Trzy siostry. Fot. Marek Bielecki.
On 31 January at Na Woli Theatre (at 7.00 pm.) in Warsaw a unique performace presentation will be taking place: Thousand drops,thousand flowers, solo performed by Atsushi Takenouchi, an outstanding Japanesebutoh dancer. The performance is set to live music by Hiroko Komiya.It was inspired by the last year’s earthquake in Japan which has affected many people.The ability to translate a full spectrum of human emotions – sadness, fear, joy – into bothminimalist and incredibly engaging language of butoh dance is only given to those masterswho have reached the universal source of existence after years of individual extensiveexperiments.
Atsushi Takenouchi – follower of Japanese butoh founders – is one of them. His slim bodybecomes a communication tool: it radiates energy which infects the audience; both lightingand incredible music resembling nature’s sounds make the impression of full participationin the live picture. In the eternal dance of life and death every, even the tiniest, gesture ofthe dancer has great impact, and stillness or suspension creates an unusual state of tensionand expectation. Atsushi Takenouchi has visited Poland for several years, running butohworkshops; this time he will also present a full-length performance.
Thousand drops falling from the sky,
Mother Earth, please
embrace these drops, give birth to thousand flowers
Countless drops fall from sky.
Atsushi Takenouchi about performance:
„We are alive, thanks to our ancestors and beings loosing life around the world. We areconnected with the previous generations and the creatures we live with, as a tree with roots inthe ground and branches in the sky. If any branch breaks off, the whole tree is suffering. Yet,the tree overcomes the pain and gives birth to flowers. I want to touch these flowers, even fora moment. Drops falling from the sky, the countless drops give life to trees, they give flowers.Countless drops fall form sky. We forgot that we were one tree.That is why I want to dance, I want to remember the life that was a part of us and has beenkeeping us alive.”
Butoh appeared in Japan in the late fifties, as counterculture form of dance. Tatsumi Hijikata(1928–1986) and Kazuo Ohno (1906–2010!) were the founders of butoh. These completelydifferent personalities used different, but always inspiring or highly provocative methods toallow their followers to achieve the complete unity between body, spirit and mind. Accordingto them, in that state only you get rid of all social and cultural limits and the liberated bodybecomes a vehicle for truly universal and pure message.
The performance lasts 60 minutes.
Atsushi Takenouchi joined Hoppo-Butoh-ha in Hokkaido in 1980. His last performancewith the company Takazashiki (1984) was created by butoh-founder Tatsumi Hijikata.Atsushi started his own Jinen Butoh in 1986 and created solo works Itteki, Ginkan combining the universal picture of nature, the Earth, ancient times, impressions of themoment, meetings with people and environment. He went on a 3-year JINEN projecttour throughout Japan (600 improvisations in 1996–1999). During this time he studied withKazuo Ohno and Yoshito Ohno. Since 2002, he has been mainly in Europe, collaboratingwith dancers and actors from France, Poland, the USA and other countries. He has staged hissolos at Avignon festival, Paris Butoh festival and NY Butoh festival. At the same time, hehas also collaborated on film. A recent work in Alaska and Hawaii, Ridden by nature, anenvironmental art film, will be completed soon.
