Link to Live Article on Line
What is Butoh?
Primarily Butoh is incapable of being defined...it is always emerging each moment. It is life and death and all that is in between. It is the soul as it is revealed authentically through the flesh.
That said, it is also a performing art that originated 50 years ago in Japan. Dancers Hijikata Tatsumi and Kazuo Ohno are credited as the founders of the art. It has now developed to be a performing art that is crafted, practiced and performed internationally. It is not traditionally Japanese...but certainly its source lies in Japan.
Who did you study under?
I studied for the past 16 years. My primary sensei (teacher) has been Kazuo Ohno with whom I studied, lived, performed for about 5 years in Japan.
When did you first learn of Butoh?
In 1993 I was searching for something to help with my disillusionment as a performer. I had been in--and quit-- an exclusive MFA broadway track acting conservatory program/scholarship and "dropped our" for a time when I saw a woman with an interesting T-shirt next to me in line at a music festival in Seattle. The woman turned out to be my first butoh teacher, Joan Laage, and the T-shirt picture was of her Japanese butoh teacher, Yoko Ashikawa.
How did you decide Butoh is the dance for you? What other dance forms do you practice?
Butoh just feels right in my body and soul. Ever since I met butoh, there has been no other life-art-dance practice that I never tire of and always am inspired and challenged by. It is like a soul mate for me and my body.
Apart from butoh, mostly I have enjoyed all kinds of improvisational dance like Contact Improvisation, Contemplative Dance Practice & Authentic Movement.
Since discovering butoh and my first trip to Japan in 1994, I worked extensively with Noh Theater and the dance/movement that is related to it as well as Nihon Buyo, Kabuki and Bejing Opera. My MFA is in Asian Performance and Directing from University of Hawaii.
I have also practiced many set forms of dance including modern, contemporary, ballet, tap, jazz, ethnic forms like west African, hula, belly dance, Korean dance, folk and contra dance, etc. as well as social dances like tango, salsa and swing. Enjoyment of many, mastery of none.
What does Butoh enable you to do that you wouldn’t do otherwise?
Probably nothing in itself....however my butoh teachers, especially Kazuo Ohno have enabled me to open my heart, body, mind and soul in ways I am sure I never could have without their inspiration and guidance. Simply living and studying in Japan for the time that I did allowed me a perspective on myself, my creativity and my conditioning from growing up in the USA that I believe I could not have seen or known had I not gone. The completely different perspective, culture and landscape woke me up and opened gateways of my creativity, strength and skill that were inaccessible otherwise.
How is Butoh a fitting dance for America?
It is fitting for any country, any human...it is profoundly human and in its depth and authenticity can emerge as a very fitting practice in any location or culture.
I do suggest that anyone who has not been to Japan and is practicing butoh elsewhere would benefit greatly by a good visit to its source. Each time I go to Japan my dance and life are deeply fulfilled and enriched by something about the source of butoh that it is impossible to experience elsewhere.
How does Butoh compare to other dance forms?
It is not a form. Other dance forms are form based. Butoh is body, life, soul, earth based and not defined by any particular form. It is a practice, an art, a way of life. It is not a technique or a set of moves or style or steps that can be mastered.
About how many people are involved in Butoh? What cities have large Butoh communities?
I have tried to figure this out too, it is hard to say. This is why I started the participatory international butoh network on line (http://butohdance.ning.com) I really wish more were involved. I’m hopeful about this and it is certainly growing as a practice with more people becoming enthusiastic and participating as practitioners and audience.
As far as I know the largest butoh communities (more than 1000 people involved) that I know of are in NYC, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo/Yokohama and Berlin.
Significant and Smaller ones (less than 1000) are in Portland, Kyoto/Osaka, Vancouver BC, Chicago, Madrid, London, Boulder, Barcelona, Brussels, Bologna
There are enthusiasts and practitioners all over the globe....I’m sure I am forgetting an important city as I write this quickly at the moment--so sorry if it is yours!
If you join the international butoh site I founded at http://butohdance.ning.com
there are 400 members from all over the world and you can connect with all of them directly. It is a great resource for the butoh community. When I travel I contact the people where I am headed and we have immediate rapport.
When you look at these (http://dailydance.net )recordings, what is lost in the transfer to digital media?
One thing would be the "trapping" of a moment...when we see something live our memories can recreate it in all kinds of ways that may or may not be anything like the original work.
I’m not so sure what the difference of digital or analog would be but ANY kind of recording tends to loose much of the living breath, the environmental context, the invisible emotional and energetic atmosphere....sometimes I am lucky and these things still magically come through..
What is improved by having your performance recorded?
