Dance Video Index

In this database, you will find 373 dance videos which were collected from the 2023 to 2025 fiscal years under the auspices of the EPAD (Eternal Performing Arts Archives and Digital Theatre) .

Overview

• Title
• Performer(s)
• Year performed

• Hole of the Day

  The "Social Distance Amphitheater" presented by the Moonlight Mobile Theatre during the 2020 pandemic drew attention from around the world for its groundbreaking viewing method of peering through holes in the 30 door-shaped panels to see the performance taking place inside. In this work, the performance is an improvisation by two dancers and two performers. A feast of sound and body sharpened to the extreme.

  

  Performer(s)

  Moonlight Mobile Theater

  Director/Choreographer

  Nobuyoshi Asai, Yura Sugiura

  Venue

  Rinnai former parts center parking lot

  Year performed

  2021

• Katsuko Orita – Dance Alone “Home”

  The carefree skips of a young girl. In contract to these simple, dashing movements, the performer slowly puts on layers of clothing, demonstrating the passage of time. The girl becomes an overdressed and restricted adult, finally clad in a 'dotera' [padded jacket]. The depicted world is humorous, where adults do their best to move while dressed in this way. Katsuko Orita uses Midori Ishii's Eurhythmics for Dancers to create a work that conveys freedom and restriction using basic movements.
  
  Orita Katsuko often used artwork and costumes by Maeda Tetsuhiko to set the scene in her pieces, and this was no exception. This is the first piece in which Maeda's 'dotera' [padded jacket] was used, which Orita would go on to use often.

  

  Performer(s)

  Midori Ishii and Katsuko Orita Dance Studio

  Director/Choreographer

  Katsuko Orita

  Venue

  ABC Hall

  Year performed

  1978

• Hommage a Hideyuki Yano

  Based in Paris from 1973, Hideyuki Yano had a major influence on French Nouvelle Danse with a body of work that combined dance, theatre and music. This collection contains excerpts from Yano's Work in Progress (Paris, 1981), 'Epilogue for Salome' (Paris, 1984), 'The Hawk's Well' (Paris, 1985) and 'Salome, Fable of Desire' (Besançon, France, 1985). Elsa Wolliaston and Karine Saporta make an appearance.

  

  Performer(s)

  Hideyuki Yano

  Director/Choreographer

  Hideyuki Yano

  Year performed

  1981

• Hong Kong Night Club Volvo: ART BODIC

  A special live performance of "Miracle Report" by Byakko-sha’s ART BODIC at Club Volvo, an upscale, Japanese-style nightclub in Hong Kong.
  ART BODIC was Byakko-sha's "takeout" performance group, operating alongside their main productions. It "delivered" Body and Art to a wide range of events, from weddings and birthday parties to concerts and TV commercials. The group aimed to create a "more thrilling performance spectacle" that transcended the stereotypical boundaries of butoh.

  

  Performer(s)

  Byakko-sha

  Director/Choreographer

  Isamu Osuka

  Venue

  Volvo (Hong Kong)

  Year performed

  1990

• Hope

  Pandora is tempted to open a box that should not be opened. The disasters and hopes that leap out take place in the modern world of entertainment.
  People suffer from misfortune, illness, lust, despair, jealousy and other calamities.
  But even those who have hit rock bottom always have hope at the end of the day.
  In overcoming calamity, people find hope.
  
  - Participated in the ACA National Arts Festival 1986

  

  Performer(s)

  Wakamatsu Miki & Tsuda Ikuko Free Dance Performance

  Director/Choreographer

  Miki Wakamatsu, Ikuko Tsuda

  Venue

  Yomiuri Hall

  Year performed

  1986

• Hoppo Butoh-ha Butoh Chronicles 1975-1989

  A collection of video excerpts from key Hoppo Butoh-ha performances, including 'Shiokubi' (1975), 'Gekka-no Une' (1982), 'Takazashiki' (1984) and 'Ezo-men' (1989). The recording of 'Shiokubi' is from the first day of the premiere, with Bishop Yamada performing in black paint. On the second day, under Hijikata's instruction, he performed in white paint but no footage of this remains. The 'Ezo-men' section of the film is titled 'My Heart Beat'.

  

  Performer(s)

  Hoppo Butoh-ha

  Director/Choreographer

  Bishop Yamada

  Year performed

  1975

• Hot Key

  This piece is based on the Ten Bulls, a series of 10 paintings of depicting the relationship between cows and herdsmen - a metaphor for Zen practice according to a Zen Koan from the Northern Song dynasty in China. On stage are four hoofless cows created by Man Uno. What has he gained after his hopeless struggle? Only then does he reach absolute nothingness. This masterpiece, which tackles the difficult text of Zen Buddhism head-on, has been performed in Japan, and received great acclaim in the North, Central and South American continents, as well as France.
  
