Butoh: Metamorphic Dance and Global Alchemy

Both a refraction of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a protest against Western values, butoh is a form of Japanese dance theater that emerged in the aftermath of World War II. Sondra Fraleigh chronicles the growth of this provocative art form from its mid-century founding under a sign of darkness to its assimilation in the twenty-first century as a poignant performance medium with philosophical and political implications. Through highly descriptive, thoughtful, and emotional prose, Fraleigh traces the transformative alchemy of this metaphoric dance form by studying the international movement inspired by its aesthetic mixtures. While butoh has retained a special identity related to its Japanese background, it also has blossomed into a borderless art with a tolerant and inclusive morphology gaining prominence in a borderless century.  Employing intellectual and aesthetic perspectives to reveal the origins, major figures, and international development of the dance, Fraleigh documents the range and variety of butoh artists around the world with first-hand knowledge of butoh performances from 1973 to 2008. Her definitions of butoh's morphology, alchemy, and philosophy set a theoretical framework for poetic and engaging articulations of twenty butoh performances in Japan, Europe, India, and the West. With a blend of scholarly research and direct experience, she also signifies the unfinished nature of butoh and emphasizes its capacity to effect spiritual transformation and bridge cultural differences.

History

Fraleigh, Sondra

Asia

University of Illinois Press

Both a refraction of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a protest against Western values, butoh is a form of Japanese dance theater that emerged in the aftermath of World War II. Sondra Fraleigh chronicles the growth of this provocative art form from its mid-century founding under a sign of darkness to its assimilation in the twenty-first century as a poignant performance medium with philosophical and political implications. Through highly descriptive, thoughtful, and emotional prose, Fraleigh traces the transformative alchemy of this metaphoric dance form by studying the international movement inspired by its aesthetic mixtures. While butoh has retained a special identity related to its Japanese background, it also has blossomed into a borderless art with a tolerant and inclusive morphology gaining prominence in a borderless century. Employing intellectual and aesthetic perspectives to reveal the origins, major figures, and international development of the dance, Fraleigh documents the range and variety of butoh artists around the world with first-hand knowledge of butoh performances from 1973 to 2008. Her definitions of butoh's morphology, alchemy, and philosophy set a theoretical framework for poetic and engaging articulations of twenty butoh performances in Japan, Europe, India, and the West. With a blend of scholarly research and direct experience, she also signifies the unfinished nature of butoh and emphasizes its capacity to effect spiritual transformation and bridge cultural differences.

This compact, well-illustrated and clearly written book unravels the contribution of two of modern theatre’s most charismatic innovators. Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo is the first book to combine:   an account of the founding of Japanese butoh through the partnership of Hijikata and Ohno, extending to the larger story of butoh's international assimilation an exploration of the impact of the social and political issues of post World War Two Japan on the aesthetic development of butoh metamorphic dance experiences that students of butoh can explore a glossary of English and Japanese terms.   As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, this addition to the Routledge Performance Practitioners series is unbeatable value for today's student.

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Arts & Photography

Nakamura, Tamah

Performing Arts

Routledge

This compact, well-illustrated and clearly written book unravels the contribution of two of modern theatre’s most charismatic innovators. Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo is the first book to combine: <ul>
<li>an account of the founding of Japanese butoh through the partnership of Hijikata and Ohno, extending to the larger story of butoh's international assimilation</li> <li>an exploration of the impact of the social and political issues of post World War Two Japan on the aesthetic development of butoh</li> <li>metamorphic dance experiences that students of butoh can explore</li> <li>a glossary of English and Japanese terms. </li> </ul>
As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, this addition to the Routledge Performance Practitioners series is unbeatable value for today's student.

Humor & Entertainment

Learn the five steps of land to water yoga: Standing and walking Kneeling and crawling Sitting Front lying Side lying and back floating While spending two months meditating and practicing yoga in silence at Sri Aurobindo¿s first ashram in Baroda India, Sondra Fraleigh received her first inspirations about yoga based upon infant movement development and somatic principles. She consciously utilized this element in her creative use of yoga¿bridging it with somatic movement education and intrinsic dancing. This unique new form of yoga¿Land to Water Yoga¿maintains yoga¿s original intent of spiritual healing and awareness and offers a way to deepen clear seeing and a calm mind, urging one past his or her limited ego. It is based on five stages of infant development and the methods of Shin Somatics¿ Moving Way. Its progression moves backward from the most complex movement in terms of balance to the least: from walking to floating (from land to water), providing the opportunity to retrace our personal human development back to its watery soma source. Progressing through these five primary stages may elicit surprising infant and childhood memories, which can heal trauma when one lets go of buried feelings. Peeling away social constructions via this innovative form of yoga, one can learn through curiosity and build skill with ease.

Land to Water Yoga: Shin Somatics Moving Way

Religion & Spirituality

New Age & Spirituality

iUniverse

Now re-issued, this compact book unravels the contribution of one of modern theatre’s most charismatic innovators. Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo combines: • an account of the founding of Japanese butoh through the partnership of Hijikata and Ohno, extending to the larger story of butoh’s international assimilation • an exploration of the impact of the social and political issues of post-World War II Japan on the aesthetic development of butoh • metamorphic dance experiences that students of butoh can explore • a glossary of English and Japanese terms. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today’s student.

Business & Money

Economics

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fraleigh, Sondra. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Fraleigh, Sondra

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Fraleigh, Sondra. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Butoh: Metamorphic Dance and Global Alchemy

Butoh: Metamorphic Dance and Global Alchemy

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Land to Water Yoga: Shin Somatics Moving Way

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)

Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo (Routledge Performance Practitioners)