Takao Kawaguchi Selection: Un Certain Regard
Takao Kawaguchi—Minotaur Disco
Minotaur Disco(40 minutes)
BUTOH Sunakku—Aftershow (45min)
BUTOH Sunakku—World Edition - Chinese Talk (45min)
A new piece choreographed and directed by artistic director Takao Kawaguchi, performed by Butoh dancer Daisuke Yoshimoto and contemporary dancer Naoyuki Sakai. Divided by several generations, the two performers form a new dance as monsters of the labyrinth. Reminiscent of the 1960s underground film scene, filmmaker Akihiro Suzuki invites us into a world that is more than just the recording of a stage performance.
About the artists
Daisuke Yoshimoto was the stage manager for Kazuo Ohno’s Admiring La Argentina premiere (1977), and My Mother (1981), and has developed his own works as a Butoh dancer since 1981.
Naoyuki Sakai was a member of the dance company Un Yamada Co. from 2012 to 2019, and has appeared in many performances both in Japan and overseas. A contemporary dancer exploring Butoh, he has used white body paint in his solo works, and deepened his interest in Butoh through the work of Un Yamada and Teita Iwabuchi.
Artistic director Takao Kawaguchi has a close relationship with both of these non-mainstream artists, and brought them together in an attempt to discover a modern Butoh created out of the synergy of their encounter. He also makes an appearance as a dancer.
In addition, Kawaguchi has brought in Akihiro Suzuki, a filmmaker and producer who has worked on underground films for many years, to shoot and edit this piece.
About Minotaur Disco
Minotaur Disco was inspired by Kawaguchi and Yoshimoto’s experience of performing a duo by Fred Astaire. The tapping footsteps heard underground lead to the Minotaur with its bulls head, trapped in a labyrinth. The curves drawn on the floor represent both the walls of the labyrinth and Ariadne’s thread.
The dancers appear covered in white; they are layered with plaster, which dries, cracks and peels off over time. Plaster was also used by Tatsumi Hijikata in Anma (1963).
Wearing red shoes, the Minotaurs perform their steps, following the curves drawn on the floor in a fearless waltz. Suzuki’s camera captures their breath, and the texture of the peeling plaster on their skin, completing the avant-garde image of this film.
BUTOH Sunakku—World Edition - Chinese Talk
Join Zhang Zixuan (Assistant Manager of Aura gallery) and Zhang Ying (freelance interpreter / TRU Chinese translator), both speakers from Shanghai now based in Japan, who gather to share their thoughts on Butoh and discuss their impressions of Takao Kawaguchi's Minotaur Disco.
The chat will be open during this live event, so join in the discussion! The talk will be in Chinese, but feel free to join the chat in English or Japanese as well.
BUTOH SUNAKKU（世界篇） - Chinese Talk
BUTOH SUNAKKU（世界篇）是一档外语访谈节目。邀请对日本文化有着深入了解的外国友人，在充满日本风情的东京上野池之端的藤井和服店，介绍他们观看的Tokyo Real Underground的展览和演出，与大家分享舞踏的魅力。
这次我们邀请了两位中国嘉宾。一位是从小就与舞蹈结缘的资深翻译张颖，另一位是刚从美国乔治华盛顿大学艺术史专业毕业的张子萱。中文直播开始时间为北京时间5月16日19:30（日本时间20:30）。直播时，欢迎大家一同参与，在聊天窗口写下您的评论和感想（中英日均可）。
Artists
Photo by Hiroh Kikai
Daisuke Yoshimoto
Majored in performing arts at Nihon University College of Art. Began performing as a Butoh dancer in 1981 after working on Kazuo Ohno’s Admiring La Argentina and My Mother as stage manager. He founded the Butoh Company Tenku-Yoran in 2007 and continues his work energetically both in Japan and abroad. He has a particularly deep relationship with the Grotowski Institute in Wrocław, Poland, and has created opportunities for Butoh to spread its influence there.
Naoyuki Sakai
Born in 1991. Dancer and filmmaker. Completed graduate studies at Tokyo University of the Arts. A “Dance Well” instructor for people living with Parkinson’s disease. Appeared in many performances in both Japan and overseas as part of Un Yamada Co. from 2012 to 2019. His Butoh inspiration has been inherited through Un Yamada and Teita Iwabuchi. Since 2020 he has been based in Kasukabe City, planning events and creating dance videos. He continues to work both on stage and in films, and has appeared in live music performances with RADWINPS, and in music videos with Hakushi Hasegawa and Salyu, among others.
https://naoyukis330.wixsite.com/naoyukisakai330
Akihiro Suzuki
Began producing 8mm films towards the end of the 1980s. He develops unique pieces that focus on the underground and sexuality, working in film direction, production and distribution for film festivals and screenings. In 2020 he established an underground film site called “Art Saloon”, with the aim of streaming and archiving underground films. Major works he has directed include Looking for Angel (1999) and Luna Child (2009). He also planned the film festival Underground Archives (2001), among others.
