ABSTRACT
Dance comes from the most elemental part of human existence, from the intersection of bodies and minds. As circumstances and surroundings change, bodies respond and dances change. As people’s bodies react to the new conditions in which they live, new kinds of dance may emerge. One such development in dance is butō (also romanized as butoh), which sprang from the turbulence of postwar Japan but astounded the wider performance world with its achingly beautiful and raw performances. Today there are practitioners all over the world, as well as many performers (both in theater and dance) who have been influenced by butō, and this dance form has taken its place among the most important developments in performing arts in the latter half of the 20th century. This case study will trace the growth of butō as it has traveled out of Japan and into world. It will explore how butō has evolved, molded by the geopolitical pressures of contact with other cultures around the world.
