I'm sorry but my wife and I were utterly disappointed, whatever precision and expression they were conveying got really old after 10 minutes of excruciating slow movement. I sort of knew what we were getting into but I hoped the music would be better..it wasn't. I found myself being awaken by my wife who complained about my snoring….so I suggest they sell DVDs for insomniacs.

As a dancer, I can appreciate the muscle control, synchrony and precision that the dancers showed. The motifs and themes that were enacted — life and birth, terror, the vulnerability of humanity (all my interpretations, mind you) — were powerful and truly challenged me. In the digital age, we're so used to being bopped over the head with obvious themes and parallels; this required me to do more mental work.
On the whole, however, the performance was not enjoyable to watch. The movements were painfully slow and the power of the delicate movements was lost on a large stage. In current context, this was more performance art than dance, and I think the stage setting set up viewers for a much more dynamic performance. As I sat there, I couldn't help but think that the emperor was not wearing any clothes, and no one had the guts to admit it. I know butoh dance is an ancient medium, but I couldn't help but think the performance could have done a better homage to the old form by taking into account current sensibilities and modifying it to appeal to a modern eye. I venture to guess more people in the Ann Arbor area are now turned off to butoh dance than now devotees.

The soloist was masterful. Such a change from dance nonsense. The body is stripped away, and we see the thin line between existing and not existing.

I am a modern dancer and did a small amount of performing in a butoh based performance ensemble many years ago. It is a great gift to have seen Sankai Juku live. It is probably a once in a lifetime experience for me.

There are so many things that are beautiful in "Hibiki." This work is an example of when art and a way of life are wrapped up in a singular presentation. As we saw in the soloist's performance, attention is paid to the present moment. He moves in, and as an expression of, the present moment.

Death and the life cycle are very much on my mind these days. I truly believe that through their meditation and physicality, the artists embodied the core of "humanness". They showed the power of yearning, and the futility of the body.

The body is naturally grotesque in its step by step deterioration. It is what it is. However, it makes the journey of human living no less profound.

It is probably good to remember the beginnings of butoh as a post-WWII, post destruction, avant garde movement and theatre form.

Thanks for posting comments. I always long for more post-show conversation. It's great to read a variety of perspectives. It helps with my teaching too! I had several students in the audience.

Hi Leonore!

I wanted to share a quick insight I gleaned from the company over the weekend. Hibiki, the piece performed here in Ann Arbor, really calls for a large theatrical space for its presentation. As you probably noticed, elements of scale played an important part in the overall stage picture (take, for example, the closing and opening effect of the black drop and traveller far upstage at the beginning and the end), and one might argue the Power Center wasn't actually big enough!

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