Sankai Juku
Encyclopedia
is an internationally known butoh
dance
troupe. Co-founded by Amagatsu Ushio
in 1975, they are touring worldwide, performing and teaching. As of 2010, Sankai Juku had performed in 43 countries and visited more than 700 cities.
and Nagasaki that ended World War II
. Originally called "ankoku butoh," or "dance of darkness," the medium created a space for the intensely grotesque and perverse on the stage. Amagatsu's work exhibits the conventional tensions of butoh and envelops them in a mood of emotional stillness. “Sankai Juku” means "studio by the mountain and the sea" and implies the serenity and calm which is characteristic of the work.
Sankai Juku's dancers have, like other tipical Butoh dancers, shaved heads and bodies covered in white powder. They may be costumed, partially costumed, or almost unclothed. Rarely wearing typical “street” clothing onstage, they sometimes wear long skirt-like garments.
The all-male company’s work is performed by as few as six dancers eschewing the movements typical of modern or other dance forms. The performances are characterized by slow, mesmerizing passages, often using repetition and incorporating the whole body, sometimes focusing only on the feet or fingers. Sometimes minuscule movement or no movement is discernible and one is presented a meditative vision of statuesque postures or groupings. Occasionally recognizable emotive postures and gestures are used, notably contorted body shapes and facial expressions conveying ecstasy and perhaps more often, pain and silent “shrieks.” Frequently, ritualized formal patterns are employed, smoothly evolving or abruptly fractured into quick, sharp, seemingly disjointed sequences whose symbolism or “meanings” are obscure.
Music and sound effects are employed, often repetitiously, and range from dynamic drumming to jazz, natural sounds such as wind, sirens, etc., to electronic music and sounds so soft as to be barely perceptible - and periods of silence. Spare scenic backgrounds, delicately nuanced lighting and arresting props (in "Kinkan Shonen," a live peacock) add to the ethereal nature of their performances.
and that same year at the Avignon Festival. The company remained in Europe for four years, appearing at the Edinburgh Festival
, the Madrid International Festival and the International Cervantino Festival. In 1984 the group made North American debuts at the Toronto International Festival and the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival. They subsequently toured extensively in North America
and Canada
.
Since 1990 Sankai Juku has performed in Singapore
, Hong Kong
, Taiwan
, Korea
, Indonesia
, and Malaysia. They made a Russian and East European tour in 1998.
, one of the original members of the troupe, Yoshiuki Takada, participating in a demonstration, died in a hospital shortly after his supporting rope gave way. Sponsors said that the rigging had been successfully tested with sandbags just before the performance and that this act had been performed "hundreds of times." The troupe continued the upside down hangings, notably outside the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.
on May 12, 1986, and in their performances of "Kinkan Shonen" at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in February 2008.
in Paris, France has commissioned 13 of their productions, indicated by "TVP" below.
Among their works are:
Butoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
troupe. Co-founded by Amagatsu Ushio
Amagatsu Ushio
is a Japanese choreographer known as the leader of the internationally celebrated and innovative Butoh dance group Sankai Juku, which he founded in 1975. He is the artistic director, choreographer and a dancer of Sankai juku. He was also a co-founder of the seminal Butoh collective Dairakakudakan...
in 1975, they are touring worldwide, performing and teaching. As of 2010, Sankai Juku had performed in 43 countries and visited more than 700 cities.
Amagatsu Ushio
Amagatsu continues as the group’s director, choreographer, designer and dancer. He trained in classical as well as modern dance before he developed his own "second-generation" Butoh style. He maintains that "butoh is a dialogue with the gravity," while other dance forms tend to revel in escape from gravity. He sees his dance, in contrast, is based on "sympathizing or synchronizing" with gravity.Sankai Juku and butoh
Butoh’s source is the Japanese avant-garde of the 1960s, a period when Japan struggled with the lingering effects of the atomic bomb detonations at HiroshimaHiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Nagasaki that ended World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Originally called "ankoku butoh," or "dance of darkness," the medium created a space for the intensely grotesque and perverse on the stage. Amagatsu's work exhibits the conventional tensions of butoh and envelops them in a mood of emotional stillness. “Sankai Juku” means "studio by the mountain and the sea" and implies the serenity and calm which is characteristic of the work.
Sankai Juku's dancers have, like other tipical Butoh dancers, shaved heads and bodies covered in white powder. They may be costumed, partially costumed, or almost unclothed. Rarely wearing typical “street” clothing onstage, they sometimes wear long skirt-like garments.
