Backdrop image for movie Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis (1990)

"Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis" is a visually striking film portrait shot on location in Japan with the participation of the major Butoh choreographers and their companies. Although Butoh is often viewed as Japan's equivalent of modern dance, in actuality it has little to do with the rational principles of modernism. Butoh is a theater of improvisation which places the personal experiences of the dancer on center-stage. By reestablishing the ancient Japanese connection of dance, music, and masks, and by recalling the Buddhist death dances of rural Japan, Butoh incorporates much traditional theater. At the same time, it is a movement of resistance against the abandonment of traditional culture to a highly organized consumer-oriented society.

  • Documentary

Top billed cast

  • Photo of Yoko AshikawaYoko AshikawaHerself - Interviewee
  • Photo of Akiko MotofujiAkiko MotofujiHerself - Interviewee
  • Photo of Nario GodaNario GodaHimself
  • Photo of Tatsumi HijikataTatsumi HijikataHimself
  • Photo of Yukio WaguriYukio WaguriHimself
  • Photo of Akaji MaroAkaji MaroHimself
  • Photo of Natsu NakajimaNatsu NakajimaHerself
  • Photo of Sanae HirutaSanae HirutaHerself
  • Photo of Kazuo OhnoKazuo OhnoHimself
  • Photo of Min TanakaMin TanakaHimself

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