Murobushi, Kō

Kō Murobushi (Japanese: 室伏 鴻, Hepburn: Murobushi Kō; June 14, 1947 – June 18, 2015) was a Japanese dancer and choreographer who was a leading inheritor of Tatsumi Hijikata's original vision of Butoh. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Murobushi studied under Tatsumi Hijikata starting in 1969, and after a short experience with Yamabushi mountain monks, he became a co-founder of the Butoh company "Dairakudakan" together with Akaji Maro and several others. In 1974, he was the editor-publisher of the Butoh newspaper Hageshii Kisetsu (La saison violente) and became a producer for the all-female Butoh company "Ariadone-no-Kai," for which he then continued to produce and choreograph. In 1976, he founded the Butoh studio "Hokuryukyo" in the mountains and founded his own Butoh group "Sebi." He brought Sebi and Ariadone to Europe and contributed to the recognition of Butoh in Europe. Le Dernier Eden - Porte de l’au – delá proved a success in Paris in 1978. His choreographies Zarathustra and Lotus Cabaret also proved to be a success in 1981, and his Utt for Ariadone and his solo En in 1981 and 1983 were followed by a large tour through Europe. It was at this time that Ko Murobushi settled down in Paris and made Paris the European capital of the Butoh movement. From 1985 onwards, he concentrated on duo productions for several years. In 2003, he established his own unit "Ko & Edge Co." in Japan. For his choreographies as well as his solo performances, he was invited to numerous international dance festivals such as the ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival, the Montpellier Dance Festival, the Dance Festival London Dance Umbrella, Biennale di Venezia, and many others. Murobushi's last solo performances are called Ritournelle and Faux pas. His last duo performance with Bartabas is titled Le centaure et l'animal, and his last choreograph is Enthusiastic Dance on the Grave. On June 18, 2015, Ko Murobushi died while in transit at the Mexico City International Airport from a heart attack at the age of 68.