It’s almost impossible to define what Maro does in a single word–he layers juggling, acrobatics and mime over a background in classical stage training in jazz and ballet. This multi-talented performer has studied traditional and modern performing arts with teachers from Japan, Russia and Germany, so it comes as no surprise that he wants to create an art form that defies national borders.
While practicing for his performance at this year’s TEDxTokyo event, Maro took a moment to share his vision with us:
“My focus is to establish a new style of juggling as a “performing sport” that builds on advanced physical skills and smooth action,” he explains. “In my attempt to create a new platform for this new sport-juggling and spread it to the world, I’m working to establish rules, train players and instructors, develop practice methods, hold competitions and manage a juggling organization.”
All warmed up? Ready to learn some basic juggling throws and catches? His tutorial videos break the basic moves down into simple steps.
Or shall we just be mesmerized by his way with the rings?
Maro will be performing during the morning session at TEDxTokyo. Watch him via our live stream here on www.tedxtokyo.com on Saturday, May 21st from 9am JST (Friday 20th from 8pm EDT).
Tokyo-based artist D. H. Rosen shares with us plans for the art installation at TEDxTokyo 2011.
Last year at TedxTokyo 2010, artist collective Rinpa Eshidan did a live-art performance/installation on site at the Miraikan. We set up several panels on the walls to paint on, and even brought in a potter’s wheel and clay to add a sculptural element to the installation.
We started first thing in the morning and worked until the very end so that participants could watch the evolution of the artwork and see the finished piece at the close of the day. Everyone was extremely enthusiastic and inquisitive about what we were doing, and we were definitely influenced by the energy and feedback of
participants.
At one point while most participants were inside the hall listening to a presentation, an other-worldly figure in a sliver body suit appeared at the back of the room and watched us work for several minutes. We quickly figured out it was “Ruiz” from Cirque du Soleil who was admiring our work right before she took to the stage.
Later the Cirque manager told us Ruiz really loved our artwork, and asked us what we had planned for finished piece. Rinpa’s work is generally about process and not product, so we don’t design our live installation pieces to be permanent, but in this case we decided to make an exception. We gave the panels to the manager, and from what we hear, they are still lining the walls of the Cirque du Soleil dressing room in Tokyo.
This year participants will be invited to get more actively involved with the artwork through the TedxTokyo Tapestry project, an interactive installation that participants will build together on site. Round acrylic discs in different sizes will be hung on a large mesh net installed in a room that has a full wall of windows and gets amazing sunlight to backlight the piece.
Six artists from the Tokyo community have also designed special discs that will act as center pieces of the Tapestry. By including all TedxTokyo 2011 guests in the process of building the tapestry on site, this piece will mark the moment in time that this significant gathering took place and become a monument to the ideas, thoughts and messages shared throughout the day.
In addition to the piece above, Story Scarves will be collaborating with TEDxSoweto in creating a community story scarf filled with messages of hope for children in Japan from South Africa. This story scarf will be exhibited at TEDxTokyo 2011. The scarf will then journey to north eastern Japan and be gifted to children from Okuma, a region still reeling from the nuclear crisis.
In the wake of the devastating March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami and radiation menace, TEDxTokyo 2011 abruptly altered focus to explore practical and inventive ways of rebuilding and renewing Japan and uplifting the spirits of its people. Our third major event, TEDxTokyo 2011: Enter the Unknown, promises to be bigger and better than ever as we gather an even more diverse range of speakers and participants to share ideas and inspiration and imagine what the future holds. We’ll be presenting live-streamed simultaneous broadcasts in English and Japanese via this website, and offering a backstage live stream to accept web audience questions via Twitter.
Scheduled for Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. JST (Friday, May 20th from 8pm EDT) , TEDxTokyo 2011 will once again be taking place at Miraikan—the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation—in Odaiba, Tokyo. Our thirty presenters will have between 6 and 12 minutes to share solutions and ideas that will astound, inspire and empower both Japan and the world. Some examples:
Dr. Yuichi Mori describes his soil- and pesticide-free agricultural solution that also produces tastier, healthier crops
Carlos Miranda Levy on his Relief 2.0 system for dealing with major disasters such as the Haiti and Tohoku earthquakes
Akinori Ito about his smart-tech method for turning waste plastic into oil
Tetsuya Mizuguchi on why we play games, how games are bridging the gap between virtual and real, and the shift to positive gaming
Junko Edahiro on how to make Japan more sustainable, less obsessed with economic growth, and a happier place
Music, dance, juggling and selected TEDTalks from the main TED Conference will complement the above speakers and many more.
