Butoh thrills spill
onto King Street
The many King Street motorists passing Studio 1 Friday night deserve at least some of the applause that greeted the Tangentz Performance Group at the finale of its production "Flight 730."
To watch the drivers' and passengers' incredulous expressions as the dancers hit the streets was amusing. I mean, what would you do if you were walking along and saw men in tattered clothing carrying armloads of equally tattered dolls, then lifting another man and lowering him into a box?
The two-night performance marked an enlightening and entertaining journey through the world of butoh, from its stark roots to vibrant future.
The dancers, in white makeup, patrolled the streets before the performance, going about their duties in checking people into the "flight."
The mood was somber during the first piece, which took the audience back to the 50-year-old roots of butoh, when the dance captured the sense of annihilation at the advent of the nuclear age.
Tangentz founder and artistic director Lori Ohtani's choreography in "The Color of Sinking Fragrance" was effective in conveying the sense of wonder, followed by panic, suffering and devastation that followed in the wake of radioactive fallout.
The women of the company -- Ohtani, Fay Ann Chun, Tsugumi Iwasaki-Higbee and Adrien Wiggin -- writhed and contorted their bodies in classic butoh movements at once subtle and expressive. The dance imparted the sense of a familiar landscape suddenly turned deadly and unknowable, a feeling that a new generation is becoming acquainted with.
Ohtani returned for a nuanced solo performance based on a poem she had written that was inspired by the late Tatsumi Hijikata, a co-founder of butoh. The work reflected her search "for the genius who once danced with a wild man's shadow."
Then Chun, in the guise of a man, brought a lively modern dance sensibility to the third piece, reflecting unhealthy interactions between the sexes.
Even the intermission was entertaining, as an in-flight video featuring Iwasaki-Higbee had audience members performing a few stretching exercises in the "cockpit."
The dancers then motioned the audience to head to the cargo gallery, where it was fun to watch the reactions to a strange situation. Many simply made themselves comfortable on the floor in back of a projector and video screen, as if this were expected, like coming home to the television. Others remained standing for quick flight if necessary.
The men of the troupe -- Dan Hermon, Gary Higashida, Steve Novak and Franklin Sung -- soon appeared outside the studio's glass windows for "Ancient Bones," which had pedestrians and drivers gawking. A security guard en route to work was most perplexed and eyed them with suspicion before heading off.
In the interaction that followed, the audience was led out to the streets, where Mariah Dodson and Diane Rubio made music on cello and saxophone, respectively, while dancers cavorted on sidewalks and in crosswalks like Pied Pipers followed by a roomful of people.
A street urchin leaning against a lamp post watched this in amazement and disbelief, even warning audience members, "Better hold onto your purses and bags."
It's a shame more people did not get to see the performance, but any more people in the streets might have led to a few traffic problems. But if you add in all the motorists who saw the show but didn't know it, the turnout starts to look better.
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