Ms. Garnica, a Colombian artist, also presented “A Time­less Kaidan,” a three-part work featuring video and installation by Mr. Moriya. Referring to the Japanese word kaidan, which can mean scary story or staircase, the production “is a metaphor for my reflection to the staircase of human ambition,” as Ms. Garnica described it in her program notes. Of the three sections, the first was quite beautiful, largely be­cause of the way projections turned a maze of fabric into shimmering water. (Behind it was a staircase; through the billowy material, it seemed as if the dancers were hovering ghosts.) But for all … Continued

“Over seven years of performing, Masaki Iwana stood naked and motionless before audiences. Trying to read his beleaguered body in Beast of Grass is complex and baf­fling. When he lies tangled on the floor, one knee in the crook of an elbow, he’s a mess of hair, ropes, and body parts. A leg is tethered to one of five hanging streamers inscribed with words. Little bells hang off him on cords. An army cap tops his long hair. Small white clusters pasted to his body drop off as he moves. How long does it take him, squatting, to turn 180 … Continued

“Butoh solos are arduous ritual journeys. An improvisation by two Colombian­ born artists, Ximena Garnica and Juan Merchan—he tormentedly slow, she mov­ing in rapid nervous bursts-suggests two private, intersecting odysseys.” – Deborah Jowitt, “Fields of Battle”, Voice Choices, 2005

“Kan Katsura begins his Time Machine suspended over­head in a fabric sling that he unmakes into a white cascade; he clambers down. Pools of light ring him in this difficult, unfamiliar world, where thudding percussion and windy cries resound. Supine, he strains upward. Braced on all fours, he waits. At the end of his hyper-tense assimilation of what might be new wisdom, he clambers back up the cloth. Azumaru, improvising with mu­sician Jack Wright, explores the space, his own body, and the sounds Wright sputters into a beat-up sax. Prowling, Azumaru’s a handsome sight; undulating, mouth open in horror, he’s … Continued

“Water is a potent force in Howl, periodically gushing down onto Kaseki’s head from a suspended pail, caus­ing her face to squash into a wince and her body to sag. A shiny square on the floor becomes a pool in which she embarrassedly confronts her reflection. In the end, she’s caught in a no-win ordeal, trying to scrub the floor dry with her long robe, then wring­ing the water out. We laugh—she’s the naive clown, the holy fool who often appears in butoh—but in the wake of hurricanes we feel the hopelessness of her task.” – Deborah Jowitt, “Fields of … Continued

“In his program notes for “Beast of Grass,” Mr. Iwana stated, “I only want to be as I am.” Indeed, he seemed to be just getting to know his naked body, which was decorated with swathes of chipping plaster, rib­bons and swinging bells that chimed violently as he lurched and tumbled among hanging lengths of fabric. As the lights dimmed, and he retreated backward to the sound of birdcall, it was as much a beginning as an end­ing.” – Claudia La Rocco, “Plumbing the Depths in Vast Inner Landscapes”, The New York Times, 2005

“In “Before the Dawn,” Yumiko Yoshioka’s body became a menager­ie of strange creatures. A founding member of the all-female Butoh company Ariadone, she appeared in voluminous red robes, her face masked. When her hands emerged from the fabric, they skittered over her body like spiders or pecked at her flesh like birds. Eventually shedding much of her clothing, she made her body both a physical and an ab­stract object.” – Claudia La Rocco, “Plumbing the Depths in Vast Inner Landscapes”, The New York Times, 2005

“In “Eros and Thanatos,” the masterly Daisuke Yoshimoto followed a ragged red rib­bon from the back to the front of the stage. Covered in white paint and na­ked except for a thong, his taut body bent double, he walked in painstak­ing, tremblingly slow fashion. When he finally rose, his long gray hair fanned around his wild, heavily made-up eyes, and his body became a heaving, hyperarticulated landscape shifting against jarringly spliced music. It was easy to forget that this spooky, otherworldly creature was human.” – Claudia La Rocco, “Plumbing the Depths in Vast Inner Landscapes”, The New York Times, 2005

“‘Handsome Blue’ Sky revolves around four supple, brass-colored metallic sheets that allude to costumes in Hijikata’s seminal “Rebellion of the Body (Nikutai no Hanran),” which the Edge performers manipulate to light-reflecting, crashing effect. The heart of Mr. Murobushi’s piece is a duet for him and one of the sheets, which becomes his world before our eyes. The four bodies do go through transformations of a sort, though nothing more stirring or revelatory than the familiar physical shape-play of countless late-20th-century Western dances. The power of a grotesque hunch lies not in its look or the skill with which it was … Continued

“The second piece, Vooja Day, started out comedically, with Mr. Fuller, wearing a large rubber head on his shoulders and huge padded genitals, pecking out from behind the curtain before coming on stage. His musicians, a percussionist and an accordionist not only elicited alternative sounds from their instruments, they eschewed using any of the usual sounds at all. Mr. Fuller’s piece, too, used exploratory techniques to try to find, in front of us, whatever it was he wished to accomplish. He found some humorous moments using his costumes, but on a conceptual, choreographic level, there was no sustained relationship between … Continued

“‘Handsome Blue Sky’ recounts, among other things, the atomic catastro­phe of World War II through the transformations of the body. It began in the aftermath: a powerful solo in near dark­ness, with Mr. Murobushi hunkered down on his knees. Only the backs of his feet were visible as he raised himself up with painful slowness. He was the collective survivor, alone in a tunneling silence. His body could be seen as a chronicle in which each part was a character. His feet curled and rolled feelingly like hands along the stage, while his hands reached down to numbly pad the … Continued

“In the rarefied, underground world of experimental free improvisation, saxophonist Jack Wright is king.” – The Washington Post

“Kan’s work is full of humor and surprise that leaves one awestruck at its menacing conclusion… thrillingly bizarre.” – Boston Sunday Herald