Released in 1989
Directed by Edin Velez
Storyline: An experimental, multi-layered documentary on Butoh dance, a powerful avant-garde form of Japanese dance. Butoh is a dangerous and subversive form of dance theater that emerged in the 1960s whose origins have roots in ancient and archaic traditions, touching on myth, folk, and daimon stories -- often violent, sexually explicit, and containing imagery involving anguish -- its performance is almost exclusively underground, hence its explication of taboo and societal dis-conventionality -- Butoh began as a spirit of revolt and continues to break the rules and upset forms.
Edin Velez’s study of Butoh includes archival footage of early Butoh pioneer Tatsumi Hijikata, who is credited as the form’s originator. Kazuo Ohno, another early Butoh performer, is shown performing his famous “Admiring La Argentina,” and other works. Other companies whose works are shown include Akaji Mori’s Dai Rakuda Kan, Isamu Ohsuga’s Byakko Sha, and Yoko Ashikawa’s Hakutoboh. These examples reveal the depth and diversity of Butoh as it has evolved. Many of these dancers worked directly with Hijikata at some point and all speak to his influence, as they are interviewed about the art form. One performer, Akiko Motofuji, explains, “Ballet and modern dance spring from the earth…Hijikata created a dance, which crawls on the earth.”
Edin Velez’s study of Butoh includes archival footage of early Butoh pioneer Tatsumi Hijikata, who is credited as the form’s originator. Kazuo Ohno, another early Butoh performer, is shown performing his famous “Admiring La Argentina,” and other works. Other companies whose works are shown include Akaji Mori’s Dai Rakuda Kan, Isamu Ohsuga’s Byakko Sha, and Yoko Ashikawa’s Hakutoboh. These examples reveal the depth and diversity of Butoh as it has evolved. Many of these dancers worked directly with Hijikata at some point and all speak to his influence, as they are interviewed about the art form. One performer, Akiko Motofuji, explains, “Ballet and modern dance spring from the earth…Hijikata created a dance, which crawls on the earth.”
