Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 248-273).

Ohno Yoshito iniciou sua carreira com a obra Kinjiki (Cores proibidas), considerada a primeira performance de butoh, criada por Hijikata Tatsumi, em 1959, de quem se tornou discípulo durante a década de 1960. Posteriormente, tornou-se o principal parceiro de seu pai, Ohno Kazuo, com quem trabalhou por mais de três décadas. Da parceria com os fundadores do butoh surgiu o espetáculo Hana to Tori: mirai no watashi e no tegami (Flor e pássaro: uma carta para meu futuro eu), de 2013, primeira obra solo de Ohno Yoshito após a morte de Ohno Kazuo, em 2010. Assim, a presente pesquisa, ao traçar a trajetória de Ohno Yoshito junto ao desenvolvimento do butoh no Japão, traça um panorama dos anos iniciais que o levaram até a obra Kinjiki, assim como do período em que se estabeleceu o ankoku butoh (dança da escuridão) por Hijikata Tatsumi, fundamental na formação artística de Ohno Yoshito. Em seguida, debruça-se sobre a reconstrução de Admirando La Argentina, obra prima de seu pai, de 1977, refeita por Ohno Yoshito e parte de sua obra Hana To Tori. / Ohno Yoshito began his career with the work \"Kinjiki\" (Forbidden Colors), considered the first butoh performance, created by Hijikata Tatsumi in 1959, of whom he became a disciple during the 1960s. Subsequently, he became the main partner of his father, Ohno Kazuo, with whom he worked for more than three decades. From the partnership with the founders of butoh, the play \"Hana to Tori: mirai no watashi e no tegami\" (Flower and bird: a letter to my future self) of 2013, Ohno Yoshito\'s first solo work after the death of Ohno Kazuo, in 2010. Thus, the present research, tracing Ohno Yoshito\'s trajectory with the development of the butoh in Japan, gives an overview of the initial years that led to the work \"Kinjiki\", as well as the period in which the ankoku butoh (dance of darkness) by Hijikata Tatsumi, fundamental in the artistic training of Ohno Yoshito. He then looks at the reconstruction of \"Admirando La Argentina\", his father\'s masterpiece, 1977, remade by Ohno Yoshito and part of his work \"Hana to Tori\".

pesquisa propõe uma reflexão sobre o grotesco como operador e mediador fundamental da cena teatral, visando ao encontro de uma \"arquitetura\" do grotesco nas imagens do corpo do ator. A análise parte da observação de duas experiências poético-estéticas distintas no tempo e no espaço, que parecem exemplares no tocante à discussão sobre o grotesco e ao trabalho de composição cênica através da dança: o Butô de Tatsumi Hijikata (1929-1986) e parte da produção teórica e artística (das décadas de 1910 e de 1930, respectivamente) do encenador russo V. E. Meyerhold (1875-1940). A transposição das questões observadas sobre o tema do grotesco para o âmbito da criação e construção da cena, nas duas experiências artísticas abordadas, foi orientada por uma pergunta-chave: Pode a dança ser uma espécie de arquitetura corporal do grotesco cênico, ou seja, através das imagens do corpo que dança, podemos observar a operação grotesca na encenação? / This research presents a reflection about the grotesque as an operator and a vital intercessor of the dramatic scene, aiming at a grotesque \'architecture\' in the images of the actor\'s body. The analysis is based in two poetic-esthetic experiences distinguished on time and in space, that appear to be examples concerning the discussion about the grotesque and the labor of the stage composition through the dance: the Butoh of Tatsumi Hijikata (1929-1986) and the theoretical and artistic production (particularly in the decade of 1910 and 1930) of the russian V. E. Meyerhold (1875-1940). The transposition of the remarked issues about the grotesque to the field of creation and scene construction, in both artistic approached experiences, had been guided by a central question: could dance be a sort of corporal architecture of the grotesque scenery, in other words, through the images of the dancing bodies, could we observe the grotesque operation on stage?

pesquisa propõe uma reflexão sobre o grotesco como operador e mediador fundamental da cena teatral, visando ao encontro de uma \"arquitetura\" do grotesco nas imagens do corpo do ator. A análise parte da observação de duas experiências poético-estéticas distintas no tempo e no espaço, que parecem exemplares no tocante à discussão sobre o grotesco e ao trabalho de composição cênica através da dança: o Butô de Tatsumi Hijikata (1929-1986) e parte da produção teórica e artística (das décadas de 1910 e de 1930, respectivamente) do encenador russo V. E. Meyerhold (1875-1940). A transposição das questões observadas sobre o tema do grotesco para o âmbito da criação e construção da cena, nas duas experiências artísticas abordadas, foi orientada por uma pergunta-chave: Pode a dança ser uma espécie de arquitetura corporal do grotesco cênico, ou seja, através das imagens do corpo que dança, podemos observar a operação grotesca na encenação? / This research presents a reflection about the grotesque as an operator and a vital intercessor of the dramatic scene, aiming at a grotesque \'architecture\' in the images of the actor\'s body. The analysis is based in two poetic-esthetic experiences distinguished on time and in space, that appear to be examples concerning the discussion about the grotesque and the labor of the stage composition through the dance: the Butoh of Tatsumi Hijikata (1929-1986) and the theoretical and artistic production (particularly in the decade of 1910 and 1930) of the russian V. E. Meyerhold (1875-1940). The transposition of the remarked issues about the grotesque to the field of creation and scene construction, in both artistic approached experiences, had been guided by a central question: could dance be a sort of corporal architecture of the grotesque scenery, in other words, through the images of the dancing bodies, could we observe the grotesque operation on stage?

From Introduction: Ankoku Butoh is a performing art devised in Japan in the wake of the Second World War by the dancer and choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata (born Akita, 1928; died Tokyo, 1986). A highly aesthetic and subversive performing art, Butoh often evokes "images of decay, of fear and desperation, images of eroticism, ecstasy and stillness." Typically performed with a white layer of paint covering the entire body of the dancer, Butoh is visually characterized by continual transformations between postures, distorted physical and facial expressions, and an emphasis on condensed and visually slow movements. Some of the general characteristics of Butoh performance include "a particular openness to working with the subtle energy in the body; the malleability of time; the power of the grotesque."

ABSTRACT This study investigates performer training in ankoku buto dance, focusing specifically on the methods of Japanese avant-garde artist Hijikata Tatsumi, who is considered the co-founder and intellectual force behind this form. The goal of this study is to articulate the buto dancers preparation and practice under his direction. Clarifying Hijikata's embodied philosophy offers valuable scholarship to the ongoing buto studies dialogue, and further, will be useful in applying buto methods to other modes of performer training. Ultimately, my plan is to use the findings of this study in combination with research in other body-based performance training techniques to articulate the pathway by which a performer becomes empty, or nothing, and what that state makes possible in performance. In an effort to investigate the historically-situated and culturally-specific perspective of the body that informed the development of ankoku buto dance, I am employing frameworks provided by Japanese scholars who figure prominently in the zeitgeist of 1950s and 1960s Japan. Among them are Nishida Kitaro, founder of the Kyoto School, noted for introducing and developing phenomenology in Japan, and Yuasa Yasuo, noted particularly for his study of ki energy. Both thinkers address the body from an experiential perspective, and explore the development of consciousness through bodily sensation. My research draws from personal interviews I conducted with Hijikatas dancers, as well as essays, performance videos and films, and Hijikata's choreographic notebooks. I also track my own embodied understanding of buto, through practicing with these various teachers and using buto methods to teach and create performance work. / Dance