Author Description

"Kazuo Ohno is the most celebrated performer of the generation of butoh dancers who emerged from Japan in the latter half of the 20th century and who influenced contemporary American dance. An artist whose devotion to dance is so great that he continues to perform despite his 97 years, Ohno remains a daring pioneer who persistently explores the possibilities offered by a living body." "Now for the first time, Ohno's words are available in English. Kazuo Ohno's World: from without and within brings together two distinct yet inherently related works. The first, Food For the Soul, is a series of interviews with Yoshito Ohno, his son and co-performer. Juxtaposed with over 120 black and white photographs from the Ohno Dance Studio archives, Yoshito Ohno's observations reveal a complex and compelling figure of his father, who radically transformed the Japanese performing landscape." "The second work, Workshop Words, is a collection of extracts from Ohno's talks to his workshop students between the late 1970s and 1997. Presented in the form of aphorisms - some of them no longer than a single line - they encapsulate Ohno's very individual stance on life and dance. Not only do they achieve Ohno's educational purpose, they also help to lay bare the inner workings of this singularly remarkable man. Illustrations complete this nuanced profile of an outstanding 20th century performer."--BOOK JACKET.