Butoh part 1
Also named as “Dance of Utter Darkness” (It was initially called ‘ankoku butoh’), it was founded in the 60s by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno. Butoh, like the Fluxus, breaks the constraints of Western dance and the rigidity of Japanese traditions such as the Noh drama and Nihon Buyo (Japanese classical dance). It is hard to localize Butoh Dance with its abstract and visceral nature, but similar to Chekhov’s “The Psychological Gesture”, Butoh attempts to uncover the dance that already exists (archetypes). It must emerge from within, and not be imposed from without.
In the worlds of the unconscious, dreams and the irrational, butoh leaves space for the audience to bring their own thoughts and dreams to the work, offering a rich, metaphorical world to taste and to enter.”
Butoh’s subject matter varies across time, nature, age, beauty and mortality. “Basically, ‘Butoh’ means to meander, or to move, as it were, in twists and turns between the realms of the living and the dead,” said Kazuo Ohno.
I’ve laid out 3 Butoh exercises to explore its method’s effects.
Exercise 1: Ash Walk
Imagine yourself as a pile of man-shaped ash, and you need to walk forward. (Avoid any jerkiness and sudden movement)
As soon as I started walking, I noticed my shoulders and arms became stiff. I loosened those muscles and continued to walk. The total control of the body is maximized when the exercise requires you to slow down time in your body. I feel more present the more I walk. The world is revolting around me as I am complying with every thought that possesses me. Work, money, health, my friend’s mental health, helplessness, traffic, pressure cooker, wind, running out the hallway. I’m back again. I tipped to the side very gently and rearranged my walking logistics so I didn’t need to be on one foot while transferring weight. Time is touching my face and pressing my neck. I slowly found my pace and pattern. Scheduling, rehearsals, I hate that person. I opened my eyes, and I walked further than I estimated. Time is more than a bodily sensation now. I stopped.
- Widen awareness
- Every moment is infinite
Exercise 2: Figure 8
Draw the figure 8 with every part of the body.
Find the architecture of the cat, and the spirit will enter.” – Hijikata”
Exercise 3: Baby
The duality of Butoh reflects the deep truth of the way of being. Ugly within Beautiful, Old within the Young, Dark within the Light and Death within Birth. With this exercise, I’m exploring Butoh’s iconic motif of the birth of the baby. Like Ash Walk, I move at a controlled pace and gradually intensify the movement.