Heroes is a work for 12 dancers that combines powerful athleticism and delicate gestures drawn from the choreographer’s Japanese heritage. It is set to composer John Adams’s 1985 work The Chairman Dances, an imagined foxtrot for Chairman Mao Tse-Tung and his bride, Chiang Ch’ing, which Adams called a warm up to his opera Nixon in China. Ueyama has created a piece that honors the dedication and perseverance of citizens who played a crucial role in Japan’s recovery after World War II and are driving its success today.
