Dance Video Index

In this database, you will find 200 dance videos which were collected in the 2023 fiscal year under the auspices of the EPAD (Eternal Performing Arts Archives and Digital Theatre) .

Overview

• Title
• Performer(s)
• Year performed

• Aboriginal

  First solo performance by Namerikawa Goro (1950-2012), one of the founding members of Sankai Juku. The performance was in memory of Takada Yoshiyuki, a Sankai Juku dancer who died in an accident during a performance in Seattle the previous September. This performance lead the way for Namerikawa's career after he left Sankai Juku in 1987 to become an independent dancer. A large stage was built in the huge underground space of Oya Museum using 650 stones, 200 bamboos and other materials and the audience (in order to protect them from the cold as well as see the stage as a whole) watched as they moved around the stage wearing costumes designed by Koshino Junko.

  Performer(s)

  Goro Namerikawa/Austro Arts Association Co.,Ltd.

  Director/Choreographer

  Goro Namerikawa

  Venue

  Oya Stone Underground Quarries

  Year performed

  1986

• Admiring La Argentina

  First performed in 1977, this is the masterpiece that brought Ohno Kazuo international fame as a butoh dancer. 'La Argentina' refers to the innovative Spanish dancer Antonia Mercé, who left a deep impression on Ohno when he saw her perform at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo in 1929. This piece was an ode to her.
  
  -Awarded the 9th Dance Critics Society Prize in 1977

  

  Performer(s)

  Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio

  Director/Choreographer

  Kazuo Ohno

  Venue

  Daiichi Seimei Hall

  Year performed

  1977

• After Lunch

  Kei Takei made her New York debut in 1969 with the premiere of 'LIGHT, Part 1' at The Cubiculo Theatre, home of The National Shakespeare Company. That same year, at the same venue, she presented 'Lunch'. Six years later, she presented 'After Lunch', as a follow-up to 'Lunch'.
  
  - The recording was filmed on on 30 June 1975, but it is not known how many days the performance took place.

  Performer(s)

  Kei Takei’s Moving Earth

  Director/Choreographer

  Kei Takei

  Venue

  The New York University School of the Arts

  Year performed

  1975

• Afternoon Feast

  Directed and choreographed by Orita Katsuko, the piece brings out Izumi Katsushi's dynamic compositional ability, and naïvety. As a dancer who takes seriously the chaos of having both Christ and Judaism coexist in the body, the calm period at the end of a century is paradoxically appropriate for Izumi. Tragedy awaits he who leads the organisation of a Feast, only to have to run through the window on stage. The Feast have only just begun.
  
  -Tess Dance Series No. 21. Izumi Katsushi Dance Opera I
  -Participation in the 1980 Japan Arts Festival

  

  Performer(s)

  Midori Ishii and Katsuko Orita Dance Studio

  Director/Choreographer

  Katsuko Orita

  Venue

  Sogetsu Hall

  Year performed

  1980

• Alteration of Alterations　

  An open-air performance of 'Letter to Abakanowicz', a collaborative work between Motofuji Akiko and Magdalena Abakanowicz, performed in Abakanowicz's native Poland in conjunction with the opening of her exhibition in Warsaw. Dances by Motofuji, and a group of male butoh dancers were accompanied by bassist Saito Tetsu and two kotos. A requiem performance in a country with tragic history.

  

  Performer(s)

  Asbestos-kan

  Director/Choreographer

  Akiko Motofuji, Magdalena Abakanowicz

  Venue

  Park Agrykola

  Year performed

  1995

• Ametsuchi

  Presented at the San Franscisco Butoh Festival. Following on from her performance in Poland the previous year, this work developed Motofuji Akiko's international career. The concept came through Motofuji's grandiose image of connecting heaven and earth with the body, which connects with idea improving one's whole life through butoh. Motofuji, who performed the lead role, used a rope to connect heaven and earth, resulting in a work of great scale.

  Performer(s)

  Asbestos-kan

  Director/Choreographer

  Akiko Motofuji

  Venue

  Fort Mason Cowell Theatre

  Year performed

  1996

• ARAHABAKI in Nippori

  Arahabaki is a mysterious deity worshipped mainly in the Tōhoku and Kantō regions. His name has been written in a variety of kanji, and there are various theories for him as the god of the feet, the god of iron-manufacturing, the god of snakes, among others. In 1998, Namerikawa Goro performed 'Arahabaki' outdoors in Hirosaki, and 'Dōkutsu-hen' [Cave version] at the Oya Museum. We can see that these themes were of great interest for Namerikawa, who wanted to explore the origins of dance with a deep knowledge in folklore. Details of the Nippori and Hirosaki performances are unknown, but likely took place around 1995.

  Performer(s)

  Goro Namerikawa/Austro Arts Association Co.,Ltd.