Certainly one thing that is better is how many witnesses are able to partake of a bit of the performance at any given moment. With the film it is possible to dance anywhere at any time I get an impulse or inspiration and make the offering to a wider circle for as long as we have internet. Dance is naturally a disappearing art...film is not. Also, in live performance situations you need to publicize, call the audience together to a specific place. This takes a great deal of energy.
Some other things that can be enhanced through video & film are the framing, the focus, the crafting of the raw material into an offering of art that can be repeatedly shared (even packaged and sold as a means to support myself--which I have yet to do someday). Also, in my case there is usually not music or a soundtrack that I can manipulate in the moment of the dance. The digital editing process allows this.
Another great part of filming is that it makes me accountable for my agreement to do this every day...some days if it were not for knowing that someone will notice if I missed a day, I would probably let it slide.
What motions do you most often repeat? Or is repetition something you endeavor to avoid?
Since it is not really about "motions" per se I would have to go back and take a look to see what I did the most. In butoh I do tend toward simplicity in body movements so the feelings can emerge...standing, walking, turning, sinking and rising, rolling...jumping....not lots of "fancy moves" for sure. The Noh master Zeami wrote: "Feel 10 and show 7." Generally in butoh less movement is more effective.
That said, in some daily dance situations my "dancerly" self and training naturally arise out of the moment...I’m "moved" by the music in some way that is more "dancey" and less "butoh."
In Noh dance, certain motions or combinations of movements have specific meaning. How does Butoh compare to a rigid, defined dance form such as Noh?
It is not "readable" like that where a certain move has a certain meaning, like in Hula or Noh. Far more important is the feeling that the dancer and witnesses are experiencing.
In a dance, do you hope to translate some meaning or particular interpretation to viewers?
Not exactly. It is not about expressing anything or telling anything in particular. However, inside me there is a particular intention, focus of attention, image, feeling, experience or even a story that is unfolding. I am far more concerned with being true to that and not with whether the audience "understands." I am always curious though about what they do feel, remember and "get" from any given performance that I offer.
How do you prepare for a performance?
The most important preparation is the process of practicing butoh daily for many years--as my spiritual practice and means of growth as a human being. There are many many butoh exercises for the body, mind and heart that I practice regularly. These have come from my various teachers or been created by me and are what I now teach in group and private lessons.
When it comes to a particular piece or work that I am crafting, I begin with something that inspires my heart, emotions and soul very deeply and particularly and something I am curious about but not sure about. An example would be my enthusiasm about the ocean as the mother of all life. The process of making performance is one of revelation and discovery always unfolding in surprising ways.
I play freely with an image, body sensation, emotion or other being/object and then movement patterns emerge spontaneously. Usually the technical elements like staging, costume, sound, lights, props, etc. come toward the end of the process. They grow naturally out of the feelings and images.
I never start with a "look" I am looking for. I used to do that.
For the daily dances I am going through my daily life and something suddenly strikes me as moving and I pop out my camera and hand it to somebody or set it on the tripod and go for it right there.
My teacher Kazuo Ohno is known for the coaching: "Not thinking, only soul." and, although that is very difficult for any performer, I keep doing my best to prepare in that way.
Who assists you in video recording?
Whoever I can hoodwink into it at the moment. Some folks are much better at it than others and I’m lucky when I get them to it.
What kind of camera are you using?
I love my Flip Mino. We have a relationship now and Flip is my friend. It is so convenient and effective for the daily dance practice in particular. If anyone is wanting to begin his/her own daily butoh dance practice then the small investment for this particular camera is well worth it because of the time and hassle it saves.
How do you choreograph?
As I mentioned, the choreography arises spontaneously out of the feelings, images that I am most curious about and inspired by. It is also informed by the butoh training exercises that I have learned from my teachers and developed on my own.
In butoh it is very common to choreograph from an image or sensation experience held inside. For example, dance a flower in its 3 stages: first day the bud, second day the full blossom, third day the final bloom before passing. This is an image from Yoshito Ohno that we often repeat in his workshops. There are countless poetic images like this one that are used again and again to inspire choreography.
How do you decide and execute considerations such as lighting and location?
Again, these blossom naturally out of the core image of the piece....they become ways to enhance that and bring the butoh performer into resonance with the core.
Is Butoh spiritual?
For me it is. For my teacher Kazuo Ohno as well. It depends how you experience and define spirituality. My spiritual life and practice is very much about embodiment and the material world as well as spiritual development that is inherent in living the paradoxes of being human and having bodies (physical, emotional, psychic, energetic, cosmic, etc). I also feel the process of making butoh performances can be a kind of ritualistic initiation.