As in previous years, TEDxTokyo 2011’s three hundred highly diversified participants have been handpicked for what they add to the conversation and community. More than half are non-Japanese and multilingual, and over 60 percent are global leaders at leading media, academic, IT and government organizations. We expect those onsite to be joined by a virtual audience of over 10,000 people who’ll be viewing TEDxTokyo 2011 here online and tracking the event via Twitter and Facebook.
Follow us @tedxtokyo (English) and @tedxtokyo_ja (Japanese) to get the latest updates on speakers, and to find out how you can take part on the day from wherever you are in the world. You can also join in the discussions on our Facebook pages (Eng) (Jap).
Our TEDxTokyo 2011 Partners
TEDxTokyo is pleased to welcome Sony Corporation, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Denso IT Laboratory Inc. and Citibank Japan Ltd. as our core partners for 2011. We are also happy to have 32 other in-kind partners. Thanks to the generous contributions of our partners and a multitude of talented and tireless volunteers, TEDxTokyo remains a free and noncommercial event.
How to attend
Once again this year we have been overwhelmed by the number of people interested in join us on the day in person, and all places have now been taken.
However, we invite you to be a part of this special event via our live video streams right here on TEDxTokyo.com. Put the date in your diary, follow our latest updates on Twitter, and join us online on the day, live from Tokyo, as we Enter the Unknown.
Submitted to TEDxTokyo on May 9, 2011
Interview conducted and written by Satoshi Iritani (@irritantis)
English translation by JC (jclegal@live.com)
TEDxTokyo 2011 has finally come. From all over the world, TEDx events are held every week, however what are the TEDx events in countries held in Asia? For overseas TEDx, there are Japanese TEDx organizers and among them we had a chance to speak with the Ryuta Aoki (@jharajhara) as to planning and management.
Ryuta planning with TEDx began upon his application as an operational member of TEDxTokyo at the end of 2009. Upon becoming the leader of the Registration team with the thought “I’d like to start something new”, Ryuta took part in planning TEDxTokyo yz, a spinoff project aimed at the 20-30 year old generation. Currently, Ryuta is working as the TEDxTokyo yz supervising director, leader of TEDx on the road and the newly started TEDxKids@Tokyo Project aimed at 8-12 and affiliated with TEDxTokyo cofounder, Patrick Newell. Ryuta is working not only as a TEDx organizer but has also participated as a speaker during the April 10, 2011 TEDxEarthquake 9.0 conference.
Opening the world – TEDx
Upon the introduction by TEDxTokyo cofounder, Todd Porter, Ryuta attended the TEDxShanghai 2010 and TEDxTaipei 2010 meetings last year.
The TEDx events held around the world are held and officially recognized by TED. TEDx began in 2009 and in only 2 years, there have been over 1500 events (as of March 2011). As the activities pick up speed, it has now become a global movement.
First Hand Impressions of Shanghai and Taipei
by Ryuta Aoki
I attended the May 9, 2011 TEDxShanghai meeting at the DCC theatre. A part of the show was held at the newly renovated 800 Show Creative Park, I came back with the impression it was reminiscent of the Red Brick Warehouse in Yokohama, Japan. The theme was “10,000 hours (The doctrine of developing expertise in 10,000 hours – http://lifehacking.jp/2008/11/the-law-of-10000-hours). In a TEDx manner, speakers were from international backgrounds including ECD of W+K, world renown regenerative therapy professor, a Hong Kong TV & film director, and a wide genre of speakers. China domestic film festival promoters, slow life leaders, young Chinese animators, and many others on the frontiers of their respective industries in China. Even a well-known comedian from the Shanghai version of the Japanese TV show “Waratte ii tomo” joined in the event. The event held approximately 200 members, and as as I recall, a majority of the audience being occidental.
I eventually came to the impression that Shanghai was a cutting edge and international city.
(Upper Right photo – Area surrounding the TEDxShanghai venue)
As to TEDxTaipei, the Huashan Creative Park, a wine factory, was renovated for four months prior to the January 15, 2011 event. With a theatre, gallery, café, and performance stage, it was a place for Taipei’s creative youth class to gather. The theme was “9 Big Questions” and there were 20 speakers. Similar to TEDxShanghai, speakers from all around the world and the responsible members for IDEO Asia, however the “regional flavor” was more apparent in TEDxTaipei with a certain “Taiwanese” patriotism in the speakers and organizers. I recall indigenous Taiwanese speakers speaking of the environmental problems within Taiwan and from such, I also received that Taiwan was strongly on the leading edge of industry upon the appearance of a CEO of a low energy liquid crystal research company for the One Laptop Per Child project. There were over 500 audience members, this is considered very large for a TEDx event. The event venue not only leased the Creative Park but also a Taiwanese top designer hotel and a business exhibition centre.
