Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2014

One of the most acclaimed practitioners of Japan’s avant-garde dance form butoh is Kayo Mikami. Among the few remaining disciples of butoh founder Tatsumi Hijikata, Mikami has been exploring the limits of the genre for the last two decades as leader of dance troupe Torifune Butoh-sha. For an upcoming residency in Yokohama, Mikami presents Kenka, or “Consecration of the Flowers,” which was first performed in 1992 and Sai, which celebrates the company’s founding one year earlier. Both works were created and choreographed by Mikami and her husband Yukio, with whom she runs Torifune, and feature the sometimes disturbing but always fascinating music of Japanese experimental composer J.A. Caesar.

Kanagawa Arts Theater, Apr 2-6.