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Japan's finest exponents of Butoh dance, Sankai Juku, present two contrasting works at Sadler's Wells. Sankai Juku create dreamlike performances which weave meticulous, spellbinding movement with breathtaking, large-scale staging in a theatrical experience quite unlike any other.

Founded by Artistic Director Ushio Amagatsu in 1975, Sankai Juku has performed in more than 40 countries and 700 cities and has won countless awards, including an Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, confirming their status as Japan's leading example of Butoh.

Sadler's Wells is delighted to present two contrasting works from the company's repertoire over separate evenings. The first, Kinkan Shonen, explores a boy's dream about life and death using mystic imagery as dancers’ bodies slowly transform into a series of almost non-human shapes, and a live peacock patrols the stage.


Toki, one of the Sankai Juku's newest works, is a mesmerising example of contemporary Butoh dance. Performed by eight dancers on a stunning set that brings to mind elements of both science fiction and an ancient world.


Originating in Japan in the late 1950s, Butoh is an expressionist contemporary dance form characterised by the physical appearance of the dancers with white painted faces and shaved heads, and the use of abstract, sometimes grotesque, imagery.

Find out more about butoh »