I had the honor to work with Butoh choreographer Emiko Agatsuma, who was invited to perform at the Want to Dance Festival 2022 in Taiwan. In this JAPANESE BUTOH × TAIWANESE THEATRE CULTURAL EXCHANGE, we explore the theme of if human consciousness may travel through time.

Over 2021 December, I was working remotely from California while the rest of the production team is in Taiwan

Dance of Hell

In my imagination, trapped souls are dancing festively in Hell. It's a celebration of ecstasy and horror. For this piece, I alternate between 11/8 and 12/8 to create a sense of instability and chaos. The increasingly chaotic soundscape supports the descending madness.

Flashbacks

"Flashbacks" shows how after everyone passes away they find themselves looking at flashbacks of their lives while hearing sounds from the living world. From children playing in the summer pool to the rainy cityscape in the autumn, there’s a sense of bittersweet preciousness in everyday life.

By the Sea

"By the Sea" tells how souls travels to the final destination in their journey of afterlife - the sea under the starry night.
Here, you feel waves of emotions that you felt when you were alive for the last time. The gradually weakened heartbeats reflect the end of one's journey both on earth as well as the temporary stop before entering afterlife.

Production Team

Director, Choreographer and Dancer: AGATSUMA Emiko

Dancers: TZENG Pei, CHENG Yung-Yuan, CHEN Chia-Yi, LI Ting-Yi, MIYAMOTO Seiya
Music: HOM Yu, GOU Pan-Pan
我想欲試看覓 / n.k.isaac feat. ucary valentine (Honey Records)
Costume design: LEE Yi-Chen
Photo: Yellow
Theater Videographer: HO Mon-Cher