This is a feedback about "INICJACJE" from Helen Smith 

This will help to bring deeper understanding about what is "Art Mime" for both audiences and artists. We are thankful to Helen allowing us to use her feedback here.

There will be 7 chapters.

Helen Smith
Physical theatre practitioner currently engaged in a Research Through Practice Master degree at Monash University, Melbourne Australia. Her particular area of interest is in Butoh. As Tokyo is home to some of the most famous Butoh artists in the world, she was back recently on a 3 month research trip to reconnect with her former Butoh teachers and interview them. 
Helen was a long-time performer and teacher with the Brisbane-based Physical Theatre Company, Zen Zen Zo. She is now a member of the Space Between Performance Collective in Melbourne, with whom she recently directed and performed in a Butoh show, Ten Worlds, based on a Buddhist concept of the same name. 

I was both surprised and impressed by the mime performance I saw recently. My preconceived idea of mime was that it was a clever rendition of everyday activities with the quality of clown – neither of which I’m really interested in. But as Neiro was involved, and he is someone I admire and respect for his artistry and intellect, I thought there must be more to this than meets the eye. And so it was!

 

 

Surreal World

First of all, I was surprised by the surreal world that was created. It was both surreal and real at the same time. I could see that there was no distinct narrative, but shifts and changes that might occur in a dream. Also like a dream, there was a sense of real commitment to the moment. A particular scene that strikes me in this respect was when Neiro and the female character were digging a deep hole in the earth (I imagined) with their bare hands. The reason for their digging was unclear and for me didn’t matter: I could see, and more importantly, feel, their intent which was desperate and bordering on tragic. They just had to dig – no matter what, and this was enough for me. I didn’t need to know the specifics, though I did of course speculate, but soon left the need for narrative behind as I was drawn into the next moment: when their eyes locked on each other. Oh, what exquisite delight! The moment their eyes first met was magical! The timing was perfect!

 

 

 

The Joy is in the Detail

The joy is in the detail! Particularly in Neiro’s expression, I saw every emotion sweep across his face so clearly – and enjoyed the lingering confusion that rested there until he slowly and deliberately returned to the digging. The scene developed so naturally and I got caught up in its momentum as the two characters began to pile up the gathered earth into a mountain between them. As their mood changed and the excitement built, so did mine too. This empathic response was satisfying - far more than the need for a logical narrative. As it was a surreal world where anything could happen, there was a natural build of tension to know what would happen when the mountain had reached its peak. I can’t remember what happened next, but I know I wasn’t disappointed and was swept up into the next scene, which I accepted with the reality of a dream.

 

 

Density

With regard to the performers in Neiro’s performance, I couldn’t help noticing the difference in quality between Neiro – who I know to be a Butoh dancer as well, and the others, whose background I don’t know anything about. While I appreciated all the performers for the show that they created together, I couldn’t help but notice a depth in Neiro’s performance that was not so apparent in the others. I will try to articulate what I saw, which may seem poetic at first. When Neiro expressed emotion through his face, it came from a very deep space. It was as if he accessed a channel of emotion that – like a deep well – penetrated deep into the core of the earth. He raked the bottom (or at least tried) of this deep, dark pit to stir what was hidden there. What rose to the surface was strong, passionate and moving. And, it didn’t stop there! The expression on the face was still yet another passage for the emotion to pass through as energy, for it continued to move beyond to affect the space around and spread far beyond the confines of the auditorium. The effects reached me on the front row and I couldn’t help but be moved – especially by his first entrance where his movements were in complete contrast to the music (on the issue of music, I have another opinion, which I will express later). 

 

 

Paradox

So, for me, Neiro’s performance gave his body the appearance of density, which nonetheless, he was able to manipulate too with lightness (a strange paradox). The others seemed to tread the earth lightly, and the depth of their emotion a little more shallow – and by this, I mean close to the surface, and not a judgment about my opinion of their performance. I must iterate again, that it was the concerted effort of the whole company that made the performance most enjoyable. The girl who played opposite Neiro in a lead role had a very interesting quality in her movement that was poetic and for me, very butoh-like. This I very much appreciated, but it lacked the clarity of intent that Neiro’s performance always showed. Her solo parts had a fuzziness in which I was trying to work out what she wanted to say: I knew and felt there was something strong and powerful that had to be expressed but what it was, I couldn’t tell. For me, it was more like Butoh where clear expression is not such a priority as being truthful to the moment, which I felt she was with her energy and focus.

I enjoyed the combination of artistry and phenomenal technique. I was also surprised by the depth of emotion expressed and the surreal nature of the performance.

 

 

The Master

Watching JIDAI perform was seeing a master who had transcended technique to completely embody it. He clearly became the beings he portrayed and his skill was most evident in his rapid transformations from one character to the other. The lightness with which he could move on and touch the earth in no way diminished the depth of emotion he was able to evoke. His slight frame shook with the intensity of the emotion he excavated deep within himself.
His performance for me was like mercury, a molten metal that morphed and changed with ease and grace but again with a density that connected him almost magnetically to the earth. At the same time, I believe he could transform to be air itself!

I observed during the demonstration lesson on the stage prior to the performance the skill of the master in comparison to the student learning. In this exercise, the students were asked to first place their hands on their rib cage and feel the rise and fall of it as they breathed. They were then asked to place their hands in the space in front of them and to continue the movement as if their hands were still around the ribs (my understanding of the Japanese instructions which may be in error!). They were encouraged to continue to use the breath and allow the movement to expand, taking it slowly and gradually into their whole bodies, so that the knees bent softly, the torso opened up and closed as the arms lifted and lowered. Finally, energy was being sent up to the sky extending far beyond the body and gathering down to the earth again. 

 

 

Energy & Being Moved

I noticed that the extension of the body up towards the sky did not happen with the lifting of the arms as I witnessed in the students. In a sense, they were using muscle power and their own will to lift their arms. As the master demonstrated, I could see that energy was drawn from the earth to the dan tien and then up through the chest, which opened and expanded quite naturally. The arms lifting then was a continuation of the spread of energy flow like ripples across the surface of a lake with the result that the arms seemed to be lifting of their own accord. In this respect, the body is being moved rather than the performer moving of their own will and muscle power. This is a quality that I recognize in Butoh also. It makes a lot of sense in mime if – as I saw – the artist is both the person throwing the ball and the ball that is being thrown. 

I enjoyed watching the precision and specificity of this mime practice and the focus on the qualities necessary to make it all happen. 

 

 

Music

Going back to the music in Neiro’s performance; as this is such a famous piece and very evocative in its own right, it could almost be regarded as a prop to assist the evoking of emotions appropriate for the scene. I feel that the strength of Neiro’s performance is sufficient without the need for such moving music. Something soft and in contrast to the movements and sense of desperation performed is a good choice, but music as background – as JIDAI uses – may help to foreground the performer even more.

I am very thankful and appreciative of the invitation and the chance to see this performance, demonstration and movie. To see a genre of performance crossing cultural boundaries was very interesting too. I felt after watching both the demonstration lesson and the performance that JIDAI as a teacher has a lot to teach me in regards my own development of skills as a Butoh dancer, especially with regard to precision and specificity training. If I get the chance to return to Tokyo in the near future, it would be a great pleasure and honour to study with JIDAI.

With heart-felt thanks……
Helen