  - Participated in the TOKYO DANCE SCENERY

  

  Performer(s)

  UNO-MAN

  Director/Choreographer

  Man Uno

  Venue

  TOKYO FM Hall

  Year performed

  1992

• Houge 9

  1. Must be silent. 1. Must be improvised. 1. One hour, one dance. 1. Dance in a circle of light with a diameter of 2 metres. 1. Must be surrounded by the audience. I dance under the above conditions. What is truly necessary for my dance? I began this dance with just one body, but what can I convey in this space with little light with no music?'
  
  - Participated in The Second OSAKA DANCE EXPERIENCE
  - Toru Iwashita Solo Dance Performance
  

  

  Performer(s)

  TORII HALL

  Director/Choreographer

  Toru Iwashita

  Venue

  TORII HALL

  Year performed

  1996

• The Hunchback of Aomori

  The original "The Hunchback of Aomori" was performed in 1967 as the inaugural performance of Tenjo Sajiki, an experimental theatre troupe founded by Shuji Terayama. The piece depicts the love-hate relationship between mother and child, a theme often seen in Terayama's early works, and draws from the personal conflict between Terayama and his mother.
  B-Kikan was a butoh-theatre troupe led by butoh dancer Temmetsu, active from 2016 to 2023, with the aim of fusing theatre and butoh. This work is their second performance, staged in 2017.
  
  -2021 Japan Directors Association Young Director Competition Excellence Award (Temmetsu)

  

  Performer(s)

  TEMMETSU

  Director/Choreographer

  TEMMETSU

  Venue

  Zamza Asagaya

  Year performed

  2017

• Husk

  Having collaborated with videographers for previous media works, Eiko & Koma decided to work alone in creating Husk. Koma adopted the role of cameraman to film Eiko's solo piece. Eiko & Koma used the playback function of the video camera to create choreography for body and camera as one long take. This media dance is presented with no editing done in post-production. Sound design by Eiko. Filmed in May 1987 at the Kampo Cultural Center, New York, NY. ©1987, Eiko & Koma.
  
  - Eiko & Koma's dance film series 'dance for camera'

  

  Performer(s)

  Eiko & Koma

  Director/Choreographer

  Eiko

  Venue

  Recorded at the Kampo Cultural Center

  Year performed

  1987

• Ice Cream Torch / Ceremony

  "Ice Cream Torch / Ceremony" is a new piece created as part of Yuki Kobayashi's "Life of Athletics" project, which he had been working on since 2014 in conjunction with a photography trilogy: "Ice Cream Torch / Flag", "Ice Cream Torch / Relay" and "Ice Cream Torch / Flame". This piece makes symbolic use of a wedding dress flowing down stairs connecting the ground level to the underground, and a song from the 1981 film "Chariots of Fire". Tackling the authoritative framework of sports competitions and contradictions in commercialising amateur athletes, Kobayashi considers the true meaning of “sports for peace” by questioning the sexism of misogynistic remarks by Japanese politicians.
  
  -Takao Kawaguchi Selection: Un Certain Regard
  -Tokyo Real Underground (Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13): 1 April - 15 August 2021

  

  Performer(s)

  NPO Dance Archive Network

  Director/Choreographer

  Yuki Kobayashi

  Venue

  Filmed at the former Hakubutsukan Dobutsuen Station [Museum Zoo Station]

  Year performed

  2021

• In Praise of Shadows – Beyond the Distance between Light and Darkness (Looking Between Things)

  Junichiro Tanizaki's essay “In Praise of Shadows”, published in 1933, is still translated and read around the world today as a book exploring the Japanese sense of beauty. In this work, Nobuyoshi Asai performs a solo performance exploring theme "a new body to be discovered from the darkness" by illuminating the beauty of shadows latent in the body and spirit of a Butoh dancer with the flickering flame of a candle.

  

  Performer(s)

  Nobuyuki Asai

  Director/Choreographer

  Nobuyoshi Asai

  Venue

  Dance House Kogane4422

  Year performed

  2019

• Rosa Yuki + SUB ROSA ‘In the Bosom of the Fire God’

  This performance took place during the 9th month of pregnancy, and my body was changing day to day. The real thrill of this performance was the attempt to create a work that reflected this experience. My body, in nurturing a foetus, was demanding unusual amounts of sleep, while I also planned for my performance. This work was created through the struggle of the body of a soon to be mother, and the will to carry out the performance.
  

  

  Performer(s)

  TORII HALL

  Director/Choreographer

  Rosa Yuki

  Venue

  TORII HALL

  Year performed

  1993

• Indigo Song

  This piece is performed on a stage constructed on a 200-metre slope inside a massive cavern of a former quarry, envisioned as a mountain. The work depicts the "indigo" emotions of the strange beings who are forced to retreat into the indigo-coloured mountains. Characters include Yamanba (a mountain yokai), Zatou (a blind person), Matatabimono (a traveller), and the Abandoned Women. Each character expresses the deepening of their "indigo hearts" as they live within the mountain.
  The sound of the dancers' breath and footsteps, along with the music of the band, reverberates sadly yet powerfully in the unique underground location, where the temperature remains a cool 7.8°C even in the height of summer. The Yamada Masashi troupe was also formed during the creation of this work, making it a memorable debut.
  
