Today is a performance in Seattle commemerating the death of the founder of butoh dance in Japan. The first performance by a young dancer unfolded in 1959 amidst a fertile creative period for young people. That generation were children in the war. The Anpo protests of the time could be compared to the May 68 in France, depicted in the Bertolucci-esque The Dreamers movie, and events in the US on the continuum of the Civil Rights - anti-Vietnam War - Womens Rights transformations.
Butoh is an improvised branch of modern dance using body intuition and images, often from nature, to create movement.
That founder, Hijikata, broke from his ballet and Euro-modern dance training and launched a faimily tree of butoh players which extends to Seattle. Joan Laage, there, studied and performed in Japan, with the Western unit, Gnome, of Hijikata's last ensemble with Yoko Ashikawa, Hakutobo. That last period for Hijikata was with an all-women ensemble. The work is quite beautiful as seen in this documentary excerpt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBNi4oFvhrY.
From his wife on his death at 57:
"Usually in Japan people die quietly. They hide the last moments of life. But Hijikata wanted to share his moment of death with each and every person. And so everyone surrounded his death bed. Hijikata sat up straight in bed, and for a long time thanked us all expressing his gratitude through dance. His body was all entangled in intravenous tubes but he still performed this dance of death. Tears were streaming down the faces of everyone watching. I finally asked him to stop. And he said 'you should applaud, applaud, I want to go out amidst cheers and applause.'"
Tonight Joan Laage/Kogut Butoh, Aoi Lee, Kaoru Okumura and Vanessa Skantze perform. RSVP and details https://www.daipanbutohcollective.com/event-details/tatsumi-hijikata-memorial-2024-in-seattle At Teatro de la Psychomachia 1534 1st Ave S, Seattle 7PM Free
