Japanese dance created ‘in mirror of mind’

Press, 23 March 1988, Page 21

Japanese dance created ‘in mirror of mind’

The founder; of: Sankai Juku dance, Ushio Ama-, gatsu, says that his form' is about life. The Japanese butoii dancer sees dance as the highest level of human movement. The instinct: that allows human beings to lie down; sit up and walk also allows them to dance, he says. ( His choreography, is in-' stinctive. He creates not as Western choreogra-! phers, ! “in front ; lof a mirror," but ' “ini the! mirror of my mind?’ Butoh dancing made itd New Zealand debuf jat the! International Festival o( . the Arts in Wellington last week. . ‘ I' ■ ■;), | Amagatsu’s IworkUis a bringing of ( the "silbconj' scious into the conscious) and concentrating it.” I He says he cannot de,liberately : corhposeL Rather, he has to absorb ideas, events and life in general, let his mind ( digest them, and wait' for them to pop up from his subconscious sonietime later as a dance.) “The body is a filter of human experience.” ' | |: Amagatsu acknowledges that his dance is difficult to understand. It puzzles even the dancers :at first, he. says. The group performs with shaved heads, white body-paint and littlp clothing. "We want to make it as simple; as possible; to present' the human experience.” . ) Sankai Juku — the studio of mountains and seas — grew from a

, . JJ ' ' workshop Amagatsu held 13 years ago. : i [, . ~ jAmagatsu, a; convert from Western ballet and modern dance, was searching for a! "purer” . He was i not in-, tetrested in the traditional Japanese kabuki and noh. i)tjf the . 30 (men and - women who began the Slow and intensive train-, ling)to nurture a collective (subconscious, only three lasted the first'year. J! They became the founof Sankai( Juku, a troupe of four (members. Amagatsu says he wants tq (stick to tlie present membership. He is not. ! “an!ti-women.” | (, Womenare invited to , workshops (rim by the gro’up but are - not ' invited- to I become I members. -| h ( He agrees that butoh is (a) (specifically; Japanese form-, but believes there is enough of the universal human experience in it to draw . a response from other audiences. 11.- i ' i , i J|e acknowledges the plape of the ! traditional ( forms of kabuki-and noh I in idling a story. But, he! | shys, butoh and Sankai | J-uk|U are outside that! i ! ■ I I I ■ I' I In 13 years Sankai Juku; ; has- produced seven ( (works.' That i performed for j the Wellington audi-; ' (enejes was "Kimkan Sho-i men," a young boy’s dredm, told in seven episodes. .'’/!( | ;! ; i It aims not: to tell 'any particular story' but to raise consciousness, : the ■Sankai Jukii trademark. (