I went to see the show, “55 Steps Final“, produced by the Shiki Theatre Company. It is a show which consists of music and dance from various shows of the Shiki. The first performance of this version started in 2008, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Shiki. Now the final performances began on September 23 at the Dentsu Shiki Theatre SEA in Shiodome.
This is one of my favorite shows by Shiki. I liked the show the first time I saw two years ago and went to see it a few times. The songs are lovely and remind me of the stories whether it is Aida, Southern Cross, Jesus Christ Superstar or Applause. What I like most is the dance scenes. I like Keiji Kato, Director of the show, and fantastic dancer very much and usually follow him dance.
This time, I noticed that he is so precise with his every movement, almost from fingers to toe. It is clear that he pays attention to very details, when you watch his fingers and hands, in particular. I remembered that in Aikido class, the instructor told me to pay attention to fingers! How much of detailed attention you pay to very small things makes so much of a difference. It is always nice to feel good at the end of the show. For 55 Steps Final, you can tell that everybody coming out of the theater look very happy. It inspires you and makes you feel that life is good.
Yoko Ishikura is a Professor at Hitotsubashi University ICS in the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy in Japan. She has held positions as a professor at the School of International Politics, Economics and Business of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, as a consultant at McKinsey and Company Inc. Japan and a visiting professor at Darden School.
Professor Ishikura is a consultant to a number of multinational companies and has been a frequent speaker at management conferences, seminars, and workshops throughout the world. She was a member of the Regulatory Reform Committee for the Japanese government and the International Competitiveness Commission for METI. She is currently a Forum Fellow of the World Economic Forum.
She is the author of Strategic Shift from OR choices to AND paradigm, Building Core Skills of Organization , and the co-author of the following publications: Managing Diversity in the 21st Century, Strategy for Cluster Initiatives in Japan , and Building a Career to the World Class Professionals – all in Japanese. Her books in English include: Asian Advantage, Hitotsubashi on Knowledge Management and Trust and Antitrust in Asian Business Alliances.
Professor Ishikura’s current research interests are focused on global competition, innovation, and knowledge management. She received her BA from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan; MBA from Darden School, University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia; and DBA from Harvard Business School.
