Dancer Kazuo Ohno died June 1 in Yokohama due to respiratory failure at the age of 103, it has been reported. Born in Hakodate, Hokkaido, in 1906, Ohno was along with Tatsumi Hijikata a pioneer of post-war avant-garde Butoh dance. He remained active through to his 100th birthday, continuing to perform in a wheel chair after he was no longer able to stand under his own power. The first acknowledged Butoh piece, 1959’s Kinjiki (Forbidden Colors), was performed by Tatsumi Hijikata, but also featured Ohno’s son, Yoshito. Since then, the style of dance known for its incorporation of stark, white make-up and drawn-out, tightly controlled movements has become an international phenomenon, and spawned many variants. Ohno toured extensively throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Americas, and in 1999 was recognized with the Michelangelo Antonioni Award for the Arts.