What role does nature play in your performances?
Most of the strongest, most inspiring images for the work are nature based--not human made. The natural environment and all of its myriad beings is fantastic as a classroom as well. We are surrounded by teachers everywhere. Every element of nature is a butoh teacher! It is amazing!
Is Butoh a special message that is enjoyed by only a few people?
I hope not. I think practicing and witnessing butoh can benefit anyone. There are some butoh performers who cultivate a style or enigmatic cult like feeling but I totally do not agree with this or practice it. My motto is that butoh is a practice and dance for every PLACE, every DAY with every BODY. That said, to truly make butoh practice and performance your PRIMARY life path is a huge commitment and not for everyone.
You travel around the world and perform many dance forms. I imagine some places, like Japan, are more receptive to spontaneous public dance. Is this true?
Travel is very special because it enhances the reality that each moment is very precious and life is very short. Kazuo Ohno said, "You are carrying a precious lantern given to you by your ancestors. What are you going to do with it?"
Japan was not more receptive--well, it actually is not as much about the receptivity of the place or people as it is about my own sense of confidence and freedom. Actually it was much more difficult for me to feel free to dance spontaneously in Japan than in the states where I am more familiar and somehow feel I have less at stake. In Japan they "get" butoh more--there is much more sensitivity in the people to what is happening, especially in public. Thus I feel a need to be far more sensitive. I can never just "call it in" or be "off the cuff." Each dance has more of a meaningful weight to it....the time there is more precious because it is short and rare for me. Of course this is not really "TRUE" but it is how I feel when I am there. I did have one painful experience where someone I care for deeply was upset by one of my dances and it was much harder to repair any hurt feelings when my Japanese language abilities are limited.
Do you see a correlation between public appreciation of dance and funding of arts projects?
Hmmm? I’m not sure about this. I wish that was true but I feel that there are so many people who appreciate what I do but are not conditioned in this society--that does not see art as a valuable exchange like medicine or carpentry--to financially support what feeds their souls. I still have trouble making ends meet like most of my fellow artists--more than my friends in other professions.
Could video techniques (rapid disjointed cuts and aggressive editing, for instance) be used to broaden the expression to appeal to a wider audience?
Yes, but this is only because the conditioning of advertising and pushing certain stimulating buttons emotionally and sensually is so deeply imbedded in us from youth.
One of the technical interventions recently has been in CGI and the use of joint points on animation programs. This has been discussed by some as a way of accurately retaining the choreography of ballet, Balanchine and other dance forms. Butoh and related expressive movement performances come from inner sources and psychological conflict, do you see video as an instructive recording process? Or does recording dance make dilution of the original intent? If recording dance dissolves the original importance, does the recording lead to unfelt imitation by amateurs/others?
It can lead to those kinds of unfelt imitations, yes. That is unfortunate and due to lack of education I believe. This is part of the reason I become a kind of butoh "crusader" sometimes. Id rather be the one to introduce someone to butoh because then they will at least be viewing it with some knowledge of its intent. In the case of the daily butoh dances I usually write a short explanation of the intention and inspiration of the dance. Our primary cultural conditioning is to see the surface of things, to deaden rather than deepen our feelings, to have quick answers, easy fixes and adrenaline rushes. In many witnesses this takes over and the deeper meaning is lost.
All this said, it is not a reason to stop filming or sharing the work this way. It is just one of the ways to share though. I feel the fact that more people are becoming aware of butoh and the connections between dance and daily life is a great thing and worth any tradeoff that might come in the sharing of it in this limited form of media.
What expectations do you have for your videos? (Or, if you don’t like the word “expectations”, what do you hope comes of your Daily Butoh videos?)
yeah, I have little or no expectations and many hopes....
I hope they educate about butoh as an art and life practice, inspire people to feel more, connect more, share more, dance freely and separate less between dance and daily life. I also hope to be more known as a butoh dance performer and mentor and get more opportunities for that type of work.
Many dance forms seem to have a short career span, unless one can branch into choreography, teaching and behind-stage work. Butoh is a form that has space for older performers, have you reflected on this?
Absolutely yes!
Maturity is very essential in butoh...unlike many of the other "forms" of dance that are about the shape and technique and prowess of the physique. The soul and its ability to express in a refined and sensitive way that moves others deeply is something that is more like wine....just getting better with age. This is great as far as I’m concerned.
Noh master Zeami wrote: "The essentials of our art lie in the spirit."
The music accompanying most Butoh group performances is generally 'experimental', music that sets an industrial psychic mood. You often use classical and lighter sound effects in your daily performances. What is the range of 'music' that you would consider? Does the music come first or later? Which influences the action and the mood?
