Thursday, January 27, 2011

Kazuo Ohno






I know I'm a bit late, posting about haute couture when the next fashion week is around the corner, but please bear with me as I get used to the fast-paced blogging world!
Anyways, I'm sure you've seen how beautiful and intricate the dresses were at Givenchy so I won't go into that. What I do want to share is the dancer that inspired this collection, Kazuo Ohno. A person I knew was involved with planning Kazuo Ohno's performances and I had this DVD of his works I hadn't watched, so I thought this would be a perfect time to do so.
Kazuo Ohno was a legendary figure in a form of dance called butoh, which is recognized as a mix of Japanese tradition and avant-gardism. It is inspired by both Japanese and foreign literature, explores taboo topics, and involves playful and grotesque imagery.
This was my first time watching Kazuo Ohno's works, and though I'm far from being able to understand each dance, each action, I was taken at how expressive his hands were. They were captivating--it makes you feel amazed that so much can be conveyed with just the hands.

I think Kazuo Ohno's words sum up my feelings best: "It is not important to understand what I am doing; perhaps it is better if they don't understand, but just respond to the dance".

Givenchy image from the Fashion Spot

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

how I used to be

The year of the rabbit--or the year for leaps and bounds!
飛躍の年。

It has been quite a while since I sat down at my computer to write a post. After a four-month hiatus, I'm happy to be back! It might take a bit, but hopefully I can establish a good blogging pace again. Also, is there anything you want to see on this blog? I would love to know what kind of things you'd be interested in, so please feel free to comment/e-mail any suggestions, questions, etc.
& a big thank you to the everyone who sent me such nice comments to my last post. They meant a lot to me and I'm really looking forward to talking to all of you through your blogs again!

ブログを離れてちょうど4ヶ月。年も明けて心機一転、また書き始めます。ペースを取り戻しつつゆるりと更新する予定。どうぞよろしくお願いします。