Dancing Princess Wearing a Phantom Sound: Around 1980, Toshie Negishi and Memories of the Dream Stage

Dancing Princess Wearing a Phantom Sound: Around 1980, Toshie Negishi and Memories of the Dream Stage

From the end of the 1970s to around 1980, the Japanese theater world was rocked by the waves of the small theater movement and underground theater, and the stage became a place where social criticism and inner explosions intersected, transcending the realm of entertainment. It was against this backdrop that "Stripper Story," in which actress Toshie Negishi appeared, became a work deeply etched in the memories of audiences. Exposing women's bodies on stage, while pregnant with the ambivalence of both exploitation and expression, was not merely "undressing," but rather a ritualistic dance that deconstructed and reconstructed one's own memories and desires. Negishi says that she was helped by the song "I'll Dance in My Dreams," which was played on the stage. Composer Akira Otsu's melody, wavering between reality and illusion, led the actress's mind and body into the depths of the role. The stage music was neither a sound effect nor an accompaniment, but another performance that
resonated with the actors' breathing. The inner voice, invisible to the audience, danced in the midst of the sound - it was a prayer in the performance and gratitude for the moment of life. In the depths of the stage illuminated by the sound, the actress and the role melded together quietly, as if in a dream.