As a new resident of new york city ... and a butoh dancer... i have been fascinated by the different "factions" of butoh culture i see eddying around the city in pools. i see the development and ongoing work of the artists in each group manifesting the future of butoh itself. not surprisingly, there is some conflict among the groups (though loyalty prevails within each one).

There is one group that seems particularly dedicated to the idea that butoh is a cathartic process, a type of therapy, which requires going deeply inward emotionally (rather than just physically). Rather than using images, this group uses ideas and relationships as the starting points for movement. The choreography generated from this group is all about exposing the deepest parts of the inner self and emotions (often dark) to the audience. Another group uses images (mostly found in nature) and movement that is derived from the japanese roots of butoh. This groups is less open to the outside artist except through workshops and tends to work from a more pure extraction of the original japanese form. Other nyc butoh artists use butoh in both ways mentioned above and in combination. Some have taken butoh and made it funny, burlesque, oriented to nightclubs and vaudeville. In general, I see a lot of factionalism which happens eventually in all art forms. Artists are natural non-conformists. I wonder if these trends will deepen and continue?

i don't know if this means that we will see (or Continue To See) different manifestations of the future of butoh rather than one movement, or not...hard to say. I think more will form though.

Kitsune, I definetly agree w/ you that "butoh is something you grow into over time".
I always felt it deep in my bones, but my mind and enegry didnt quite get the picture, in the beginning.
Tho after practicing and performing I feel that the relationship between body/mind are molding together nicely.