Tadashi Endo  Butoh-MA

 MA in Zen-Buddhism means emptyness as well as spaces betweens the things. Tadashi Endo visualizes these spaces in their very fine changes. The moments, when one figure changes to the next or one image changes to the next, with nearly invisible movements and a very strong tension, are more important to him than the representation of the figure or the image. This tension, which he radiates with utmost concentration and perfect posture, transforms his dance to a representation of still movement. His body rests, although he dances. He is not dancing - he is danced.

Choreography and Direction	Dance-Performances	Dance-Productions
Permanent Occu-pation	A performance announcement	Biography
Contact	Butoh Links	Tour-Dates

1947 born in Beijing, China with japanese nationality  1973 - 76 study at the Max Reinhardt Seminary in Vienna  1989 he met Kazuo Ohno, since then continously cooperation

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since 1982 Dance Performances with jazz musicians like:  Toshinori Kondo, Aki Takase, M. Sato, Kozutoki Umezu, Steve Lacey, Conrad Bauer, Peter Kowald, Günter Sommer, Ulrich Gumpert, G. Gebbia, Heinz-Erich Gödecke a.o.  at festivals in:  Moers (82, 96), München (84), Willisau (85), Leipzig (85, 87), Leverkusen (87, 88), Salzburg (88), Uzès/Nîmes (90), Athens (93), Naples (93), Palermo (93), Puschkin / St. Petersburg (95)

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Dance-Productions, Soli 1989  "Erik-Satie-Project" with U. Gumpert (p) 1990  "Kami-No.Mai" with G. Sommer (perc.) 1991  "MA" (solo) 1991  "Ins Licht gestorben" Requiem-Project commemorating the 200. death of W.A. Mozart, Festspielhaus Salzburg, Franz Pillinger 1992  "Mamuish" with K. Murobushi and U.Kusanagi 1993  "Shiki" with P.Kowald, G. Gebbia 1993  "Quai Dan" (solo) 1996  "Das Testament" with G. Nevo and A. DeGroote 1996  "Tassogare" (solo) 1996  "Here and...." with G. Gebbia (sax) 1996  "Here and..." with Heinz-Erich Gödecke (didjeridoo, tr)

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Tadashi Endo worked at different theatres: Junges Theater Göttingen, Deutsches Theater Göttingen, Staatstheater Hannover, Luisenburger Festspiele

1980 - 86	Director of the Theatre-Kooperative Nordheim" with productions: "Freßsack und die Berliner Stadtmusikanten", "Grün", "Krieg der Clowns" and "Hiaburi"
1992	"Das Buch von Christoph Columbus" by Paul Claudel (Frankfurt/Main)
1992	"Metasequoia" with the MAMU DANCE THEATRE (MDT)
1993	"Senro" with MDT
1995	"Minotaurus" with MDT and actors of the ensemble of the Junges Theater Göttingen

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Head of the Butoh-Centrum MAMU in Göttingen/Germany
Artistic director of the MAMU-Festivals in Göttingen / Germany and Tokyo / Japan
Head and Chief Choreographer of the MAMU DANCE THEATRE

A translation from a performance announcement in Holland:
Saturday, June 1, the japanese Butoh-Dancer Tadashi Endo will be guest in the Westrand at Dilbeek. Tadashi Endo is director of the Butoh-Centre in Göttingen. His repertoire consists of Noh-Theatre, Kabuki and Butho as well as of traditional forms of western theatre. In this synthesis of worldwide traditions, Tadashi Endo crosses each borders. But: the basis theme of the Butoh-Dance like the raw loneliness, the black hole of existence and the withdrawn trance the starting points of his movements. In Dilbeek Tadashi Endo presents the belgian première of 'Testament', in which the butoh-dance-theatre is confronted with the music of Shostakovich and Messiaen in a brilliant way.
(I translated this from netherlands, if there are errors, please excuse.)

Multiple Arts Gabriele Endo, Gehrenweg 3, D-37130 Diemarden  (Germany) Phone:  +49 - 551 - 790 62 45 Telefax:  +49 - 551 - 794 457 E-Mail: endo@mail.mpiem.gwdg.de

Some Links to other Butoh-Pages:

• A history of Butoh.
• Ko Murobushi is one of the best known Butoh-dancers of our time.

Born in Tokyo he was a little boy when Butoh was born in 1959 by Tatsumi Hijikata but in 1968 he already studied and performed with Hijikata in Japan.
After this first contact with Butoh Ko retired from the stage in 1970 and practised for two years ascetic life and shamanism as so-called "Yamabushi" in the Japanese mountains. Back into society he founded the Butoh-Group DAIRAKUDAN together with Ushio Amagatsu, Akaji Maro and others, doing several performances in Tokyo and Kyoto. 1974 he created the Butoh-magazine "Hageshii Kisetsu (Violent Season)" and founded a female Butoh-Compagnie "ARIADONE" for which he did many choreographies. 2 years later he founded a similar only-male Butoh-group: SEBI.
With a coproduction of these two groups he brought the Butoh to Europe:
LE DERNIER EDEN - PORTE DE L'AU - DE LA succeeded in Paris in 1978 and was followed by a big tour through whole Europe with ARIADONE in 1981/82. From this time on Ko Murobushi settled down in Paris and made Paris to the European capital of Butoh. Lots of choreographies followed: for ARIADONE as well as for Carlotta Ikeda, Urara Kusanagi, Tadashi Endo and others. Beneath the work as choreographer for himself and others Ko keeps a strong tradition of improvisational performances which culminated in 1986 in a cooperation with the Glenn Branca Orchestra in Tokyo.
• Urara Kusanagi is different to all other japanese BUTOH dancers. She is not using artificial or dramatic butoh dance language. She is very natural, she is fragile, sometimes nearly transparent, trembling, delicate and ephemeral. She is absence and existence at the same moment.
• a portrait of <A HREF="http://thing.at/performance-index/personnier.htm" target="_top">Gérald Personnier</A>,a swiss performer, who performs with butoh dancers.
  Remark: This link was no longer valid in december 1998
• An announcement of a performance of Min Tanaka: "Min Tanaka is the founder of the Body Weather dance workshop and the heir apparent of the Butch style, a method developed by Tatsumi Hijikata. Tanaka says, "Dance is an attempt to be reborn again and again. I believe that dance has no form. It is something that comes alive between me and you at the moment when I dance." Such sentiments have placed him in perfect company to join forces with the likes of improvisational guitarist Derek Bailey, composer Iannis Xenakis and pianist Cecil Taylor, as well as many more artists of all flavors."
• The Kanazawa Butoh Kan Home Page

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