Sand and Vision
Conceived from avant-garde perspectives and a nation’s post-atomic-bomb despair, the expressive and sometimes grotesque “dance of darkness,” known as butoh, has achieved worldwide popularity since its inception in postwar Japan. That is significantly due to the touring appearances of second-generation butoh choreographer Ushio Amagatsu and his 40-year-old company,
Sankai Juku. Amagatsu views butoh as an art in which the body operates in tandem with gravity, and Sankai Juku performances are serene, poetic, emotive, and highly original. The company, one of Japan’s premier butoh troupes, is currently presenting
Umusuna —
Memories Before History, its ambitious 2012 envisioning of the creation of the earth. In it, male dancers, with shaved heads, skirt-like costumes, and a primal look, crawl, twist, and otherwise suggest the emergence and evolution of life. Sand, lots of it, poured from an hourglass onto the stage, represents the passage of time. The company hasn’t performed in San Francisco since 2010, and this visit looks to be a treat for dance lovers of all stripes.
— Anita Katz
415-495-6360
