RICARDO FRAYHA
producer

Kuu was created and performed by Yoshito Ohno, son of the man who made the butoh dance form an international phenomenon, Kazuo Ohno. A touching and beautiful tribute to his father, Kuu, which means emptiness, is, in Yoshito’s sense of it, the body. The idea of emptiness resonates with the themes explored in the works by Yoshito and his father – that of non-attachment and freedom. This performance is an important dance document from a key voice in butoh, and is was the opening of Tokyogaqui, multidisciplinary exhibition that celebrated the 101 years of Kazuo Ohno at Sesc Avenida Paulista. Kuu was first performed in New York in 2007 at the Japan Society (in conjunction with CAVE's Third Biennial New York Butoh Festival). 

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YOSHITO OHNO

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Born in Tokyo in 1938, Yoshito Ohno stage debut was in the role of the young boy in Kinjiki  (Forbidden Colours) directed by Tatsumi Hijikata in 1959. Throughout the 1960s he was active in Butoh performances until he retired in 1969. His comeback was in 1985 when he appeared alongside Kazuo Ohno in The Dead Sea; thereafter he continued to direct all of Ohno senior's stage performances. Yoshito Ohno was a key figure in Butoh's history, having performed all around the globe and use to teach Butoh at his father's studio in Yokohama until his last days. Yoshito Ohno passed away in January 2020

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KUU

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Creation and performance: Yoshito Ohno

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Presented at the opening of Tokyogaqui. 

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Production in Brazil: prod.art.br | Production director:  Ricardo Muniz Fernandes | Executive producers: Jussara Rahal, Ricardo Frayha 

Realisation: Sesc São Paulo 

Sesc Avenida Paulista

São Paulo, SP, Brazil

15 and 16/03/2008