Free Dancing Into Darkness: Butoh, Zen, And Japan Ebooks To Download
Dancing Into Darkness is Sondra Horton Fraleigh's chronological diary of her deepening understanding of and appreciation for this art form, as she moves from a position of aesthetic response as an audience member to that of assimilation as a student. As a student of Zen and butoh, Fraleigh witnesses her own artistic and personal transformation through essays, poems, interviews, and reflections spanning twelve years of study, much of it in Japan. Numerous performance photographs and original calligraphy by Fraleigh's Zen teacher Shodo Akane illuminate her words.The pieces of Dancing Into Darkness cross boundaries, just as butoh anticipates a growing global amalgamation. "Butoh is not an aesthetic movement grafted onto Western dance, " Fraleigh concludes, "and Western dance may be more Eastern than we have been able to see. "
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (July 28, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0822961156
ISBN-13: 978-0822961154
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,656,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #179 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Modern #331 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Performing Arts > Dance #470 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Classical
Fraleigh's book is a hidden gem in the search for documentation regarding Butoh. When recently trying to research the subject for a performance art project I found myself confronted with the task of gaining access to this impentratable medium; There is not a lack to discover, just merely a lack to provide."Dancing Into Darkness," acts as both journal to Fraleigh's personal descovery of Butoh and also the relationship that the medium has today (for some of artists) with Zen - which ultimately results in her internal descovery - an experience, that as a reader, is overwhelmingly beautiful on ocassion.The text also acts as a kickoff point in understanding the conceptulization of the movement and gives reference to the facts and exploration of these to a certain point. Chapters are headed by instances of caligraphy and haiku, which perfectly set mood and pace.The only negative criticism that one may have is that in terms of pure research, though this does provide the necessary spiritulaism that one needs in understanding the peice, it lacks the essay like critques that some may desire for their own work. Either way this is a book that should suit all, purerists, intellectuals, newcomers and those seeking the spiritual.
Butoh is a dance 'genre' that, for the most part, is hard to pin down into a digestible definition. Perhaps that is the beauty of it, perhaps the nature of it. Butoh, one could say, evades definition and just 'is'. Fraleigh's book takes this quality account; in the form of diary entries and snapshots of classes and performances, Fraleigh writes from a personal place, describing events and ideas of her own while providing some kind of context for Butoh's background, variability, and poetry. I was particularly interested in her exploration of the way butoh explores/uses the feminine principle. I suggest this book for those who have grown tired of reading purely academic journal articles or textbooks. Fraleigh is a dance scholar and and thus, an academic, but writes this particular book in a way that it is both beautiful and readable. She gives us a good sense of what butoh involves, but also humbly acknowledges her position as someone writing from a Western perspective.
"Dancing into Darkness: Butoh, Zen and Japan" is an excellent resource for Drama and Dance Teachers who are truly trying to understand an art form that they may not be too familiar with. I found particularly useful the author's ability to describe some of the dances she witnessed, the language creates clear and beautiful images in the reader's mind and if read to a class with music in the background or with the students lying down eyes closed it could definitely help their understanding of this unusual style.Maureen Billiau
5 stars for Sondra Horton Fraleigh's essays, which she wrote while staying in Japan. Her personal insight and discussions and workshops and performances with masters of this dance philosophy are an essentail read to delve deeper into the subject.
Dancing Into Darkness: Butoh, Zen, and Japan Zen Doodle Drawing BOX SET 5-in-1: Zen Cats, Zen Dogs, Zen Horses, Zen Underwater Life,Zen Girls Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings (Unabridged Selections) Tarot Osho Zen/ Osho Zen Tarot: El juego trascendental del Zen/ The Transcendental Game of Zen (Spanish Edition) Hijikata Tatsumi and Butoh: Dancing in a Pool of Gray Grits (Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History) ZEN DOODLE: The Art of Zen Doodle. Drawing Guide with Step by Step Instructions. Book one. (Zen Doodle Art 1) Swing Dancing: Put on Your Dancing Shoes and Get With Hip-Swinging, Toe-Tapping Swing Dancing Butoh Dance Training: Secrets of Japanese Dance through the Alishina Method Stock Market Capitalism: Welfare Capitalism: Japan and Germany versus the Anglo-Saxons (Japan Business & Economics S) Japan Journeys: Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights in Japan Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan: With Annotated Plate Section by P.G. O'Neill (Japan Library) Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventures in Japan Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan (Showa: A History of Japan) Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan (Showa: A History of Japan) Showa 1944-1953: A History of Japan (Showa: A History of Japan) Showa 1939-1944: A History of Japan (Showa: A History of Japan) Don't Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from Dogen, Japan's Greatest Zen Master Zen Buddhism: A History (Japan) (Treasures of the World's Religions) (Volume 2) Kyoto City of Zen: Visiting the Heritage Sites of Japan's Ancient Capital