  -Daizu-ko Farm's Fouth Performance

  

  Performer(s)

  Butoh Orchestra Daizu-ko Farm

  Director/Choreographer

  Hoshino Rashinban

  Venue

  Oya Stone Underground Quarries

  Year performed

  1998

• Indonesia Bali Tour Documentary “Faster than the Wind”

  Documentation of Byakko-sha's tour in Indonesia in November 1982. "Himei no Mori" [The Forest of Hidden Screams] was performed in Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, and Bali. The group also collaborated with local artists in gamelan and legong dance, with music created by Yasunobu Matsuo in collaboration with local musicians.
  The video includes footage of rehearsals and performance preparations, as well as scenes featuring local people, such as young girls performing a Balinese dance. It also includes commentary by Isamu Osuka, where he discusses what it is about Asia that appeals to Byakko-sha.

  

  Performer(s)

  Byakko-sha

  Director/Choreographer

  Byakko-sha

  Venue

  Jakarta - Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM)<br />
  Bandung - Rumentang Siang Theatre<br />
  Surakarta (Solo) - Open Theatre inside Kraton Solo<br />
  Yogyakarta - S.M.K.I.-Konri<br />
  Bali - Tegas, Peliatan Art Village Open Theatre<br />
  Bali - Ubud Village (Temporary Stage)<br />
  Bali - Taman Budaya Art Center Open Theatre

  Year performed

  1982

• The Insect – From The Kingdom of Silk and Honey

  Solo by Anzu Furukawa, this is the fifth piece in her 'Anzu'ology' series. Furukawa, who believed that humans could be better understood by exploring creatures far removed from us, was fascinated by primordial life and often used a microscope she bought at a flea market in Russia. The first half of the work presents a catalogue of the insect world, while the second half uses insects as a metaphor to depict the human world. It premiered in Braunschweig in 1993, and has since been performed in various countries, including the Netherlands, Finland, and Brazil. The video is a compilation of highlights from the premiere to 1996.
  
  -Anzu’ology: Anzu's Altas of Animals V

  

  Performer(s)

  Anzu Furukawa

  Director/Choreographer

  Anzu Furukawa

  Year performed

  1993

• Invisible Forest 2019

  Dance Medium's 10th new work, a complete reimagining of "Invisible Forest" which originally premiered in 2006, with an entirely new cast. This time, three butoh dancers are joined by three physical expressionists from other disciplines, creating a new experimental approach. In a nightmare, a young man wanders into an invisible forest where mythical beasts are stirring. The work explores human consciousness and unconsciousness, reality and delusion, life and death, and the nature of truth.

  

  Performer(s)

  Dance Medium Nagaoka Yuri

  Director/Choreographer

  Yuri Nagaoka

  Venue

  theatre Tokyo-Babylon

  Year performed

  2019

• IROWA NIOEDO

  Performance group Taihen's debut piece. People with disabilities, often rejected by the world, need to find intense self-affirmation and self-assertion from the moment they wake up. They need to work to affirm their own unique way of dressing, speaking and living in their body, and to say "what's wrong with being disabled?". This should be done with the freedom of thoughts that only people with disabilities can have. Theatre is a great way for people with disabilities to express themselves physically. Involving people in this first attempt, Taihen made this dramatic debut.
  

  

  Performer(s)

  Performance Troupe TAIHEN

  Director/Choreographer

  Manri Kim

  Year performed

  1983

• Is this Gutai?

  Taiwanese artist River Lin presents "Is this Gutai?", an online performance and lecture about Gutai - a pioneering artist collective and art movement active in Japan during the post-war period - featuring works by Atsuko Tanaka, Kazuo Shiraga, Saburo Murakami and Shozo Shimamoto. It includes video documentation of "Dancing with Gutai Art Manifesto 1956" presented by C-Lab (Contemporary Culture Lab Taiwan) in 2020 as well as a conversation between Lin and TRU’s artistic director Takao Kawaguchi.
  
  -Takao Kawaguchi Selection: Un Certain Regard
  -Tokyo Real Underground (Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL Special 13): 1 April - 15 August 2021

  

  Performer(s)

  NPO Dance Archive Network

  Director/Choreographer

  River Lin

  Year performed

  2021

• Isshin (Single Mind)

  Solo by Yoshito Ohno performed at the second Kazuo Ohno festival in 2005. The work looks back over his life, giving thanks to those who have defined him and includes a scene in which he wears a hat and cape used by his father Kazuo Ohno in his signature piece "Admiring La Argentina". During the curtain call, Yoshito appears pushing Kazuo Ohno in his wheelchair to thunderous applause.
  
  Scenes:
  City Boy / Wholehearted thanks to Tatsumi Hijikata / Wholehearted thanks to Masakatsu Gunji-sensei / Wholehearted thanks to My Father / Wholehearted thanks to My Mother / Mu [Nothingness]

  

  Performer(s)

  Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio

  Director/Choreographer

  Joan Soler, Yoshito Ohno

  Venue

  Theatre Fonte

  Year performed

  2005

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