Mariko Sanjo

Mariko Sanjo (Japanese: 三条万里子 born June 12, 1933) is a Japanese modern dancer, choreographer, director based in New York City and Japan.

Mariko Sanjo
Born	(1933-06-12) 12 June 1933 (age 90) Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Dancer

Biography

Mariko was born in 1933 in Tokyo, Japan. She started dancing at the age of three, trained by Hiroshi Ohno who is a disciple of Baku Ishii, a pioneer of modern dance in Japan, and by Takaya Eguchi, another master teacher who studied with Mary Wigman.^{[citation needed]} She established her own dance studio in 1952.^[1][2]

In 1962, she was invited from Alvin Ailey to study with him in the United States.^[3][4] She also studied with Martha Graham,^[5] Donald McKayle,^[6] Jose Limon and Louis Horst.^{[citation needed]} She appeared as a protagonist in McKayle's Legendary Landscape,^[6] and premiered Ailey's Labyrinth and Suspension at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in the spring of 1963.^[7]

Mariko had choreographed multiple pieces and has performed in New York City; her works that have been reviewed by The New York Times include Dance Opinion in 1968,^[8] Bird in 1976,^[9] and Voice VI in 1985.^[10] She has also performed in Tel Aviv,^[2] and Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

In 1966, Mariko was awarded by the Japan Ballet and Music Critics Association, the first woman and first dancer to receive this honor,^[5][11] and received a Fulbright scholarship to study in the United States With Martha Graham.^[5] In 1968, she was awarded the Art Encouragement Prize at the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA) National Arts Festival in Japan.^[12] In the same year, she was awarded the best performing artist in modern dance by the Ongaku Shinbun Newspaper, and the 10th Annual Dance Award from Dance Critics Club in Japan.^{[1][better source needed]}

References

1. "Mariko Sanjo". Mariko Sanjo. Retrieved December 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. Sowden, Dora (1988). "Exquisite bird". The Jerusalem Post Magazine. p. 3. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
3. "Ritual Dancer". The Jerusalem Post Magazine. 1988. p. 6. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
4. Dunning, Jennifer (1996). Alvin Ailey : a life in dance. Internet Archive. Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-201-62607-0.
5. Hersh, Regina (1975-11-25). "Montclair adult school to offer Japanese dancer". The Montclair Times. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
6. McKayle, Donald (2002). Transcending Boundaries: My Dancing Life. Routledge. p. 298. ISBN 978-0415270175.
7. DeFrantz, Thomas F.; DeFrantz, Thomas (2006). Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture. Oxford University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-0-19-530171-7.
8. Kisselgoff, Anna (1968-11-13). "Dance: East, West and Mariko Sanjo; Spoof on Graham Done by Japanese Troupe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
9. McDonagh, Don (1976-09-21). "Mariko Sanjo's Dances Have Hypnotic Intensity Extraordinary to the Eye". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
10. Anderson, Jack (1985-03-03). "DANCE: MARIKO SANJO". The New York Times. p. 48. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
11. "The Japan Ballet and Music Critics Association in 1966" (PDF).
12. The list of the award recipients at the Art Encouragement Prize at the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA) National Arts Festival in Japan, 21st to 30th. (Japanese)

External Links

• Official website
• Mariko Sanjo Pictures and Images
• Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(moving image) Mariko Sanjo with 16 dancers , (1977)".