Japan: Butoh Legend <PERSON> Passes Away · Global Voices
<PERSON>, legendary performer and one of the founding fathers of Butoh, passed away on June 1st at the age of 103. A quote from his bio provided by the Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio:
When he dances, he vitalizes himself. An ordinary old man becomes a somebody who gives power to others. People love to encounter <PERSON> because of that. He lives long, he moves people deeply. <PERSON> is an artist who has enlarged human potential.
Butoh is an avant-garde dance form that originated in post WWII Japan, characterized by white body paint and conceptual, tortured movements.
This is a clip from “Beauty and Power” called “Admiring La Argentina”. 243
Directed by fellow Butoh founder <PERSON> and premiered in 1977, the piece is a tribute to the Spanish dancer <PERSON> (known as “La Argentina”), whom <PERSON> saw on stage in 1929 when he was 22.
Many reflected on the times they had seen <PERSON> perform and how it impacted them. <PERSON> at the True Colors blog, on the first time she saw <PERSON>, several decades ago:
観客との見えないエネルギーの交換を、確信犯的に遊ぶがごとき完璧に自由な魂と肉体を目の当たりにして，痛快で笑いをこらえきれませんでした。深刻さなどとは縁遠く、果てしなく、宇宙へひろがり一体化する肉体と魂がとても自由に感じられたのでした。
美しくて、滑稽で、純で、潔くて、愛に溢れている、その存在。
当時新しいダンスの地平を求めて仲間と作品作りに日夜没頭していた日々…変化を求める時に、人はどうしても怖れや不安が出てきて当たり前なのですね。 そんな時この舞台に遭遇した私たちは、限りない勇気とエネルギーをもらい、意気揚々と劇場を後にしたのを覚えています。
He had a completely liberated soul and body on hand to exchange unseen energy with the audience, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Watching him play so masterfully with the interaction was absolutely glorious. The fusion of body and soul seemed to stretch endlessly to space, untouched by any kind of seriousness, and it felt so free.
Beautiful, comical, pure, spirited, and full of love… this was his existence.
During this period, I was spending my days and nights absorbed in creating dance pieces with my fellow dancers, trying to break new ground. When a person thirsts for change, it is natural for feelings of fear and uncertainty to surface. We chanced upon his performance at a time like this, and I remember that we left the theater elated, having received endless courage and energy.
Base player <PERSON> also lists his experiences and concludes:
以前から何度も書いていますが、私にとって舞踏は自分の創作活動に指針となる芸術様式といっていいほど影響を受けております。
大野先生、長い間、ありがとうございました。
As I've written many times before, butoh is a form of art that has been a guiding inspiration to my own creative work. 243