description Katsura Kan Overview
Katsura Kan is a Japanese butoh performer and choreographer who served as a primary dancer and associate producer for the seminal Kyoto-based butoh company Byakkosha. Based internationally, he is known for his solo performances and collaborative works that bridge traditional butoh with contemporary physical theatre and avant-garde dance. Kan tours extensively as a teacher, offering workshops that focus on the fundamental principles of butoh and body awareness. His work appeals to practitioners and students of experimental and physical theatre.
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What is Katsura Kan known for?
Katsura Kan is a Kyoto-born butoh dancer, choreographer, teacher, and international collaborator. He is known for solo and cross-cultural performances rather than for belonging to a single permanent company today. [Kyoto Journal interview](https://kyotojournal.org/culture-arts/katsura-kan-butoh-dancer/)
What was Katsura Kan's role in Byakkosha?
He performed with Kyoto's seminal butoh troupe Byakkosha from 1979 to 1981 and later worked independently. That early company experience connects him to one of the key postwar Japanese dance traditions.
What is butoh, and how does Kan approach it?
Butoh is an avant-garde Japanese performance form that developed after World War II, associated with pioneers Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno. Kan treats it as physical research and collaboration, using movement, imagery, and performers from different cultures.
What performance by Katsura Kan is documented internationally?
Time Machine was presented as a world-premiere solo by Kan at the 2005 New York Butoh Festival. His international work has also included teaching and performances in places such as Israel, Egypt, Switzerland, France, and Australia.
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