Taketeru Kudo takes the stage at the Vancouver International Dance Festival, March 15 to 18

Kudo’s butoh dance solo reflects the impact of pandemic lockdowns on the human mind

SPONSORED POST BY VIDF

Taketeru Kudo. Photo by Funna Kang

The Vancouver International Dance Festival is hosting the North American premiere of Taketeru Kudo’s The Foot on the Edge of Knife at the Annex from March 15 to 18 at 8 pm.

The one-man show choreographed and performed by Kudo is a Japanese butoh dance piece. An avant-garde and ambiguous style born in the aftermath of World War II, butoh typically involves dancers wearing white body paint while expressing themes like anguish, darkness, and transformation.

The Foot on the Edge of Knife began its development in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, when COVID-19 transmission was at its peak. Composer Masaru Soga sent nearly 100 pieces of music to Kudo, who was caught in Tokyo’s long-term lockdown at the time. The dancer describes feeling anxious and irritated by the restricted situation.

Kudo brought Soga’s music to his studio where night by night, he tried to create a dance piece while in the middle of confinement. The work finally began to take shape after 3 months: It is a butoh piece, but Kudo brings the traditional style into new territory.

The Foot on the Edge of Knife unpacks the reality of the current world as Kudo dances his embodied reflection of an authentically human situation.

Born in Tokyo in 1967, Kudo first encountered butoh at age 22. His solo career took off a few years later in 1992, and from 1995-1998 he performed with the internationally renowned butoh dance troupe Sankai Juku. He has danced in pieces created by some of the biggest names in butoh, including Koichi Tamano and Yukio Waguri.

Kudo’s costume for The Foot on the Edge of Knife, simple yet striking, was chosen by Konomi Shibata. Lighting design for the 75-minute show is by Seiji Hayakawa, and the stage set is the work of Michitoshi Kurokawa.

The piece first premiered at Tokyo’s Za-Koenji Public Theatre in January 2022. It is brought to the stage for the VIDF with the help of production manager Yeoreum Hang.

Tickets for the upcoming performances at the Annex, $20-$35, can be purchased at the Vancouver International Dance Festival. The Annex is located adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre at 823 Seymour Street in Vancouver.

Post sponsored by Vancouver International Dance Festival.