The Song Behind the Dance

“Verbally symbolic language not only names experience, it creates the possibility of experiencing one’s life in a qualitatively different way [than that of a bird, for example]. One is able to have such experiences as reflecting on a choice one has made, regretting what one has said, not knowing why that never came to mind[…]; one is able to think of oneself thinking, one is alive to levels of meaning, range of emotion, complexity of feeling, and forms of experiencing not previously attainable [for an infant]. Acquisition of language creates a new way of experiencing, a new way of coming into being, and a new way of being alive.”

In Kazuo Ohno’s World, Yoshito Ohno writes that his father—one of butoh creators—stimulated his own “imagination by reading poetry and haiku, studying paintings, and other visual artists’ work during the long gestation period required in his creative process.” He also constantly wrote and erased notes, sketches, and impressions that allowed him to discover a “new world.”

Mind and body then dance together. But how? This workshop explores what it means to be alive in language as butoh dancers. It also reflects on the importance of language as something that nourishes the soul and fuels creative power. We will read, write, reflect and, of course, dance a lot in order to discover new inner worlds that can bloom in space.

‍