I consider a full range of all possible sound accompaniment--whatever it is though, it must "move" me in some way. I want to care about it...not have it be incidental or just fill the space randomly (unless that is the specific essence I am working with of course). My music choices are mostly inspired by my experience with the Ohnos and their music and way of integrating it with workshops and performances. They use the same kind of music that I do--chosen very specifically for each piece to enhance the meaning and atmosphere for the artist and audience. Rarely will they use the "typical butoh music" for anything. I know that there is a "style" of music that is considered to be "butoh-ish." I think that style works for many people because it is intense but non-specific in timing and essence so it allows the dancers and witnesses to freely interpret the performance and the connections between dance and sound--it is like a live energy field to draw general juice from for action.
When I craft works, usually the image and the dance come first and then the music (if used) is chosen to enhance that mood/essence. It is a question of what specifically resonates with my soul, my body and the essence of the piece.
With the daily dances there is also the simple technical fact of making rapid choices from the music I have in my collection that most closely match the timing and essence of the dance and film as I have edited it. I need to spend no more than an hour each day on these...often I go over that and the rest of my work that day falls by the wayside. It is a delicate balance to keep day to day.
Butoh and related expressive media often is deadly serious. Much of your Daily Butoh is light and diverting and amusing, yet poignant, almost Chaplinesque. Is this nature or nurture for you personally?
I think it is both. It is my inborn soulful essence and also one common way I have of coping with life's pain and intensity--through humor, lightness, gratitude, wonder, amazement, childlike play and the like. Others cope by getting super serious and dramatic, even gothic about suffering, obsessions and such.
Do you take humor seriously and spend time thinking up vignettes, or is the humor and light touch just what comes out of you in every movement and moment?
I never think up the humorous stuff in the daily dances before hand...it just spontaneously "pops out" that way in the moment. However, I am also an actor and director of theater. So crafting humorous "bits" is not totally foreign to me although it is not my strongest suit. For a change, this week my good friend Anna Dixon and I wrote our first collaborative song and dance number about our mutual friend Jason Webley and his upcoming eleventh anniversary as a singer, songwriter, performer guy. We will be performing it at his concert in Seattle on Friday July 3---there's supposed to be about 1000 people there. I hope it will be humorous for them as it has been for us as while we have been practicing it all before hand.
What is entailed in a Butoh workshop?
A series of practices to hone, enhance and expand one's butoh practice (or any dance, creative or spiritual practice) and performances. These engage all levels of being: physical, emotional, imagination, energetic, perceptive, creative and community interactions. The intention is to get a tool kit of sorts for ones butoh and life practices.
Can you give us a mini-lesson in how to incorporate Butoh in our lives?
Here's an exercise to try...let me know how it was for you (info at maureenfreehill.net).
When you see something--especially in nature-- that is particularly moving, inspiring, striking to you in some way....stop, become still, breathe deeply and gaze with innocent perception upon it. Take a moment to exchange presence and energy with that other being. Imagine you are seeing and being seen by it simultaneously. Then, absorb its essence and feel what it is like to reflect and reveal that other through your flesh and body. If you could dance for and with it, what sort of dance would be most pleasing. Allow yourself to be true, feel deeply and dance freely, Close with a grateful dedication of the energy exchanged.
The Butoh group Danse Perdue (Alex Ruhe and Vanessa Skantze) is quite severe and an example of how some Butoh is almost unbearably sinister. You have quite another interpretation. What ways can Butoh be expanded?
Infinitely--- butoh can be expanded infinitely. It is only essential that it remain true to ones unique, authentic and essential body and soul and not be about showing a style or technique or anything for that matter. This is quite tricky. I am not really at all as interested in making a "good show" with butoh as I am with evoking deep feeling and transformation in all the witness participants at a performance--myself included. Personally I seem to prefer to invoke feelings of expansion, light, grace, gratitude, humor, reverence, beauty, peace, vulnerability, connection, inspiration, play and the like. This does not mean I will not and have not had my own "sinister" performances...I actually embodied Ereshkigal, the Sumerian Goddess Queen of the Underworld, not so long ago and it was one of the most profound and effective performances I have ever done....albeit very painful and difficult to integrate into my daily life.
Does Butoh have limits of expression?
Not sure I understand this question.
What do you think the intentions of Butoh should be?
I guess I have a "should" feeling about this in a way---certainly personal preferences and intentions for:
--Transformation, awakening and expanding consciousness.
--Creating and sharing connection and beauty among humans and all beings.
--Profound human feeling and experience.
--Exploring beyond the usual bounds and experiences of social conditioning and the known.
