Digitally Dairakudakan: An Examination of the 2020–2021 Pandemic Performance Season

As with most performance companies, Dairakudakan, the world’s largest butoh troupe led by Akaji Maro in Tokyo, was forced to shift parts of its practice online due to COVID-19 restrictions. Before the pandemic, the company typically presented their work in theatres, at outdoor festivals, on tour (often in France and Canada), or busking. Their online presence primarily focused on social media promotion. Live performance venues are fundamental to Dairakudakan’s practice as they heighten the immediacy of dancers’ bodies. In person, audiences appreciate their corporeal work, including muscular details and sheer sweat from effort, as well as spectacular elements, such as paint and fire. While shifting online was evidently not ideal, it nevertheless brought new perspectives to the company’s practice. The unprecedented circumstances forced new performance conventions, which encouraged the artists to think outside the box, subsequently allowing audiences to appreciate their work in a different context. This chapter examines some major developments in Dairakudakan’s digital work, including their use of video editing techniques, as well as the increased adoption of outdoor and inaccessible performance spaces. These adaptations allowed the company to continue creating and connecting with audiences during the pandemic, originating a new means of artistry that endures today.