A History of Butô

Butô is often credited as one of the most innovative forms of dance and theater to emerge in the 20th century. In A History of Butô, I offer a new account of this crucial and influential performance art. Tracing the performances and techniques of ten of the most important names in the first and second generation of butô, including Hijikata Tatsumi, Maro Akaji, Carlotta Ikeda, and Kobayashi Saga, as well as following its migration abroad to France and elsewhere, A History of Butô puts on display the creativity of the founders as well as the variety of directions taken by subsequent dancers. In addition, this book places these choreographer/dancers at the center of many of the most important issues of our time, demonstrating the importance and relevance of their reflections about ecology, the relationship between humans, technology and new media, and the status of gender and ethnicity in Japan, Europe, and the world.

A History of Butô, Oxford University Press, 2022.

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