Syllabus – ワークショップ紹介 –
KATSURA KAN
Butoh Workshop in
In every day life, “mysterious behavior” is hidden. We improve our skills of “observation” to harvest on the stage. Kan is a butoh dancer who works both in and outside Japan. Kan will share his ideas about how to discover and develop interesting choreography from his over 34 years experiences.
1.Introduction
Led by Katsura Kan, the Butoh workshop explores the idea of “curious body” through the Group Observation of daily life which is the key to understanding the main stream of Butoh as a movement ideas. Kan will guide participants the new cognitive approach of body with “Observation” through the practical method of Kan’s Butoh Notation. Participants will be instructed how to “awake the noise” “focus on the other side of one’s reality” through his experiences of the significant elements of Butoh. The workshop is suitable for everyone with and without previous Butoh experience.
2. Workshop content/
Butoh workshop syllabi
Build up the basic body movement in Kan’s vocabulary.
The name pf topic and short explanation.
- 1) “Martial arts” as a sense for the speed and timing with irregular beat to create the body percussion movement.
- 2) “Messenger Work” communication design between body and space.
- 3) “Wind work” essential practice about the atmosphere which you’ve created around you.
- 4) “Rhythm composition” voice and sound with movement, reaching the essence of Rhythm.
- 5) “Noh walk” for carry your aura from Kongoh school method of Noh Theatre.
- 6) “Mask training” as an unidentified expression from inside of body.
- 7) “Group improvisation” for the space design in my Butoh movement
- 8) “Quality & atmosphere” to awake more what we are doing instead of improvisation.
- 9) “Butoh Notation” I will introduce 4 Notations from Tatsumi Hijikata and myself.
- 10) Video lecture about “Japanese Avant-garde arts movement after world war 2nd as an origin of Butoh. And “KATSURA Kan’s HISTORY and Future.”
- < I will adjust for the students capacity which means I will pick up some topics in the workshop to reach to the Kan’s Butoh Notation.>
Beckett research project
1) Movement creation from Beckett TEXT
( I am focusing “THAT TIME” and “NOT I”)
2）We may also try Quad variation.
Basically: this is research one so we try to make a poem from Beckett TEXT and transform to the movement.
語りだす沈黙
Butoh as a Japanese Original Arts Movement since 1959, Kan has been working since 1979 aiming to answer the Butoh Founder’s question which was “You must listen to the SILENCE in BODY.”
There is some hint in Noh Theatre.
In this workshop, we try to share the idea of Noh Theatre’s practical movement from its philosophy to research together.