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is drawn in, and phenomenologically, the audience is led to appreciate the beauty 
in the shapes and lines of the dance rather than a search for meaning. Similarly, in 
applied Meisner work, the gentle placement of attention and love for a scene  
partner is fundamental to compel truth out of a performance (Otos, 2021, pp.35-
36).  
However, here, Ohno is placing this love and attention onto himself to share his 
newfound emotional truth with the audience. Coming at the end of a piece  
honouring his mother, we might assume Ohno has found peace with himself  
following a period of mourning, experienced over the four previous dances. 
Personally, comparing Dream of Love to My Mother’s Daydream, Dream of Love 
was the more engaging watch, as the resolution to the grief and the liberating  
journey to dancing as himself again was just so heartwarming: a demonstration 
that Ohno can charm and captivate audiences both in character and as himself.  
Dance Archive Network (DAN) (2020). My Mother. Available at: https://
dancearchive.net/en/archive/works/wk8.html Accessed: 27 Dec 2025 
Fortier, Mark (2016). Theory/theatre: an introduction. 3rd edn. Oxon: Rout-
ledge 
Nakanishi, Nao (1997). “The Spirit Moves Him”. The Washington Post, 18 
December. Available at:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/life-
style/1997/12/18/the-spirit-moves-him/b9df01a6-c147-45a5-b298-fd6b-
fa34b5ef/ Accessed 27 Dec 2025. 
Ohno, Kazuo (1986). “Selections from the Prose of Kazuo Ohno”. The Drama 
Review, 30:2, pp.156-162. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1145736 (Ac-
cessed: 27 Dec 2025) 
Ohno, Kazuo (1988). Dream of Love. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=FqgidLKxhd4&list=PLYt17H7STMqdmmaJ7RdKY-SLYVITy-WY1&in-
dex=7 Accessed: 28 Dec 2025. 
Ohno, Kazuo (1995). Mother’s Dream. Available at: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=fpw2DtS2QU&list=PLYt17H7STMqdmmaJ7RdKY-SLYVI-
Ty-WY1&index=3 Accessed: 28 Dec 2025. 
Otos, Kevin (2021). Applied Meisner for the 21st Century Actor. New York: 
Routledge.  
Stanislavsky, Constantin (1989). Building a Character, trans. Elizabeth Reyn-
olds Hapgood. London: Methuen. 
Zarrilli, Phillip (2013). “Psychophysical Acting in Japan” in Acting: Psycho-
physical Phenomenon and Process, Phillip Zarrilli, Jerri Daboo and Rebecca 
Loukes. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 95-157.

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