ABSTRACT
The following physiovocal exercises demonstrated in this chapter take the participant on a journey through solo and group image-based work predominantly inspired by Butoh. Some elements of Butoh are largely based around the continuum of internal and external abstract or concrete imagery. An internal image can be inspired from external sources such as a picture, painting, symbol, or any object. The performer experiences an external object and performs the essence of it by touching, smelling, and moving around it. They subsequently form their own choreography based on the essence of that object in the immediate space. The transference from external to internal occurs when the performer personalises and interprets the essence of the image through body and in our instance voice: the external influence manifesting itself through the body, which is released through physical and vocal action. The most influential in terms of our research is Hijikata’s Butoh-Fu (or Butoh score) practice, which he used extensively in his choreography. This way, Hijikata used words to unlock something from within his dancers. The image, however, can be drawn from more than just visual sources.