(Left Upper photo – Shots of the TEDxTaipei Rehearsal)
Hence despite using the same TEDx format, the flavor of the event may vary greatly depending on the place. I believe that meeting with industry leaders with the cutting edge ideas of each place and debating the ideas that result from these speakers is one of the attractions of TEDx.
In regards to being able to attend two TEDx events, I found at TEDxShanghai, that as grass-roots movements are not picked up by the Japanese media, yet they are strong in China and strongly felt the beginnings of a reform movement. (Upper Right Photo – Shots of the TEDxShanghai Rehearsal)
At TEDxTaipei, I found the excursion program had the largest impact upon me. This program was held for 4 days outside the TEDxTaipei 2011 event venue, about the experiences on the road with main TEDx organizers across Asia called “TEDx on the road”. In these 4 days, TEDx organizers shared our ideas together. It was a enlightening 4 days where I made friends sharing the same goals. Based on these experiences, I also plan to have similar excursion program at the coming TEDxTokyo 2011. (Lower left Photo – Area surrounding TEDxTaipei)
The tragic events triggered by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck northeast Japan on March 11th are hard to comprehend. The scale of the disaster is beyond imagination, with the loss of tens of thousands of lives, and hundreds of thousands now living in temporary shelters.
As time passes and the rescue and relief programs progress, so we are hearing more stories of individuals putting their own interests to one side in order to help others: from the doctor who gave his life to save a vital hospital satellite phone, to the thousands of volunteers in Tokyo now raising money and collecting relief goods to send to those in affected areas.
Particiapte
We invite you, the extended TEDx community, to contribute your own stories of how you have been affected by this disaster, or how you are helping with the relief effort. Please share your stories on our Facebook page, or email your story to stories@tedxtokyo.com.
What we are doing
The TEDxTokyo community has been active in initiating and supporting a number of projects, the first of whic is the establishment of a group that will focus upon the reconstruction program in the stricken areas once the initial crisis is over.
Other projects we are supporting include:
Tokyo International School Emergency Supply Centre www.support.tokyois.com)
TEDxTokyo partner Tokyo International School in collaboration with Second Harvest Japan is accepting donations of vital supplies for those in affected areas. These are being delivered by truck on a daily basis to areas where they are most needed. The costs involved in transported aid to the north are considerable – if you are unable to donate goods please consider making a financial contribution.
Tomodachi Calling www.cafepress.com/tomodachicalling is a charity web-shop with T-shirts and other cool products organized by a group of international friends with strong ties to Tokyo and the TEDxTokyo community. The shop features designs donated by artists and other creatives, with 100% of proceeds going to the Japanese Red Cross. Please check out their blog and join them on facebook for more information.
Handmade for Japan www.handmadeforjapan.org
Artist Daniel Rosden, a member of Rinpa Eshida who performed live at TEDxTokyo 2010, More information here
JHelp www.jhelp.com
Another aid organisation working in the Tohoku region providing relief. Please consider making a donation.
Foreign Volunteers Japan www.foreignvolunteersjapan.org
With a collection point near Yotsuya Sanchome, FVJ are running regular trips to the Tohoku region and collaborating with the Peace Boat and Red Cross Japan.
For a complete list of ways in which you can help please see this article from the Japan Times.
For a list of organizations that will use 100% of your donations to help those in effected areas, please see www.charitynavigator.org
TEDxTokyo would like to thank all of those who have sent in messages of support, aid and donations to partner organizations. The relief program will continue for several years – it’s never too late to contribute. Finally, whilst many events have been cancelled as a result of the earthquake, we’d like to reassure people that TEDxTokyo 2011 will be taking place as planned on May 21st.
RT @TEDx: RT @tedchris: TED announces global auditions for speakers. This will be challenging, but super-exciting...! http://t.co/6KUbXQYG (view this tweet)2012/02/01
TED have announced the lineup for this year's event in California - take a look at what they have in store for 2012 http://t.co/MWMbXXQj (view this tweet)2012/01/13
The #TEDxTokyo team has been hard at work behind the scenes planning our 2012 event - stay tuned for an announcement on the date & location (view this tweet)2012/01/05
