The Originating Impulses of Ankoku Butoh — A Talk | 21 February 2026
The Originating Impulses of Ankoku Butoh
Tatsumi Hijikata’s Dance of Darkness
"What is my work? Yes, it’s myself, and I have nothing to show you but my body."
— Tatsumi Hijikata, Yameru Maihime (Ailing Dancer) (Tokyo: Hakisuisha, 1983 [Unpaginated]
Join trained Butoh dancer and choreographer Orlando Vincent Truter for an immersion into Ankoku Butoh, the radical Japanese dance form born from shadow and aftermath.
Hijikata’s work confronts the body in its rawest, most visceral states, embracing involuntary movement, distortion, and energetic resonance to fracture the mind–body boundary and awaken the unspoken depths of being.
This talk probes the somatic and philosophical roots of the dance of darkness and seeks to illuminate its frequent misreadings in the West. Participants are invited to experience Butoh not as performance, but as an embodied excavation of impermanence, transformation, and the hidden currents that pulse beneath.
The talk is free to attend, but participants are requested to reserve a place to ensure we can welcome all guests who are interested.
- Address: WAZA Japan Store, 201 Bree Street, Cape Town
- Date: Saturday, 21 February 2026
- Slideshow & Talk: 11:00 - 12:00
Complimentary green tea will be served. Street parking is available in the surrounding areas.
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Host Profile
Orlando Vincent Truter is a cross-disciplinary Experience Designer and Placemaker whose work unfolds at the meeting point of healing, nature connection, and restorative environments. A devoted Japanophile, his multi-faceted journey includes a Master’s degree in the Performing Arts, specialising in the evocative and embodied practice of Japanese Butoh dance. He is also a Japanese Zen Shiatsu practitioner and founder of Forest Therapy Africa, a nature-based healing practice rooted in Shinrin Yoku (Japanese forest bathing), inviting deeper presence and reconnection with the living world.