Reviews – Asheville Butoh Collective

Produced by Legacy Butoh and Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre

September 2014 Asheville, NC

Written By Ken Fitch

On first alert, one might not expect to come upon a festival celebrating the Japanese avant garde performance art of Butoh in the foothills of Western North Carolina, but for 9 years, Asheville has hosted such a gathering of these highly disciplined, committed artists in a performance form that, despite what some might expect from its exotic name and descriptive terminology, provides a most intense and accessible experience that communicates on deeper, basic existential levels that dispel any preconceptions through its fascinating presentation of precise and intense movement that generates its own realm of human experience.

Continue reading “REVIEW OF “WOMEN OF BUTOH” – 9TH ASHEVILLE BUTOH FESTIVAL”

Critic Mark Holborn has written that Butoh is defined by its very evasion of definition. A dance art form that started and developed in Japan after World War II, allegedly in response to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Butoh has spread to the United States and overseas, and continues to defy simple categorization. Unlike Hip Hop that also began as an underground movement but got quickly co-opted by corporate interest Concerts and molded for mass consumption, Butoh has remained true to its subversive roots. I recently witnessed what was described as a ‘Butoh-inspired’ performance in Seattle where Butoh has captured a following among a dedicated group of artists that have been evolving the form since the 90s.

Continue reading ““Butoh In Seattle” a review of 30 /30 Concert, written by Amontaine Aurore”