Butoh in San Francisco

Written: May 10, 2003
Last Updated: May 11, 2003

Performances and parties in San Francisco

Rae, Susan and I went to see eclipse: celebrations and funeral, a new performance piece by Harupin-Ha Butoh Dance Theatre. Koichi Tamano, the choreographer and artistic director for the dance company was introduced to Butoh 38 years ago by its founder, Tatsumi Hijikata. Eclipse was held at the SomArts Cultural Center on 934 Brannan Street in San Francisco.

The performance was certainly memorable and knowing the history of Butoh certainly helps me appreciate it more than your typical modern dance performance. As you can see below, I have a few photos from the evening, which I spent primarily in the form of a viewer, not a documenter. There was another photographer in the crowd with a D30 or a D60. His focus-assist lamp was going like crazy throughout the first half of the performance. Rae and Susan both thought that the flashing lights were part of the dance. Hah!

Next door to the dance hall, the War and Silence art exhibit was on display. The photographs that I had submitted for the exhibit were rejected by the curatorial committee a few months ago; after seeing the work that was chosen, I understand why they didn't fit with the theme and tone of the exhibit.

Afterwards, Rae and I stopped by Eric's place to catch the tail end of Alex Solomon's recital. We missed the performance, but were able to see some people whom we haven't seen in quite some time, including Oliver and Melanie.

Rae

Claudine introduces Harupin-Ha Butoh

Enter The Photo Gallery

Butoh in San Francisco

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