Art Saloon: https://art-saloon.site/
Takao Kawaguchi
Joined the performance group Dumb Type in 1996. Began a solo career in 2000, exploring the boundaries of performance across theatre, dance, video and art. In 2008 he began a solo performance series called a perfect life, which was presented at the 5th Yebisu International Festival for Art and Alternative Visions in 2013. In recent years, he has been working on performances that are related to Butoh, including The Sick Dancer (with Tomomi Tanabe, 2012) and About Kazuo Ohno (2013). The latter was nominated for an NYC Bessie Award, and was shown at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris in 2018.
http://www.kawaguchitakao.com/
Moderator
MP Risaku Suzuki
Chie Sumiyoshi
Art producer and writer, born in Tokyo. Majored in Aesthetics and Science of Arts at Keio University. She has ben working as an art journalist since the 1990s. Previously the director of art space & bar TRAUMARIS, she now organises contemporary art and performing art events in various places. On the jury for Yokohama Dance Collection’s Competition II 2011–2016. She established Dance Hoikuen!! in 2016, and has been the director of Japanese and English bilingual culture review site Real Tokyo since 2018.
http://www.realtokyo.co.jp
Chinese Talk - Speakers
张颖｜Zhang Ying
上外日本文学硕士。1998年开始中日同传，2003年赴日。现从事口译笔译、双语主持、采访撰稿、讲师、拍摄、项目协调、PR等工作。译作《一幅画看日本》（高畑勋 著）、《依存与自立》（黑川雅之 著）等。从小与舞蹈结缘，学习古典芭蕾和民族舞蹈约10年，东亚文化之都2014横滨《青少年芭蕾周》项目协调，大野庆人先生舞踏坊口译以及表演拍摄，“TOKYO REAL UNDERGROUND”官网翻译等。
微博 ＠Ying的絶対視感
Born in Shanghai, China. Graduated with a masters in Japanese literature from Shanghai International Studies University. Began working as a simultaneous interpreter between Chinese and Japanese in 1998, and moved to Japan in 2003. She currently works in a number of roles as a freelance interpreter, translator, language instructor, bilingual moderator, coordinator, writer, photographer and in public relations. Translated the books Ichimai No E Kara [From a Single Picture] by Isao Takahata and Izon to Jiritsu [Dependence and Independence] by Masayuki Kurokawa. When she was younger, she studied ballet and Chinese folk dance for 10 years, and continues her relationship with dance through occasional work such as coordinating the East Asia Youth Ballet Week Yokohama in 2014, interpreting and taking photographs of Yoshito Ohno’s Butoh workshops, and working as the official Chinese translator for TOKYO REAL UNDERGROUND.
张子萱｜Zhang Zixuan
上海人，2021年毕业于乔治华盛顿大学艺术史和日语语言文学专业。2019年来到东京，目前在亦安画廊（aura gallery）担任主管助理，同时自主研究日本当代艺术和陶艺。https://www.aura-art.co.jp/
Born in Shanghai, China. Majored in art history and Japanese, and graduated from George Washington University in 2021. Moved to Japan in 2019, and currently works as Assistant Manager at Aura Gallery, and studies Japanese contemporary art and ceramics.https://www.aura-art.co.jp/
Credits
Performers
Daisuke Yoshimoto,
Naoyuki Sakai
Choreography & Direction
Takao Kawaguchi
Film & Edit
Akihiro Suzuki
Sound design
Hajime Takagi
Assistants
Tomomi Tanabe,
Yumi Tateishi,
Noriko Kitamura
Filming
Rokka Ando
In cooperation with
Tenku-Yoran
Stage managers
Takashi Kawachi,
Roshi (Sunagumi)
Lighting Design
Noriyuki Mori (balance,inc.DESIGN)
Film cooperation
NPO LAND FES
Photography
Tatsuhiko Nakagawa
Organisers
Tokyo Metropolitan Government,
Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Planning and Production
NPO Dance Archive Network
Special thanks to:
End Cycle Project
“End Cycle / 終の環 / Završni krug”（2017/Digital/Color /DCP/18min）
Concept & Director
Vladislav Knezević
Choreographer & Performer
Takao Kawaguchi
Vladislav Knezević (filmmaker)
Akiko Sato(plaster design)
Ayako Miyake(producer)