“Still, the most invincible performance remains Eiko and Kama’s “Mourning” collaboration with the avant-garde pianist Margaret Leng Tan. Eiko and Koma, who studied with both Hijiknta and Mr. Ohno and have been working in New York since the 70s, choose not to label their art as Butoh. In the...Continued

“More impressive was a series of solo performances last weekend. Atsushi Takenouchi, whose body was caked with clay, explored the natural world in “Kizamu.” Denise Fujiwara played a ravaged mother who loses her child in Natsu Nakajima’s “Sumida River.” Taketeru Kudo was a scraggly creature in “Go-Znrashi,” and Takuya...Continued

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....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...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....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,...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...Continued

“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...Continued