butoh

LETTER FROM GUSTAVO COLLINI-ARGENTINIAN BUTOH REPRESENTATIVE- TO HIS JAPANESE TEACHER YOSHITO OHNO, DUE TO MASTER KAZUO OHNO’S DECEASE ON JUNE 1 2010 AT THE AGE OF 103. FAREWELL, MASTER! At 103 years old the Great Kazuo Ohno fares us well. Dancer, choreographer and mastermind of a unique dance genre, Master Ohno has managed to represent through his own body the harmed sensitivity of a world inflicted by A-bombs outrage, which disrupted the balance between the universe and our world. Unique and irreplaceable, Kazuo left us a message: “I long to dance the crazy herbal dance until my very last breath.” By Gustavo Collini With collaboration from Lucas Bolo Translated by María Florencia Kais I met Sensei (Master) Kazuo Ohno for the very first time at Teatro San Martín based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My meeting with Ohno was fostered and facilitated by “Off Broadway” director and creator Ellen Stewart, aka “La Mama”.She, as my selfless artistic godmother, stimulated my Butoh studies with her friend Kazuo Ohno and his son Yoshito Ohno- a different, innovative and creative Eastern art. Some years had gone by since then. But when Kazuo and Yoshito Ohno, while touring South America, came down to Argentina to perform “ “Admiring the Argentinian” and “ Dead Sea” , Ellen, my beautiful fairy godmother, called me and told me the renowned dancers would be staying at BA Hotel Panamericano. The meeting was to be a fact. There I was , standing at the hotel door, when I called them. A soft and kind voice- Yoshito Ohno’s- was telling me that he had learned (via Ellen) about my crave for studying Butoh dance in Japan and that they would meet me any time soon. I felt like a lover who is about to meet his beloved. A little bit disturbed, I must say, we sat at a table and had some coffee. I dare not raise the cup as I felt I would spill all its content for my heartbeat rate had increased and my hand was shaking out of excitement and nervousness. My shock was such that I got paralized.Lucky me!, because just after that , Ohno –displaying a very Eastern gesture and making use of his whole body , started inviting us all- as he was the eldest at the table ( the way Japanese tradition states) calmly to help ourselves.My innermost self burst out in joy; thanks to my tremor I had refrained myself from a fit of Western impulsivity. That was the first lesson I learnt back in 1986. I am deeply grateful to life and to those individuals that contributed to such a key encounter. I cannot help feeling very sad, though, having heard about my master’s death at 103. I think he is still with me, peacefully comforting me, dancing around me with his multi-characters’ palette. The old man, the kid, the clown, the sacred whore who laugh, play, and watch me write my final prayer.As Christ and Budda decide upon their last ritual, I greet you, Maestro, from Argentina- indeed the same country which sports the name of Ohno’s ultimate muse: Antonia Merce, aka La Argentina. The world will miss you as beings like yourself dignify humanity and its creative potenciality. Today I embrace my Master Yoshito Ohno (Kazuo’s son) and through him his brother Yukito Ohno as well as the family, managers, students and Butoh courses spread worldwide. Yoshito, my most heartfelt gratitude and bliss to your generosity over time. All those wonderful years which made me a hopeful person, thanks to the teachings of your father, i.e., being able to reach the truth and genuinity within myself day after day. Your father, grandfather and great grandfather were a lighthouse in the dark, a referential point artwise for the generations to come. Master Kazuo Ohno, you will always be an eternal flame, a person that lived consistently by his humane principles until his last breath. Sensei you and your blessed family will accompany you in your last trip together with the greatest characters in history. I fare you well Kazuo Ohno, The Last Dance Emperor. *** The Japanese Embassy and The Info Cultural Centre based in Buenos Aires are holding celebrations due to Argentina Bicentenary. Among other activities which are to be carried out throughout this year we will be celebrating the 50th Butoh anniversary. As a result, I -Argentinian Butoh Representative Gustavo Collini- will be granting Yoshito Ohno the JAPAN PHOENIX BICENTENARY AWARD as the bearer of the Butoh legacy from both Kazuo Ohno and Iyikata Tatzumi. Also, I will carry out in gratitude an “Offering To Kazuo Ohno” so that -from his muse’s homeland Argentina- his soul could rest in peace. For further data concerning Kazuo Ohno’s offering write to: [email protected] o [email protected] …”Ohno thought that : “Dancing starts with gravity, the importance of human life or its confusion.” And went on to add:“If I forgot some of these elements when I get on the stage I would forget about life in itself through dancing, and as a response to that the audience would remain untouched”. All those years of studying Butoh dance- both in Europe and Japan, exerted a major influence on what I would later named Tango Butoh, a fussion of Butoh and my motherland typical dance: tango. That dates back to 1996, a performance which has travelled the world and has had even its TV programme. An avant-garde eye-catching visual genre which has provided the viewers with a unique fresh experience. . MUNDO BUTOH By Gustavo Collini http://mundobutoh.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/butoh [email protected] ARTE MULTIMEDIA PRODUCCIONES http://www.youtube.com/user/mundobutoh BICENTENARIO JAPON ARGENTINA 2010 – 2011 Japanese Embassy in Argentina Presidencia de la Nación http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100001144753142&ref=ts