Prince Ukyo. In doing so, she comes face to face
with Fuga.

In Voices, Takahashi has built a cogent narrative around a violent and complex point
in history. But, it is much more. It is a musical that brings together Japanese sensibility,
the flamenco of Andalusia, blues, and jazz. It is traditional storytelling that connects
Eastern and Western cultures. The choreography of Voices fuses traditional
Japanese dance forms with modern dance and martial arts. It is also a love story.

Voices is rich in many ways. There is an Eastern overtone of respect and order.
This is evident in the quiet dignity of Allison Hiroto as Kazané,
whose character is strong and determined although she never raises
her voice to prove it. She plays opposite Daniel Kennedy’s Fuga, who is in
Eastern garb, but whose speech and cadence are modern, Western, less disciplined.
The cultural contrast comes up again with shy, modest Prince Ukyo, played by
Derek Wong, who is counseled by Heomi Kawage, played with evil brashness by
Victor Fischbarg. The visual merging of cultures offers an interesting
dimension that reflects today’s world. Occasionally,Takahashi resorts to
clichés to highlight the difference in cultures, such as when one
character says, ‘What goes around comes around.’ This jars. Takahashi is
nimble enough with words to come up with contemporary dialog that works
with the 16th century setting.

The choreography by Caron Eule is both thoughtful and unpredictable.
It ranges from buoyant leaps onto the stage to fierce and ominous interplay
between androgynous dancers to en pointe ballet. Eule maintains space and
fluidity, despite the formidable cast of 24. Music, composed by
Jon Diaz and Takahashi, adds depth. Derek Wong displays beautiful innocence
in his solo“Beautiful Dancer” by Takahashi and the sounds and rhythms,
particularly from percussionist Mathias Kunzli when he uses
whisk brooms, display Diaz's originality.

Takahashi has tapped a number of skilled collaborators to give
this complicated setup a sense of cohesiveness. Mizuna Kuwabara, a prolific
Japanese author and dramaturg of Voices, co-created the story. Hiromitsu Kuroi,
a disciple of Ninja culture and a martial arts expert, supervised production
and movement. Ken Kensei choreographed the graceful and varied fight scenes.
The simple costumes, designed by Kazuko Takizawa, work beautifully in dance
sequences, fight scenes, as well as in the narrative. Sets, by Yusuke Sugizaki,
are also simple, using a backlit Japanese screen for crowd scenes and executions,
and a short counter as a stone wall or hills over which the nimble dancers leap.

Takahashi is clearly fascinated by this colorful period in Japanese history. By
integrating her interest in multicultural performance, choreography, and music,
she has taken on a feat no less challenging than the Ninjas. I look forward to
the perfected, finished project.