There’s much more to stillness than simply the absence of movement. For dancers used to near-constant motion, being still can be a physical, mental and emotional challenge.

Mina Nishimura is beloved for her chameleon-like abilities, whether in experimental dance projects or quirky pop culture collaborations. One reason she’s so easily able to slip between styles? Her background in butoh, which has taught her how to “empty her body and sense of self so that she can be easily transformed,” writes Chava Pearl […]

Mina Nishimura crawls inchworm style across weathered wood panels. Then, as she cycles through a series of gestural phrases, her facial muscles transform along with her body. Wearing loose sweatpants and brightly colored sneakers, her movement is at once whimsical and structured, playful and abstract. As the five-minute film set to Miles Davis’ “Black Satin” […]

In the May 1998 issue of Dance Magazine, we spoke to Kazuo Ohno on the occasion of a memorial performance for his mentor, butoh creator Tatsumi Hijikata. On performing with his son for the memorial, Ohno said, “Yoshito and me, we are two, but we are one. Love, but something different, too. Love is pain. […]