Sankai Juku
“The singular glory of Sankai Juku is that it achieves almost pure metaphor.”
— Time
Sankai Juku is a Butoh dance company founded by Ushio Amagatsu (1949-2024) in 1975. The company has premiered a new piece approximately once every two years at Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, a center for contemporary dance. Sankai Juku is one of the few dance companies that Théâtre de la Ville, Paris has commissioned continuously for 35 years.
Artistic Director Ushio Amagatsu trained in both classical and modern dance before becoming immersed in Butoh. For Amagatsu, Butoh expressed the language of the body. In the 1970s, Amagatsu drew mostly on his own individual experience for inspiration. During the 1980s he spent most of his time working in Europe and the inspiration for his work became more universal. In his works, Amagatsu presented an abstract vision of the infinite and explored evolutionary movement. Major themes that he examined are the relationship of the body to gravity and the relationship between gravity, the earth, and the environment.
The company has toured internationally since 1980 and performed in over 700 cities in 48 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. They have been highly praised in different cultures for over 35 years— a testament to the universal nature of Sankai Juku’s work. While crossing over geographic borders and appealing to diverse audiences, the company has deepened the exploration around the constantthemes of their work while searching for and moving towards new realms. Sankai Juku received the Japan Foundation Award in 2013.
Image Credit: Courtesy Sankai Juku