La danse du détour: A collaborative arts performance with people touched by Minamata disease

Abstract

In May 2019, a group of dancers, photographers and local participants gathered in Minamata, Japan, a community affected by industrial mercury pollution since the 1950s. Philippe Chéhère, Julie Salgues and the Minamata Dance Collective conducted a series of dance sessions with citizens, students, dancers and people touched by Minamata disease in various places of significance in Minamata and explored the potential of movement and its transformation in people and the environment. Through choreographic poetry, they explored the site and the story of Minamata involving 180 people, using dance as a modality of encounter and dialogue. The ten-day dance project culminated in a participatory performance at Minamata Memorial. This case study documents the process of participatory arts by interweaving history, photographs and participants’ voices.