The Japanese ‘Butoh’: Insights into the soul / Ayala Museum symposium

What is Butoh? The program notes state: "Butoh is a contemporary avant-garde dance form which originated in Japan and which was first performed there in 1959 by Tasumi Hijikata. This was considered the birth of Butoh – a radical answer to western concepts of dance, a defiant reflection of the body about the body.

"It combines dance, theater, improvisation and influences of Japanese traditional performing arts with German Expressionist dance (Neue Tanz) and performance art to create a unique performing art form that is both controversial and universal in its expression. With Butoh, a completely new language of dance was formed: the naked body covered with white makeup, twisted feet and bodies, cross-eyed grimaces, eyes nearly popping out of the head – conveying the endless fight between the immortal soul and the mortal body."

What follows is as accurate a description as I can make of ‘Butoh’ as seen at the CCP basement theater: Ko Murobushi, in shirt and trousers, stood perfectly still at the rear of the low, square platform. He then started to move his arms slowly, very very slowly, changing their position only after every minute or so.

The languorous pace compelled attention, leaving the viewers perplexed as to what he would do next. He began moving his torso, contorting it this way and that in agonizingly slow motion, then striking a pose, he would keep this static.

Shortly thereafter, Ko walked to the right of the stage where some wooden planks stood. He loosened one of them, and this fell with a great thud. He loosened another, creating the same noise. Whirring sounds now started to fill the room.

Approaching center stage in his usual languorous manner, Ko abruptly threw himself to the ground, face up, then beat his legs against the floor vigorously. He would pause, then thrash his legs, repeating the sequence again and again.

He continued lying on the floor while he shed off his clothes, leaving only his loins covered. In this nearly naked state, he twisted and contorted his body as though in pain, crawled and crouched, fell again, face up, trashing his legs.

All this while, Ko seemed like a tortured soul, moving in anguish, a soul tormented by guilt. It thus became increasingly obvious that his performance was "a defiant reflection of the body about the body." Even more, it seemed to convey, indeed, "the endless fight between the immortal soul and the mortal body."

In the second half of "Butoh", the pace remained agonizingly slow, the movements even more intense. Ko crouched his way toward a mound of sand, buried his face in it, dug his nails into the floor, gathered a fistful of sand and scattered it in his path. He threw himself on the floor with even greater force, his legs violently pounding the floor. His grunts and groans grew into screams, and the accompanying auditory noises were those of a deafening cyclone or tornado. The only non-abrasive sounds came briefly from a piano.

‘Butoh’ might be regarded as the Japanese modern dance which is perpetually in transition as it keeps evolving and absorbing new influences. Completely unfettered, unstructured and individualistic, it is far removed from the modern dance of the West which continues to betray vestiges of ballet. For instance, Ko points his toes inward, not outward as in ballet.

To be candid, watching Ko was disturbing, depressing and distressing but the performance, titled "Edge/Manila", with its weird and grotesque posturing, made for an extraordinary experience. Here was a man who unleashed tremendous energy, who created considerable tension, impact and excitement while revealing insights into the turbulence and turmoil of the human soul.

Ko was presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila, headed by Ben Suzuki, jointly with the CCP.

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The invitation to the Ayala Museum’s International Symposium was sent to The STAR office rather than to my residence thus preventing me from attending the activities relating to the symposium, "Manila, World Entrepot: 16th to 19th Century Exchange of Objects between Asia, Europe and the Americas."

Yesterday, Ayala Museum co-curator Ramon Villegas lectured on "Power plus Faith plus Image: Philippine Art in ivory from the 16th to the 19th Century". Opening remarks were given by AM Director Dr. Florina P. Capistrano Baker and Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Vice-chairman, Ayala Corporation, Dr. Benito Legarda Jr., historian, and Dr. Edward J. Sulivan, dean of Humanities, NY U., gave plenary addresses.

Today, Dr. Fernando N. Zialcita, director, Ateneo’s Cultural Heritage Program, will lecture on "Material and Linguistic Linkages between Latin America and RP", Fr. Rene B. Javellana, SJ, Ateneo’s Fine Arts Program director, on "Artistic and Cultural Exchange between the Jesuit Missions in Asia and the Americas", Regalado Trota Jose of the UST on "Philippine Art in Ivory from the 16th to the 19th Century", Johanna Hecht, associate curator, NY Metropolitan Museum of Art, on "Philippine Ivories at the Met Museum of Art: Emblems of Interaction", Esperanza Gatbonton, author, "A Heritage of Saints: Colonial Santos" on "Collecting Spanish Colonial Art in the Philippines"; Dr. Margarita Estella Marcos, author, "La Escultura Barroca de Marfil on España", on "Dated Philippine Ivories in Spain".

Dr. Baker, NCCA chairman Ambeth Ocampo and National Museum Director Corazon Alvina will each give a response.

On Sunday, Clayton C. Kirking, Art Information Resources chief, NY Public Library, Rachel Lapkin, collections conservator of Chicago’s Newberry Library, Graeme Scott, head of conservation, National Museum of Ethnology, Netherlands, and AM’s Kenneth C. Esguerra will discuss conservation.