Azumaru

Azumaru is a Japanese Butoh dancer based in Oslo. From 1999 to 2005 he was a member of the renowned Japanese Butoh company Dairakudakan, where he studied under the leader and founder of the company, Maro Akaji. In 2003, he choreographed his first performance, Kemono no Koukei (Successor of the Beast). After leaving Dairakudakan he has been performing independently as a solo dancer. Among other engagements, he participated in the second NY Butoh Festival (2005) and in the Experimental Sound Art & Performance Festival organised by Tokyo Wonder Site (2010). In 2008, he collaborated with Audrey Chen (voice/cello), and in 2009, he initiated the Sound & Light & Body Project, a series of events held in collaboration with other artists in various locations across Tokyo. In May 2017, he collaborated with artist Daisuke Kosugi as part of the opening programme of the 9th Norwegian Oslo Sculpture Biennal as well as performing within Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota’s work Direction at KODE in Bergen. Since 2017, Azumaru has been a regular collaborator with Karolina Bieszczad-Stie within the Butoh Encounters platform, which explores the intersections of dance, science, and new technologies. Their most recent projects include Limit(less) – a human-robot dance duet, and The Woman Who Married a Shrimp – an IRL::NFT performance. .

Butoh is a Japanese avant-garde dance form that emerged in the early 1960s, developed by pioneers Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno in response to the devastation of World War II and the influences from the Western world. Known for its slow, controlled movements and expressive intensity, Butoh often explores themes of death, transformation, identity, and the boundaries of human experience, incorporating elements of the absurd and grotesque.

 Navel is an original choreography with live music, created for the Nobel Peace Prize Forum as a ripple from the Hibakushas’ testimonies. Each movement reverberates, offering a quiet gesture toward a hopeful future.

Title of piece: Navel (6 minutes)
Dancer: Azumaru
Choreographer: Karolina Bieszczad-Stie
Composer and musician: Simen Korsmo Robertsen
Costume Designer: Zofia Jakubiec
Producer: Tara Ishizuka Hassel
Thanks to: Nagelhus Schia Productions