Kazuo Ohno is one of the founding members of the Japanese tradition of Butoh dance, and a true pioneer of this mystical form of bodily manipulation and expression. For Haider Ackermann’s A#3, Nanako Nakajima has presented Kazuo’s philosophies and a glimpse into his world.

Born in Hokkaido in 1906, Kazuo’s long and illustrious career in dance began after he witnessed the performance of the Spanish dancer Antonia Merce ‘Queen of the Castanets’ at his school in the late 1920′s. One of Kazuo’s most famous routines is named after Merce, entitled ‘Admiring La Argentina’, and is one of several world famous dances choreographed and performed by Kazuo himself in the butoh style, that involves heavily applied white cake makeup and slow, purposeful, delicate movements acknowledging the entire physicality of the body. Butoh often deals with mythical and abstract symbolism, including the concept of exploring the form of different animals and beasts. The hands play a crucial role in conveying the messages of the Butoh dancer, as they are a link to the outer world beyond the dancer’s body, they may hold a prop such as a flower, and they can be entirely disparate to other movement, “his hands move independently as if they have their own intentions”.  Butoh also respects the age and experience of a dancer moreso than more Western traditions of dance (many of which celebrate the beauty and form of youth), so at 102 years old Ohno is a living legend. See a stunning example of his rare art form below.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjhQLB0hXY[/youtube]