Enjoy these online events inspired by butoh dance at Tokyo Real Underground

This series of performances is selected by contemporary dancer and performer Takao Kawaguchi, and performed by artists of different backgrounds representing this avant-garde dance from various perspectives. The ten works explore butoh’s past and future transitioning between the genres of dance, theatre, music, film and art.

The performances have been filmed inside the Former Hakubutsukan Dobutsuen Station in Ueno, an old underground train station that’s now used as an exhibition and performance space. See the three samples below to get an idea of what’s available to watch. 

Takao Kawaguchi – ‘Minotaur Disco’

This piece is directed by Kawaguchi himself and performed by butoh artist Daisuke Yoshimoto and young contemporary dancer Naoyuki Sakai; both portray minotaurs trapped in a labyrinth.

The artists are covered in crumbling white plaster, and the sound of it cracking – along with footsteps produced by the artists’ red heels – are key dramatic elements of the performance. Through filmmaker Akihiro Suzuki’s inventive use of camera angles and effects, ‘Minotaur Disco’ is turned into a one-of-a-kind avant-garde movie.

Yuki Kobayashi – ‘Ice Cream Torch / Ceremony’

Photo: Tatsuhiko Nakagawa

Young visual and performance artist Yuki Kobayashi makes use of his body to encourage debates regarding gender, disability and racial stereotypes. Ice Cream Torch / Ceremony is the latest piece in his Life of Athletics series, focusing on gender discrimination, power and commercialisation in sports.

Kobayashi, dressed in a wedding dress, slowly moves down the station staircase to the theme from the 1981 movie ‘Chariots of Fire’. His head is completely covered in a large inflated red balloon – the scene is unsettling, to say the least. In a later scene, he eats red ice cream out of a miniature Olympic torch. His despair is emphasised at the end by his heavy breathing inside the deflated balloon, with the wheezing sound dominating the performance. 

Pechika Satoh – ‘The Butterfly Dream’ (available from June 5)

Pechika Satoh’s performances are known for exploring the connection between one’s body and objects. In her latest dance, she alternates between different scenery and angles as seen through a fish tank that she carries around. 

This in-person augmented reality (AR) experience takes you back to 1961, when American photographer William Klein documented Tokyo’s cityscape and captured the beginning of butoh. Most of the photos in this AR experience were recently published for the first time by Dance Archive Network, and feature butoh founders Tatsumi Hijikata, Kazuo Ohno and Yoshito Ohno on a rainy day in the Ginza and Shinbashi areas.

At seven different spots around the city, you can enjoy over 350 photographs by Klein that were originally taken in those same locations six decades ago. The original photos are superimposed over the modern-day cityscape via augmented reality – and all you need to view them is your smartphone. Even though the city has changed drastically since then, you can still find similarities here and there, turning the experience into an eye-opening trip into the past. Ten large-scale versions of these photographs are also on display in the underpass connecting Ginza and Higashi-Ginza stations.

If you can’t make it to Ginza or Shinbashi in person, you can still view all the individual photos on the official website. However, note that they won’t be layered over the modern scenery. For more information on how to enjoy this interactive experience, see here.

This detailed timeline depicts the milestones of the butoh movement from its creation in 1959, through its worldwide growth in the 1970s and up to present day, as well as its connections with media and influence on other performing arts. From the very beginning, butoh dancers were also active in cabarets, commercials, movies, and nowadays even in TV dramas and music videos.

Learn about the first ever butoh performance in 1959, named Kinjiki (Forbidden Colours). This outrageous ten-minute dance was performed by Tatsumi Hijikata and Yoshito Ohno and explored the taboo topic of homosexuality through stiff body movements and the use of a live chicken.

Recently, instead of focusing on what has become ‘traditional’ butoh, some contemporary dancers and other artists (or artists ‘outside butoh’), have been using elements of the dance in their work to create something new. See here to learn about the evolution of butoh.