  Director/Choreographer

  Goro Namerikawa

  Venue

  Nippori Sunny Hall

  Year performed

  1995

• ARAHABAKI: Cave version

  Although originally based in Tokyo, Namerikawa Goro, who performed 'Aboriginal' at the Oya Subterreanean Cave in 1986, moved to Oya in 1996 to focus on his own stage productions. Seeking to create a form of movement which is guided by the space, and stage where the body can be entrusted to the space, he once again created a performance at the Oya Museum, where he felt the breath of ancient times. The flyer read: "The Universe as seen by the Ancients, the Prometheus of the Soul". 'Arahabaki' refers to a mysterious deity, mainly workshipped in the Tōhoku and Kantō regions.

  

  Performer(s)

  Goro Namerikawa/Austro Arts Association Co.,Ltd.

  Director/Choreographer

  Goro Namerikawa

  Venue

  Oya Stone Underground Quarries

  Year performed

  1998

• At the Foot of a Hill

  A duo performed by Kasai Akira and Ohno Kazuo at 'Modern Dance: Transcendence and Disclosure of the Body' produced by dance critic Ichikawa Miyabi. Based on 'The Story of Venus and Tannhauser' by Aubrey Beardsley, with Ohno Kazuo performing the role of Venus. The performance was recreated in March 2020 along with 2 other Ohno/Kasai duos, with Ohno's role performed by Kawaguchi Takao, and Kasai's role performed by Kasai Mitsutake.

  

  Performer(s)

  Tenshi-Kan

  Director/Choreographer

  Akira Kasai

  Venue

  Seinenza Theatre (Tokyo)

  Year performed

  1971

• August 27, 1979 – The Girl Can’t Help It

  The first film of Yoshiko Chuma shows simple motion and action in front of the landscape in Maine, USA.

  

  Performer(s)

  Yoshiko Chuma

  Director/Choreographer

  Yoshiko Chuma

  Venue

  Maine, USA

  Year performed

  1979

• Autumn Poem

  Motofuji Akiko generally only created one new performance each year, but for 1996 she presented a new work on the invitation of the Torii Hall in Osaka. For the small and intimate hall, Motofuji created a poetic piece in which she quietly recollected life, as though pondering on an autumn evening. Her performance appeared to narrate a deep monologue, making use of the ballet and modern dance techniques she developed over the years.

  

  Performer(s)

  Asbestos-kan

  Director/Choreographer

  Akiko Motofuji

  Venue

  TORII HALL

  Year performed

  1996

• AWAI [Bi-duality]

  Premiered at Waseda Hoshien, Tokyo, in 1988 and also later performed in Paris and Edinburgh. Part of the 'Shozoku wa Mizu' [Costume is Water] dance series.
  The performance used mirrors and fluorescent light tubes. In the programme for the premiere performance were the words 'I would like to hunt for blue fish of (sexual) self-love that has sprouted little by little in my dance as a play of affection between the ankle joint and lip, or as an ileus (intestinal obstruction) of the sense of touch and being touched, in the lake of my body'.
  
  - Iwana Masaki Solo Butoh Dance

  Performer(s)

  Studio 200

  Director/Choreographer

  Masaki Iwana

  Venue

  Studio 200

  Year performed

  1989

• Bar do thos grol

  Tibet is full of wonders. 'Bar do thos grol' is the Tibetan name for an esoteric Buddhist scripture commonly known as the 'Tibetan Book of the Dead'. This mysterious book teaches the path for reincarnating spirits how to find their way from death to birth. Inspired by this scripture and a pilgrimage to the holy Mt. Kailash in Western Tibet in 1995, Mushimaru creates a unique, vivid mandala world of physical poetry. I must dance and travel, drink and fall in love.
  
  - Participated in the 2nd OSAKA DANCE EXPERIENCE
  - Mushimaru JAPAN TOUR '96

  

  Performer(s)

  TORII HALL

  Director/Choreographer

  Mushimaru Fujieda

  Venue

  TORII HALL

  Year performed

  1996

• Barefoot Canon

  Orita Katsuko’s dance piece presented at the Ishii Midori Dance Recital. It is a group piece choreographed to Pachelbel's Canon. The choreography makes expansive use of the space and impressive gestures, with a playfulness brought in by the barefooted girls'. There is a sense of unity, moving with the music without it being an accompaniment.

  

  Performer(s)

  Midori Ishii and Katsuko Orita Dance Studio

  Director/Choreographer

  Katsuko Orita

  Venue

  Tokyo Post Saving Hall

  Year performed

  1983

• Baroquekikizu

  Footage from dance therapy sessions held at Seinan Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Hachinohe, Aomori. From around 1980, butoh dancer Ishii Mitsutaka began holding workshops there on the invitation of photographer Hanaga Mitsutoshi. Being based in Tokyo, Ishii could not visit often, and so he taught the patients by sending practice examples by video. Due to its setting as a psychiatric hospital, this performance was held only for those involved, and all props, costumes and makeup were done by Ishii along with hospital staff.
  
  'Baroquekikizu' was credited as dance therapy event. Later however, the film 'Mettarohozu' was credited as a butoh therapy event.
  

