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from Kalamazoo Gazette October 6, 2001

GooSayTen Butoh dance in Kalamazoo, MI, U.S.A.

• Butoh dance "A-MA-E-RE-YA" by GooSayTen
  
• at Wellspring Theater (Kalamazoo, MI)
  
• October 5-6, 2001

DANCE REVIEW:
Dance duo's 'Cherished' mysterious, memorable

by Joyce Kubiski
SPECIAL TO KALAMAZOO GAZETTE

GooSayTen, a Butoh dance duo from Sapporo, Japan, appeared Friday night at the Epic Center as part of the Wellspring Alternative Dance Project.

As a dance form, Butoh, or more properly ankoku butoh, meaning "dance of darkness," was developed by the Japanese avant-garde after World War II as a response to the destructive power of the atom bomb. It draws upon the emotional content of body language, dramatizing it through exaggerated and often painfully slow movement. The face, and sometimes the entire body is dusted white, and the eyes commonly lined in red, creating a dramatic appearance.

The two dancers of GooSayTen, Mika Takeuchi and Itto Morita, premiered their new work, "A-MA-E-RE-YA (Cherished)," without intermission.

It began with the dancers masked with dog or cat-like faces posed on stage. Itto is standing; Mika crouched low. Their movement is barely discernible. Itto begins to walk slowly. Later, Mika unwraps her contorted form. There is plenty of time for the audience to notice the costumes and set, as they wonder what "Cherished" is about.

The costumes are kimonos, made of beautiful silks, but they are wrapped and knotted around the body in unusual ways. Some are cut or slashed or have sleeves missing. A thin scroll hangs from ceiling to floor stage right near a pile of clothing, another lies on the floor stage left near a red bundle of cloth. These objects - traditional, yet unusual in their form and placement - simultaneously reference and deconstruct Japanese culture. They are a prelude to the movement still to come, movement that will seem both repulsive and inviting, disturbed and transcendental.

The dance continues with solo acts. Mika removes her mask to reveal a long, thick red cord protruding from her mouth. She pulls on the cord, moves with it and against it until it is finally removed. It matches in color a scarf worn under her kimono that is occasionally revealed by her movement, the two reds providing a metaphor for the struggle between inner and outer worlds.

Itto's solo highlights his exceptional movement quality, particularly fluid arms and energized hands. The movement seems angst driven, but also full of determined exploration.

Perhaps the most striking section of the dance is their duet, in which Itto twirls Mika with wild abandon. It is fueled by raw emotion, and exhibits movement qualities that are violent and destructive. Yet they hold on to each other, two bodies, dressed in navy silk kimonos girded with red sashes, merging into one form.

The dance ends peacefully. The two lie facing each other, at first holding each other at arm's length and then reaching outward to the void in the distance. "Cherished" could simply be interpreted as a dance between two lovers, or perhaps two kindred souls. On a much larger scale, it can be experienced as a quest for God and self. The dancers are pilgrims searching for the divine center in an often hostile universe. While open for analysis, the powerful movement of this work sears itself into the memory, leaving images that will never be forgotten.

From Kalamazoo Gazette, October 6, 2001

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