--Revealing the unseen.
--Revelation of the soul through the flesh.
--Honoring and connecting with ancestors and descendents...
--Blossoming my true and unique flower....and offering it freely and generously.
There are more too...these are the basics.
Butoh moves into the public, and is an unusual artform in that aspect. It is not traditional street busking, but a fleeting, passing episode. There is a public versus private aspect of the performance: formal stagecraft against public vignettes and interludes. Some of these public Butoh presentations are so moving in the context - shifting the spectator out of the ordinariness of the everyday. Can you speak to how a dancer such as your self can walk into a situation and shift the reality to make any passersby connect and view or feel life in a different way? How do people react when you begin Butoh in their perceived space?
There are so many ways people react. I have experienced a vast range... the most common is pretending I do not exist, next most common is curiosity and delight.
Have you ever gotten in trouble for a public performance?
Well, on the WA state ferry one time they called in on walkie talkies to take care of the crazy lady dancing with her luggage...I was complete before they could "get me" though. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqb5y4Oza1Y
One veteran wrote to say he felt my dancing in the Veteran's graveyard on Memorial Day was disrespectful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT8qT804hk8
I replied that it was the best way I knew to pay my respects and offer my gratitude.
Also, I did get scolded by an official looking guy who was lowering a Japanese flag in Shinjuku, Tokyo when I danced in a public square there. You can see that at the end of the Shinjuku Wind 6/15 dance. I also got in a bit of trouble dancing freely in a private situation one time. It is not too common--usually I am ignored.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IlZR8XdBV8
How do you feel about using Butoh to express a political belief?
I'm not so into USING butoh for anything myself...yet all art is political really. I certainly feel mine is....simply by the nature of acting freely in public.
What changes when you join a group for a collaborative performance? How is it organized, choreographed, rehearsed?
There are many different ways to.
Unfortunately, I do not have time to go into that in detail here and now. If anyone is curious about this or any of the short answers I had to give because of time pressure, please contact me with further inquiries at the address listed at the end.
How do you compare what you do to other dance experiences such as the background hip hop derived dancing of most music videos?
It is coming from a totally different source, for a totally different intention. If my dances stimulate or entertain it is a by-product. The hip hop type dances have that as their primary intent I believe.
What emotions, stories and/or ideas do you hope to express through dance?
Love, compassion, awakening, confidence, playfulness, freedom, paradox, balance, transformation, surrender, vulnerability, connection, ecstasy, preciousness of life, beauty, silence, peace, truth, infinite space...and oh, so much more.
Tell us about "Rice Planting": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1IF4RUj85s.
Butoh performer Tanaka Min started an organic farm in Hakshu Japan where he and the members combines farming and butoh practices. It is commonly referred to as "Body Weather Farm." He invites gatherings, convenes workshops and performances that unite the agricultural connection with the earth as it relates to the human body and flesh. He has directed the building of a number of beautiful outdoor stages on the land and there are performances and residential workshops there regularly. This year he began a cycle of 4 events, each one focused on one of four elements. This rice planting event/dance was part of the first of the series...called SOIL. The next three will concern AIR, WATER and FIRE. It was a such a special experience to plant rice with the community. It was very early in the morning after a stunning butoh ritual and Taiko performance by Min and two drummers in the field we were about to plant. (I was requested not to film that part). There are very few people who still plant rice by hand, or even know how. There were town elders with us to teach us that morning. This is just a few precious minutes of hours of amazing footage from this 3 day event. I intend to return in October for the WATER event as well.
How can we contact you and learn more about Butoh and your work?
Well, so glad you asked! Thank you for the interview...it really helped me reflect too.
I love to be in touch with people about butoh--it is one of my greatest life joys and purposes.
Links: BLOG with articles by MoMo about Butoh Dance and Mastery in Performing Arts and Life--INCLUDING CURRENT PERFORMANCE AND TEACHING EVENTS WITH MoMo: http://lifeartmastery.com
THE DAILY DANCE CHANNEL: http://dailydance.net
THE LIVESTREAM DailyDanceTV streaming and on-demand film archive: http://www.livestream.com/dailydancetv
About MAUREEN momo FREEHILL, MFA: http://maureenfreehill.net
About the art and history of BUTOH: http://maureenfreehill.net/butoh.html
Participatory network for BUTOH practice, enthusiasm and curiosity: http://butohdance.ning.com
About BUTOH founders KAZUO AND YOSHITO OHNO: http://kazuoohnodancestudio.com
photo "Janavieve's Stump" by tim lacey
Watch "Bhodisattva on the Ferry" video NOW.
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