From July 9–16, Kaoru Watanabe will be in residence at CAVE as part of the At Home Constellation, engaging in eight days of focused creative development.

This time supports the ongoing reimagining of Yokihi, a fully composed, hour-long opera created during the pandemic and never performed live. The residency offers the opportunity to transform the work into an intimate, site-specific experience shaped by CAVE’s unique space.

Yokihi

Yokihi draws lines between tradition and experimentation. The work weaves textures of diaspora and heritage. It is a search for sympathetic vibrations across time, culture, and identity.

Rooted in traditional Japanese flute (shinobue, noh-kan) and taiko percussion, and infused with experimental and improvisational elements, Yokihi is a meditation on memory, and the space between worlds.

Opening the Process

As part of this residency, the artist will open aspects of the work to the public:

Open Rehearsal
Friday, July 17
An invitation to step inside the creative process — experiencing the work as it continues to take shape, with the intimacy of CAVE as a witness to the unfolding.

In-Progress Showing
Saturday, July 18
An immersive encounter with this evolving project. Featuring original compositions and dynamic arrangements, this informal sharing offers proximity to the work’s transformation — celebrating live performance, deep listening, and the beauty of work still becoming.

These are not formal presentations, but moments of encounter — ways of coming into relation with the work as it unfolds, before it settles into form.

Kaoru Watanabe

Yokihi is partially developed and presented at CAVE, home of LEIMAY, during At Home Constellation, 2026.

 

LEIMAY At Home Constellation series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

LEIMAY is supported, in part, with the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The New York Community Trust, and many generous contributions from individual donors.

LEIMAY’s works, community, and coalition programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department Of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment in association with The New York Foundation for the Arts. And by Creative Capital, the National Performance Network (NPN); and the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.

In Person Event

Event Dates Range

July 13, 2026 - June 18, 2026

Event Dates

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    • Residency dates: July 13 to July 18, 2026
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    • July 17, 2026 3:00 pm
    • Open Rehearsal
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    • July 18, 2026 7:00 pm
    • Public In-Progress Showing
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Venue / Location:
CAVE, 58 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY