A Composer’s Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera / Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis

Free admission

at 11:00

to Composer's Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera

1985

(89 min.)

to Composer's Notes takes us on a personal and intimate journey with Philip Glass as he tackles the production of his third opera, Akhnaten. The composer shares his creative process, offering us a glimpse into his world of rehearsal and performance. His practice and productions, both in Germany and the United States, demonstrate Glass' dedication and passion for his work, incorporating elements of inspiration from Egypt to India, a country whose music influenced Glass in his formative years. The film also traces two of Glass' previous musical theater works, Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha, offering a broad representation of the composer's acclaimed career.

at 12:00

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis

1990

(89 min.)

Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis explores what is often seen as the Japanese equivalent of modern dance; however, it has little to to do with the rational principles of modernism. Butoh, an extraordinary improvisational theater rooted in postwar Japan, puts the dancer's personal experiences front and center. A Dionysian art of nudity, eroticism and sexuality, Butoh's expressive scale ranges from meditative tenderness to the grotesque. While dealing with the existential angst and violence of the 20th century, Butoh incorporates spiritualism and aspects of traditional theater, including the Buddhist death dances of rural Japan and Tadian music and masks. Butoh, an alliance of tradition and rebellion, is one of the most fascinating underground dance movements. Butoh: Body on the Edge of Crisis is a visually stunning cinematic portrait filmed in Japan and to Venice featuring leading Butoh choreographers and their companies.

Italian subtitles