When one thinks of dancing they immediately assume music and rhythm. For this performance the music was provided by the ocean, the wind, and the dancer’s bodies slapping and twisting against the wet sand.
Butoh (a form of Japanese dance theatre) is at once playful and grotesque which was certainly prevalent in the performance with the lack of consistent rhythm. The dancers had fantastic control over their bodies so even when their movements seemed absurdly slow they were just as calculated as they were when the movements were playful and spastic. As unpredictable as butoh is, it was quite obvious that the performances were crafted meticulously. Any attempt to figure out who was leading proved futile as the group was so seamlessly in sync that it felt as if they had a hive mind, even when the movements seemed completely random.
The same is also true with the story. Whenever it seemed clear what the meaning of the dance was it suddenly changed. Perhaps the performance had no story but it seems more likely that the point was to show the unpredictability of life. It portrayed a constant evolution of self, species, and life. The dancers submerged themselves in the water to begin, emerged from the ocean by dragging themselves across the sand, and finally returned to the ocean.
Their bodies were as much of a palimpsest as the sandy shore was – the dance itself constantly rewrote itself by going backwards in time only to move forwards in a similar yet often starkly contrasted direction. Every movement left a new mark on the sand whether it was by tossing it up into the air (which they did purposefully at one point), grabbing it to pull themselves forward, or rolling over it until it sunk and filled with water.
Unpredictability was the name of the game with this performance which made it consistently relatable while simultaneously interesting. Both their bodies and the sand acted as canvas, but even more than that was the audience’s minds. They painted a picture with their bodies that we were left to interpret. Hearing everyone’s comments after the fact made it clear that we all had a different idea of what had really happened.
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