The annual Seattle Butoh Festival has been hosted by the DAIPANButoh Collective, an association of Butoh dance artists formed in 2009, since the year following the Collective’s founding. Each year, the festival features local members of the Collective, as well as national and international Butoh artists, and this year, will feature dancer Mari Osanai, who hails from the city of Aomori, Japan.
During the event, Osanai will perform her piece entitled Nesting, in which she explores how humans are a part of nature. “When I had performance outside in beautiful nature, I felt my body was melting in nature,” said Osanai. “There are many layers of natural events, including my body.”
This focus on nature dovetails with Osanai’s teachings, which focus on Noguchi Taiso a form of gymnastics that emphasizes the movement of water in the body, or weight and a heightened awareness of gravity’s influence on the body. She believes this technique is one of the best ways for dancers to learn and know their bodies well, understanding the order of movement and control.
This method hearkens back to Osanai’s earliest memory of dance, in a small gymnastics class, when she was praised for her flexibility by her teacher. She followed the pull of dance throughout her childhood, practicing at home by just “rolling on the floor.”
But dancing at home wasn’t enough.
“I watched an elementary schoolmate’s ballet class onstage,” she said. “I longed for a luxurious and gorgeous world, so I started practice in a ballet class for kids.”
Osanai then diversified to develop a strong foundation in multiple movement traditions, training in classical ballet, yoga, Tai Chi, hip hop, jazz, and the traditional Japanese dance form in Aomori, called Tsugaru Teodori. “I think these several dance techniques gave me more possibilities for my movement,” she said.
Now, at age 68, she has long performed and taught dance worldwide. She hopes to visit many places to share her knowledge and showcase her dancing. Osanai is looking forward to her visit to Seattle.
“It’s an honor to have the chance for teaching and performance in Seattle,” she said. “I am looking forward to people’s impressions and also watching other artists’ performances.”
The Seattle Butoh Festival runs from November 22 to 24 at YAW Theatre, 6520 Fifth Avenue South, Seattle.
