My one grad school directing professor told me about this Butoh group called Sankai Juku. Butoh is a Japanese dance drama form often referred to as the “Dark Dance of the Soul.” I was highly anticipating their appearance in Berkeley until an accident resulting in the death of a company member cancelled their appearance.
They did, however, come back a year or so later, and I was enthralled. I loved the form, and took every opportunity to see them again. I also saw other troupes in the years to come, and included coverage of it in my Intro to Theatre course.
Later, living back East, I found out that they were appearing in Pittsburgh and I had to go. Sankai Juku was going to be one performance in that year’s dance series.
So there we were, standing outside near a group of people all dressed in black, concealed behind dark sunglasses, and smoking. It was clear that they knew what to expect with the show that was approaching.
Taking my seat, I looked around at other spectators as they arrived. I was amused by one family unit: father in a suit, mother in a church-going dress, with two identically dressed children in tow. Clearly, these children were taking dance lessons and the parents thought that exposing the girls to visiting dance companies would be inspiring.
I can only imagine their surprise when the lights come up and there were these Japanese dancers covered entirely in rice powder and body-revealing costumes. This was probably not what they were expecting—which shows that you should always investigate a performance you want to attend. For me, it was not one of the strongest shows by Sankai Juku, but is memorable for the audience response. My widening eyes seeing that family arriving made the show for me.
MUSOFYR 