Air-Conditioner (Cooler)

Air-Conditioner
(Cooler)
Premiere: 2004
Time: 25min.
Stages /Acts: -
Casts: 2 （M1/F1）
Created by Toshiki Okada

　　Highly acclaimed work, which was primarily made to take part in "We Love Dance Festival '04" (Kyoto Art Complex 1928 and Shinjuku Park Tower Hall), but turned out to make for the finals at "Toyota Choreography Award 2005" (Setagaya Public Theatre). Created by Toshiki Okada, who was then working mainly in the field of drama, "Air-Conditioner" is a piece of work made through examining dance approaches by pursuing the connection between "body" and "words"; the factors that compose staging. The clearly defined concept of the body demonstrated in the work defied the conventional idea of “choreography”, generating an enthusiastic debate among the audience.
Below is the excerpt; throughout the play, a conversation is made about the temperature setting of an air-conditioner.

F: About the air-conditioner…
M: Yes.
F: It’s a little bit cold you know, maybe too cold... in our office the temperature's always set at 23 degrees and even in strongest power, which I think is crazy if you ask me.
M: Yeah...
M: 'Cause the air-conditioner is really... you know, it's always set at 23 degrees in the strongest wind, and I think this is quite unusual, yeah I do think so... like, itﾕs almost funny, but I guess I myself is kinda person who is cold-natured, you know...
M: Ah, it may be hard for women I think, yes, it may be kinda hard for women.
F: Yeah, no, is it like "you're kinda person who is 'kinda cold-natured'" or I mean, for like women, but is that how you feel or...
M: Yeah.
F: What do you mean by that? But is it like "yeah, I guess I'm aware of that" kinda feeling? I don't know I guess, but...
M: Yeah, I know many women are like that, I feel sorry you know.
F: But yeah, I think thatﾕs the reason, I myself think so anyway.
M: Yeah, I know many women are like that, I feel sorry you know.