At the edge of a rectangular stretch of water, four Butoh dancers with alabaster bodies wrapped in silk execute a motionless and precious sabbat. Magicians from another world, they worship large suspended eggs that mirror the smooth and oblong shapes of their skulls. A long visual poem on the notion of origin, while trickles of water and sand fall from the fly system.

Butoh (dance of shadow) is a movement formed by Kazuo Ohno and Tatsumi Hijikata at the start of the 1960s in reaction to the secular forms of Japanese dance. In a “post-nuclear” aesthetic, nurtured by European literature (Bataille, Michaux, Artaud), it produced provocative and tortured shows in which the dancers’ bodies, as though twisted by traumatised collective memory, stigmatise the cataclysm. Several groups emerged, and Butoh received international acclaim, while in Japan it continued to be a relatively unpopular discipline. The Sankaï Juku group, founded in 1976, is part of a more aesthetic branch of this movement, associating cutting-edge scenographic techniques with the mystical themes of the ancient East.

Surce : Patrick Bossatti

Director, Choreographer and Designer
 

He was born in Yokosuka,Japan in 1949 and founded Butoh company Sankai Juku in 1975. He created "Amagatsu Sho" (1977), "Kinkan Shonen" (1978), "Sholiba" (1979) before the first world tour in 1980. Since 1981, France and The Theatre de la Ville,Paris has become his places for creation and work and that year he created "Bakki" for Festival d'Avignon. The Theatre de la Ville, Paris he has created 14 productions since 1982.
 

Amagatsu also works independently outside Sankai Juku. In 1988 he created “Fushi” on the invitation of Jacob's Pillow Foundation, in the U.S., with music by Philip Glass. In 1989, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Spiral Hall in Tokyo where he directed “Apocalypse” (1989), and “Fifth-V” (1990). In February 1997, he directed the opera “Bluebeard's Castle” by Bartok's opera conducted by Peter Eotvos at Tokyo International Forum. In March 1998, at Opera National de Lyon, France, he directed Peter EOTVOS's opera “Three Sisters” (world premiere).
 

In March 2008, Amagatsu directed “Lady Sarashina,” Peter EOTVOS’s new opera at Opera National de Lyon (world premiere), and created two pieces: « Tobari - As if in an inexhaustible flux » and « Utsushi ». His last creations are « Kara・Mi - Two Flows » (2011) and « UMUSUNA - Memories before History » (premiered at Opera de Lyon, France).

Source : Sankai Juku 's website

More information : sankaijuku.com