Crafting its shape, unfolding its story, ‘Hijikata, Mon Amour’ is a contemporary solo piece of experimental Butoh that focuses on the splendour of puppeteering and dancing with a costume. It imagines its every possible transformation in form as the garment stunningly takes centre stage.
The seventy-minute show was created by French American Butoh artist, Vangeline in 2019 in celebration of the Japanese avant-garde art form’s 60th anniversary and serves as a homage to legendary founder of Butoh, Tatsumi Hijikata. It is now touring globally which included a recent mesmerising performance and subsequent Q&A at Newcastle’s Dance City.
The epic ruby dress and robe is something to behold, made of poly satin fabric, it stretches for yards and yards, sprawling across the amphitheatre like an unravelled parachute. It was born out of Vangeline’s research for her 2020 book, ‘Butoh: Cradling Empty Space’ when she was given the opportunity to try on a vintage costume made by Hijikata’s wife. Fascinated by the important role costumes play in the chronology of a piece of dance and how they help to tell a story, Vangeline was able to get an exact replica of the outfit designed.
The show was unlike anything I have ever witnessed in a theatre and started with a woman ominously standing at a dark shoreline, the sound of crashing waves adding to the gravitas of her presence. Moonlight beamed down on the glistening attire wrapped around her figure.
Though initially wowed by this immersive opening sequence, so much so I could almost feel the sea breeze, Vangeline preceded to take ten minutes to rotate 360 degrees, weaving the material around her torso while also appearing to not move at all. This slow burn on Valium pace did make me question what I was watching at times- was it enjoyable or was it just pretentious? Though I did lose interest, it did on reflection make me think about the modern hyper speed existence that we zip through on a day to day, where even when we have a moment to ourselves, we fill the void by getting sucked into our phones. This piece ran counter to all of that, slowing down so much time was uncertain, every movement was minuscule, things lingered to the point of feeling uncomfortable. I entered a rare mediative space, checked in on my brain, contemplatively sat within myself. What that the point?
Viewed as a whole piece, comprised of four acts, the tempo did very gradually build in momentum to an explosive finale like a well-crafted story arc in a TV box set. Leading up to this were a thousand picturesque depictions as Vangeline repurposed the garment adorning her torso, each image captured like a high-brow photograph or renaissance painting exhibited in an art gallery. Strobe lights struck off the richness of her shadowy figure making her appear as a Medusa character or evil demon queen gliding to the accompanying drone soundscape.
Elsewhere she was encased in a quilt with the noise of a construction truck reversing into her as workmen were hammering all around. This she revealed in her later panel discussion was inspired from a time in her life where she was living in a Manhattan apartment next to a building site. In the performance she recreates a symphony from the cacophony on this surrounding din.
Another highlight was when she sampled music from the famous opera, ‘Carmen’ to accompany a hand puppet flamenco show from under her makeshift covers. This moment was used to show the back-and-forth influence that European styles of dance and Butoh had on one another.
Though my attention did wane at moments, Hijikata, Mon Amouris overall a visually stunning piece of dance that pleasantly lingers long after you leave the theatre.