Waiting for Butoh

Naropa University guest artist Katsura Kan is a master Butoh artist and ranks among Japan's first generation of Butoh. The Kyoto native studied at the Kongo School, formed his own multinational dance troupe and has toured and performed around the world, so he's well-versed in the range of techniques and motivations — typically involving playful and grotesque imagery performed in white-body makeup — that Butoh comprises. But it's important to understand, too, that the dance form has no set style or rules: It's a law unto itself.

And the Kan-directed BeckettButoh performance, which takes place at the Black Box Theater on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, also defies description. Renowned writer Samuel Beckett's existentialist, minimalist text (from Quad and That Time) has been integrated with traditional Butoh physical vocabulary based on image scores. What does that mean, exactly? You'll have to see it to find out. BeckettButoh opens tonight at 8 p.m. and continues with additional shows tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $15; call the box office at 303-245-4798.
Fri., Dec. 14, 8 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 15, 2 & 8 p.m., 2007