Japanese butoh set to captivate the Pallas Theater
Six dancers with their faces painted white and dressed in long, white robes move their arms like blossoming flowers. Reflections and ritual movements create a world of peace and beauty. These are the images that come to the minds of those who attended Sankai Juku’s show at the Kalamata International Dance Festival this summer. The famous Japanese butoh dance company, which visited Greece in 2008, 25 years after its performance at the Herod Atticus Theater, will stage its production «Kinkan Shonen» (Kumquat Seed) at the Pallas Theater Sunday to February 17. The production, which was first staged in 1978, explores a boy’s dream about the relationship between life and death. It was revived in 2005 after being commissioned by the Theatre de la Ville in Paris. The result revealed the new artistic direction of Ushio Amagatsu, which gave butoh dance a clearer, transparent and primordial image. For Amagatsu, butoh is the expression of body language. During the 1970s, he drew on his personal experience, while from the 80s his influences started becoming more international. «I wanted to create a small group that could explore the possibilities of expression of a few people. Ever since the company was founded, I have constantly felt the need to deal with philosophical questions such as what man is, what human nature is, but also explore the mystery of being in general. These questions still trouble me and will continue to do so. My vision has not changed in that way and never will,» Amagatsu told Kathimerini last summer. Pallas Theater, 5 Voukourestiou, tel 210.321.3100. Tickets are available on tel 210.810.8181.
