Though most of Fowler Out Loud’s performances concentrate on one performance genre, artist Michael Sakamoto dares to dance outside of the lines.
His show, “The Empty Room: Spirit of the New World” blends modern, Butoh, hip-hop and traditional Thai folk dance into an interdisciplinary performance aimed to challenge the audience’s perception of culture and self.
“The Empty Room,” which premieres at the Fowler Museum on Thursday night, will explore everything from cultural history and the birth of motion pictures to religious fervor and museum practices. Through this thematic potpourri, Sakamoto aims to show how audiences and museums inscribe meaning and cultural identity on individual audience members.
A graduate world arts and cultures student, Sakamoto moonlights as an interdisciplinary artist. His performances combine dance, cinema, new media, history, anthropology and a medley of other disciplines.
Sakamoto’s initial inspiration was his first exposure to Butoh dance, a contemporary form of dance originating from post-World War II Japan that has become a pivotal influence in his work. His attendance at a 1993 performance by Butoh co-founder Kazuo Ohno compelled him to become a performer.
“I was totally hooked. I saw an 86-year-old man perform an entire universe in front of my eyes with just himself, a ragged costume and spare stage lighting,” Sakamoto said. “He encompassed everything ““ life, death, beauty, grotesqueness and everything in between. And I realized that this was a whole honest range of expression that I felt a total affinity for.”
Sakamoto has performed in Poland, France, Japan, Mexico and throughout the United States. He began performing when he was 28 years old, and after 18 years in the professional world, Sakamoto, who also received his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from UCLA, returned to campus and created this production as an independent study for the WAC department.
“It’s really fun … to have the time, space and the permission to work through very complex ideas in an experimental manner without the pressures of box office returns,” he said.
“The Empty Room,” the second part of his series of new interdisciplinary performances, is a collaboration with artists in all media. The project began as a result of Sakamoto’s interest in Zen Buddhism and explores the junction of mind/body/spirit practices, contemporary performance and mass media.
Sakamoto utilizes a unique setup. The performers will adapt the courtyard inside the Fowler Museum into a stage with the audience viewing the performance through glass windows from the encircling galleria. Sakamoto customized this transformation of space specifically for the Fowler venue.
“I think Michael really wanted it to be kind of like a fishbowl experience in a way,” said Bonnie Poon, manager of public programs at the Fowler.
“The Empty Room” features three other professional dance performers and instructors, Waewdao Sirisook, D. Sabela Grimes and Krenly Guzman. Their performances will bring different religious and historical perspectives from their own backgrounds ““ a Thai dancer, an African American and a Puerto Rican American, respectively, the performers will express their cultural identities through dance.
Each of the dancers, including Sakamoto, a Japanese American, has choreographed ritualistic spiritual practices, only some of which are based on actual traditions.
Sakamoto uses this element of ambiguity to encourage audience members to walk away not with the traditional comfort of understanding a performance fully, but with a sense of curiosity about what they just watched.
“I like audiences to go away questioning what they just experienced, why and what it means. I’m a big believer in curiosity about … experience and life itself,” he said.
“If I can spark any deep passion or care for inquiry in a young person, then I’ll be satisfied as an artist.”