Exploring Japanese Avant-garde Art Through Butoh Dance

Week 1 - Towards Butoh: Experimentation - Hijikata’s work from the late 1950s to late 1960s, introducing key works like “Forbidden Colours” (1959) and “Revolt of the Flesh” (1968). - The Tokyo Experimental art scene of the 1960s and the influence of Western thinking and art on Hijikata’s work. Week 2 - Dancing Butoh: Embodiment - Hijikata’s work from the early to mid 1970s, through the series of performances “27 Nights for Four Seasons” (1972), and a handful of works that followed.- Hijikata’s relationship to his hometown Akita in terms of Japanese traditional arts and Eastern body theories. Week 3 - Behind Butoh: Creation - Works from the late 1970s like “Costume in Front” and “Human Form” (both 1976) to explore the choreographic method and notation behind Hijikata’s butoh. Week 4 - Expanding Butoh: Globalisation - The spread of butoh abroad from the late 1970s onwards through a number of key festivals, such as “MA: Espace-Temps du Japon” (Paris, 1977) and the first international “Butoh Festival” (Berlin, 1985) and invited foreign researchers’ dialogues, such as Sylviane Pages and Katje Centonze. Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more The course is aimed at any individual with an interest in Japanese culture and art, the experimental arts, and the performing arts, but it is principally directed towards undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and practicing artists. The course also aims to be useful for educators wishing to deliver lectures and courses on butoh. You can use the hashtag #FLjapaneseartbutoh to talk about this course on social media.