Salt Spring Island’s Richard Murakami was among forty-seven British Columbians representing 32 communities throughout the province who were honoured at the seventh annual BC...

In Robert and Jane Nimi’s hallway there is a photo hanging on the wall depicting three smiling young men clad in black leather motorcycle jackets astride Triumph Thunderbird motorcyles. Taped next to the photo is a clipping of Marlon Brando riding the same motorcycle in the classic film The Wild One. As Bob leads me through to the living room for our interview, he stops and points out himself on the far right of the photograph. Just after graduating high school, he explains, he and two high school buddies set off on a three-week road trip to San Diego, camping along the way. It was, he says, one of the highlights of his younger years. While the photograph stands in contrast to the elegance of the house, it does tell you something about Bob Nimi and the sense of determination that has served him well during his lifetime.

When Vancouver’s City Opera set out to pair Sumidagawa with Curlew River for their 2010 season—a feat that had only been undertaken twice before, once in London and once in New York City—the intention was to mount the original noh version of the piece. In the process of finding a noh company that could perform the work, they discovered the existence of Nakajima’s butoh interpretation and made the decision to bring in Denise Fujiwara to perform it.