The all-male company’s work is performed by as few as six dancers eschewing the movements typical of modern or other dance forms. The performances are characterized by slow, mesmerizing passages, often using repetition and incorporating the whole body, sometimes focusing only on the feet or fingers. Sometimes minuscule movement or no movement is discernible and one is presented a meditative vision of statuesque postures or groupings. Occasionally recognizable emotive postures and gestures are used, notably contorted body shapes and facial expressions conveying ecstasy and perhaps more often, pain and silent “shrieks.” Frequently, ritualized formal patterns are employed, smoothly evolving or abruptly fractured into quick, sharp, seemingly disjointed sequences whose symbolism or “meanings” are obscure.
Music and sound effects are employed, often repetitiously, and range from dynamic drumming to jazz, natural sounds such as wind, sirens, etc., to electronic music and sounds so soft as to be barely perceptible - and periods of silence. Spare scenic backgrounds, delicately nuanced lighting and arresting props (in "Kinkan Shonen," a live peacock) add to the ethereal nature of their performances.
Tours and debuts
In 1980, Sankai Juku performed for the first time in Europe, playing at the Nancy International Festival in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and that same year at the Avignon Festival. The company remained in Europe for four years, appearing at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, the Madrid International Festival and the International Cervantino Festival. In 1984 the group made North American debuts at the Toronto International Festival and the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival. They subsequently toured extensively in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Since 1990 Sankai Juku has performed in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and Malaysia. They made a Russian and East European tour in 1998.
Tragic episode
A signature motif in a work titled "Sholiba" involves a performer suspended upside down. This feat is performed outside, with the dancers suspended from the front of buildings. On September 10, 1985, in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, one of the original members of the troupe, Yoshiuki Takada, participating in a demonstration, died in a hospital shortly after his supporting rope gave way. Sponsors said that the rigging had been successfully tested with sandbags just before the performance and that this act had been performed "hundreds of times." The troupe continued the upside down hangings, notably outside the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on May 12, 1986, and in their performances of "Kinkan Shonen" at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in February 2008.
Repertoire and commissions
While keeping early works in their repertoire, the group has premiered new pieces, one almost every other year. Théâtre de la VilleThéâtre de la Ville
The Théâtre de la Ville is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris; the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet...
in Paris, France has commissioned 13 of their productions, indicated by "TVP" below.
Among their works are:
- "AMAGATSU SHO (HOMAGE TO ANCIENT DOLLS)" (1977)
- "KINKAN SHONEN" (1978)
- "SHOLIBA" (1979)
- "BAKKI" (1981)
- "JOMON SHO" - TVP (1982)
- "NETSU NO KATACHI" - TVP (1984)
- "UNETSU - The Egg stands out of Curiosity" - TVP (1986)
- "SHIJIMA - The Darkness Calms down in Space" - TVP (1988)
- "OMOTE - The Grazed Surface" - TVP (1991)
- "YURAGI - In a Space of Perpetual Motion" - TVP (1993)
- "HIYOMEKI - Within A Gentle Viblation and Agitation" - TVP (1995)
- "HIBIKI - Resonance from Far Away" - TVP (1998)
- "KAGEMI - Beyond The Metaphors of Mirrors" - TVP (2000)
- "UTSURI - Virtual Garden" - TVP (2003)
- "KINKAN SHONEN - The Kumquat Seed" (premiere 1978 / re-creation 2005)
- "TOKI - A Moment in the Weave Time" - TVP (2005)
- "UTSUSHI" (2008) a collage of from previous works
- "TOBARI - As if in an inexhaustible flux" - TVP (2008)
- "Kara・Mi - Two Flows" - TVP (2010)
Awards and recognition
- In 1982, "Kinkan Shonen" was awarded the Grand Prix of Belgrade International Theatre Festival.
- In 1982, "Kinkan Shonen" was awarded the TZ Rose at the Munich Theatre Festival.
- In February 2002, "HIBIKI" won the 26th Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
- In 2007, "TOKI" received "Grand Prix of the 6th The Asahi Performing Arts Awards" and Sankai Juku received "Kirin Special Grant for Dance."
Books and photo collections
- Photo collection "SANKAI JUKU" Photographer: Guy Delahaye, Actes Sud, 2000
- Photo collection "LUNA" diredted and choreographed by Ushio Amagatsu, feat. Sayoko Yamaguchi and Sankai juku.
- Photo collection "THE EGG STANDS OUT OF CURIOSITY" diredted and choreographed by Ushio Amagatsu