TalkTuesday 15 July 2014
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Think Locally, Dance Globally: The Butoh Dance Form in the Age of Globalisation
Drinks reception: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle, London NW1 4QP
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
One of the most important imports from Japan in the world of performing arts in the last half century has been the dance form butoh, which has shocked and captivated audiences around the globe. However, it appears that contact with Europe and America was changing butoh in significant ways. In this presentation, Professor Bruce Baird began with an introduction to butoh using film clips and photos. He then examined the ways that the dance form changed when the artists performed in Europe and America, and theorised the significance of the reception of butoh in Europe and America.
About the contributors
Professor Bruce Baird
Bruce Baird is an Associate Professor in Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; he is interested in Japanese theatre, philosophy and new media studies. He is the recipient of two Fulbright fellowships, author of a book about the founder of butoh entitled Hijikata Tatsumi and Butoh: Dancing in a Pool of Gray Grits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012—nominated for the 2013 International Convention of Asian Scholars Book Prize), and working on a general history of butoh.