Kagemi: Beyond the Metaphors of Mirrors

Roughly translating as “dance of utter darkness,” Japanese Butoh evolved in large part amid the rubble left by World War II. Sankai Juku, the thirty-year-old company that’s appeared here previously a handful of times, is perhaps the most acclaimed practitioner of this avant-garde form. The troupe’s approach favors minimalist movements and poses that appear heavier and more grounded than other styles of modern dance; Sankai Juku founder Ushio Amagatsu describes it as “sympathizing or synchronizing with the gravity.” Per the Butoh standard, this performance involves a cast of just seven dancers who appear with shaved heads, white costumes, and white body paint from head to toe. Under a canopy of lotus leaves, they’ll enact a series of movements that, according to Amagatsu, extract various metaphors from the act of self-reflective gazing. 612-624-2345; www.walkerart.org www.northop.umn.edu