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I began my butoh training yesterday with Denise Fujiwara. The classes aren't pure butoh, but include elements from modern dance and Noh. It's advertised as contemplative dance. The class was a mix of men and women of varying dance backgrounds. Some were dance professionals. Others hadn't done dance classes since they were children.
The class was very much back to basics, and we worked on a variety of movement and visualization explorations. We also had an introduction to Noh walking, which seemed difficult at first, but after some of the other walking exercises, became much more natural. We floated around the studio, our feet and our heads held level.
We did a little bit of floorwork exercises, too, approaching sitting up and rolling down in a way I'd never really thought of before, and as I looked around at the other students, I saw power, grace, and continuity in their movements when they applied a few key principles Ms. Fujiwara gave us.
Over all, the class felt more like a meditation class than a dance one, but unlike my meditation classes with the Buddhist group, these ones were working for me. I really think![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
f00dave would get a lot out of the classes, which is interesting because I'd never considered him taking butoh-related classes before....
Unfortunately, my experience was marred by a few things. I hadn't slept too well, and seemed to be experiencing an allergic reaction toredlyra's cat (which is odd, because I'm not allergic to cats). My left eye was swollen (and still is, a bit), my eyes and nose runny, and I hadn't had a chance to eat a proper breakfast. The streetcars weren't running that morning because of a big marathon, and I had to boogie my way over to the class in record time on foot.
So by the time the class was only half-way through, I was weak with hunger and verging on blacking out. It made the class all the more surreal.
Next week, I shall have eaten and slept properly, and I'll get much more out of the class. And since there's no marathon next week, navigating the city will be much easier.
The class was very much back to basics, and we worked on a variety of movement and visualization explorations. We also had an introduction to Noh walking, which seemed difficult at first, but after some of the other walking exercises, became much more natural. We floated around the studio, our feet and our heads held level.
We did a little bit of floorwork exercises, too, approaching sitting up and rolling down in a way I'd never really thought of before, and as I looked around at the other students, I saw power, grace, and continuity in their movements when they applied a few key principles Ms. Fujiwara gave us.
Over all, the class felt more like a meditation class than a dance one, but unlike my meditation classes with the Buddhist group, these ones were working for me. I really think
f00dave would get a lot out of the classes, which is interesting because I'd never considered him taking butoh-related classes before....Unfortunately, my experience was marred by a few things. I hadn't slept too well, and seemed to be experiencing an allergic reaction to
redlyra's cat (which is odd, because I'm not allergic to cats). My left eye was swollen (and still is, a bit), my eyes and nose runny, and I hadn't had a chance to eat a proper breakfast. The streetcars weren't running that morning because of a big marathon, and I had to boogie my way over to the class in record time on foot.So by the time the class was only half-way through, I was weak with hunger and verging on blacking out. It made the class all the more surreal.
Next week, I shall have eaten and slept properly, and I'll get much more out of the class. And since there's no marathon next week, navigating the city will be much easier.
