Japan, the ambiguous, and ourselves: the Japanese body and the Yumiko Yoshioka's Butoh dance

• Grant number: 18/11690-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: August 01, 2018
• End date: November 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Theatre
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Okamoto
• Grantee: Eduardo Okamoto
• Host Investigator: Marie-Garbrielle Rotie
• Host Institution: Instituto de Artes (IA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Goldsmiths, University of London, England

Abstract

Japan, The Ambiguous, and Ourselves: the Japanese body and the Yumiko Yoshioka's butoh dance. The objective of the research is to record the trajectory and principles of creation and pedagogy of the Japanese dancer, choreographer and teacher Yumiko Yoshioka. She has been taught by Ko Moruboshi and Carlota Ikeda and she is one of the founders of the collective Ten Pen Chii. She is one of the representatives of the third generation of butoh dancers - a scenic manifestation founded in the postwar period in Japan. Yoshioka lives between Berlin (Germany) and Tokyo (Japan), and she visits many countries annually (North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania), giving workshops and performing shows. Her work can be acknowledged as a kind of "diaspora" of butoh in Europe. Historically the creator of the butoh dance is Tatsumi Hijikata, while its fundamental promoter in western countries is the dancer Kazuo Ohno, who influenced artists worldwide, recreating this dance. Many Japanese artists (such as Ikeda and Moruboshi, Min Tanaka, Natsu Nakajima, Anzu Forukawa, Minako Seki, Ushio Amagatsu, etc.) have maintained close ties with the European production by taking part in internships, directing shows or living certain periods of times in Europe. The research will be carried out in the context of the intercultural phenomenon in theatre and of how Japanese culture is perceived in the globalized world. The following procedures are foreseen: an internship at the Goldsmisths University of London under the supervision of Lecture Marie-Gabrielle Rotie in London; the follow-up of workshops and presentations by Yoshioka in Europe; interviews with the artist; and bibliographical and filmographic studies.