  Performer(s)

  Mitsutaka Ishii

  Director/Choreographer

  Hajime Chiba

  Venue

  Seinan Hospital (Aomori)

  Year performed

  1981

• Bekkō Candy

  The first performance by the Hijikata Method Research Group established by Waguri Yukio, a former pupil of Hijikata Tatsumi, through weekly workshops held at Asbestos-kan at the invitation of Motofuji Akiko. Bekkō candy, known to come in many shapes, refers to the form. Waguri named the performance thus with the hope that each person would find their own form.
  

  Performer(s)

  Kozensha

  Director/Choreographer

  Yukio Waguri

  Venue

  Asbestos-kan

  Year performed

  1991

• Bird – Mariko Sanjo dances on the Noh Mariko

  This performance was presented by Rokurobyoue Fujita, the 11th Grand Master of the FUJITA school of flute player of Noh, and was held on November 2, 1987 at the Atsuta Shrine Noh Theater. A modern dancer, Mariko Sanjo was invited to perform in the classical space of the Noh Theater created by the Japanese. "Bird" was the last piece in the program. I first performed “Bird” at Barnard College in New York City in September 1975.
  Once I performed it, I got one request after another to perform it at other venues. “Bird” was performed under various conditions, from small 100-seat theaters to *Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater that can accommodate 2,000 people.
  
  It was reborn each time as a new piece. In each moment, my body fought against something like an undulation that disperses and breaks. I strongly desired many times to experience that mysterious space on stage, which was indeed a different dimension, again and again. I danced the piece until the autumn of 1994. Among them, "Bird" performed at the Atsuta Shrine Noh Theater on November 2, 1987 was an unforgettable performance that "mixed tradition and deviation."
  
  Pablo Casals who passed away at the age of 96 is said to have always played “Song of the Birds” for encore. The melody is from a folk song from his native Catalonia. It is a short simple number that is pure and transparent with a touch of bitter sweetness. As I listened to it repeatedly, I came across movements that occurred from my inner self. The will to fly regardless of whether you can…
  The theme spiraled up amid repetition. Inevitable movements flowed out. A critic said "Not a single move was superfluous ... and every move was beautiful, exquisitely so."
  "Bird" became Mariko Sanjo's signature piece.
  (* The "Bird" danced in the Central Park's Delacorte Theater is preserved in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.)

  

  Performer(s)

  Mariko Sanjo

  Director/Choreographer

  Mariko Sanjo

  Venue

  Atsuta Shrine Noh Theater

  Year performed

  1987

• Bird: Fantastical Thoughts – Garden of Eve II

  The work, in which 'for much the performance the dancer moves from right to left along the two black walls intersecting at a right angle', evokes for the viewer a 'movement in stillness' and 'exudes a forceful energy, reminiscent of a bird attempting to stretch its wings and fly to the heavens, but unable to do so' (Yoshizawa Denzaburo, Modern Thought). This work was inspired by the words of Roger Caillois, 'illusion first and foremost means anxiety and destruction'.
  
  -Uesugi Mitsuyo Butoh Performance
  -The above quotations are taken from the January 1983 issue of Modern Thought magazine.

  

  Performer(s)

  Mitsuyo Uesugi

  Director/Choreographer

  Mitsuyo Uesugi

  Venue

  KID AILACK HALL
  

  Year performed

  1982

• Bird Woman’s Head (reproduction)

  One of the four part 'Funeral Series' performed by Yoshitmoto Daisuke in the 1980s. This 'Bird Burial' was the final part of the series, following 'Wind Burial - Fern in the Wind', 'Cremation - Egg in the Fire' and 'Water Burial - Stone at the Bottom of the Water'. After performances in Poland and Switzerland, it was performed again later in Tokyo. Original concept: 'Stanislav de Gala Soshaku Kōfujin' [Madame de Stanislav de Gala Mastication].
  On the flyer are word by Comte de Lautréamont: Gravedigger, it is beautiful to contemplate the ruins of the cities; but it is more beautiful to contemplate the ruins of humans!
  
  - Daisuke Yoshimoto Butoh Dance
  - Invited to the 3rd International Contemporary Festival in Lausanne, 1992
  

  

  Performer(s)

  Daisuke Yoshimoto

  Director/Choreographer

  Daisuke Yoshimoto

  Venue

  Sogetsu Hall

  Year performed

  1993

• Bite

  "Atsugi Bonjin's first performance on returning to Japan after studying in New York. The work had four chapters, and the following words were included in the programme:
  
  By a luxurious and desolate display window, as Life is swept away / The frozen glass of the display window
  Life's conscious mind / As limescale breaks free and / Escapes
  To Bite is / to Kill / to Bite / to Chew and / as Chewing continues Wear clothes, sit on a chair and / Wipe the mouth with a napkin"
  
  -First Dance Critics Society Award

  

  Performer(s)

  Bonjin Atsugi

  Director/Choreographer

  Bonjin Atsugi

  Venue

  Toranomon Hall

  Year performed

  1969

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