The following notes were originally written in Japanese by Kanoko Hata for the workshop of "Cry of Asia 3" project which has been programmed by A.C.P.C.(Asian Counsel for People's Culture),Philippine. The preparation workshop for the performance tour starts in January, 1998, and the Butoh lesson as well as other Asian performing arts will be introduced and shared there by the participating performers.
Special thanks for A.C.P.C.
- The fundamental ideas of Butoh.
To discover the possibility that we can metamorphose our body into everything, including animals, plants, lifeless objects: To discover the possibility of enlargement of the "human" concept. Hence, to aim at exploring such a body that can transform to anything.
Dance in general, including ballet, is an expressive activity using our own body as the sole material, which is confined structually and physically under the influence of gravity. Ballet, for example, is a trial to overcome this constraint by jumping and fast turning. Whereas, the constraint to Butoh is the limited concept of "human".
Hijikata tried to conquer the constraint by metamorphosing himself from defined "me" to non-human.
The expression method of Butoh utilizes the bodily metamorphosis by "literally" becoming to be "an animal, a plant, or a stone"(or he/she is the animan/plant/stone"). It is considered that an endeavor to become the details of the selected object by imagination make him/her haunted or possessed by the spirit of the object.
- The movements of Butoh dance
In any dance style, walk as the basic way of space transportation is utterly different from daily walking.
As "standing" in Butoh is "collapsing", walk in Butoh comes from an instant collapse of balance: Walk is an unpredictable movement with no orientation.
As against a basic concept of "how to stand" of other dances, the basis of Butoh dance by Hijikata lies in an unstandable body that can not be stood by volition or an uncontrollable body that can not be operated by intention.
In Butoh, criteria of beauty is not placed in what can be achieved by human volition such as "how to stand", but placed in the bodily phase of "trying to stand", that is funnilly and seriously "in a fix" and "in the desperately standing body" a moment before a collapse.
- A Butoh training by images.
Movements are induced by imagination by the way of describing the image.
This process is body controll by imagination: It starts from image induction by verbal activity and the obtained image introduces perceptions.
As the conditions of image are given in details from various points, it becomes hard for the person to relate to them or process/administer them. Hence, any possiblity of intention for expression is excluded and there appears such a vacant body : a vacant container that keeps obediently accepting the given conditions...(The lesson parts are omitted here.)
(translated by kasait/M.Martin: Nov.2,1997)
(c)Kanoko Hata,1997-1998
A lecture on Butoh
Butoh dance is a dance style originated by Tatsumi Hijigkata in 1960s.
A general understanding of Butoh is that 1) by using body characteristics of Japanese such as "ganimata"(bandy-leg or bow-leg), to keep the bodily gravity center low, 2) to dig up gestures or figures that have been buried into the darkness of history, and to float them onto the white painted flesh, 3) to dance a distorted and anomalous style.
Butoh dance had been considered heretic for years in Japan, but in the Western countries Butoh boomed as an original avantgardte dance of Japan.
However, because Butoh had long been heretic inside Japan, Butoh has been left untouched in terms of art and academic research.
It was especially difficult to approach to the Butoh dance of Hijikata, because its composition/choreography and training tended to be esoteric and the method was conveyed only to his disciples.
A general understanding of Butoh is that 1) by using body characteristics of Japanese such as "ganimata"(bandy-leg or bow-leg), to keep the bodily gravity center low, 2) to dig up gestures or figures that have been buried into the darkness of history, and to float them onto the white painted flesh, 3) to dance a distorted and anomalous style.
Butoh dance had been considered heretic for years in Japan, but in the Western countries Butoh boomed as an original avantgardte dance of Japan.
However, because Butoh had long been heretic inside Japan, Butoh has been left untouched in terms of art and academic research.
It was especially difficult to approach to the Butoh dance of Hijikata, because its composition/choreography and training tended to be esoteric and the method was conveyed only to his disciples.