The Body as a Battlefield of Spirit: Asia Butoh Gathering 2026 Descends on Manila

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

In the quiet tension between a falling leaf and a rising storm, the art of Butoh finds its home. This February, Manila transforms into the epicenter of this "dance of darkness" as the Asia Butoh Gathering (ABG) 2026 convenes practitioners from across the continent for a landmark three-day festival.

Titled "Moving Roots, Moving Cultures," the gathering is more than a performance series; it is a profound cultural bridge marking 70 years of Japan-Philippines diplomatic relations. From February 6 to 8, artists from Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines will unite to explore the shared pulse of an Asian identity through embodied movement.

A Living Ecology: Butoh in the Time of Ecological Crisis

While Butoh was born in the post-war soil of Japan, ABG 2026 recognizes it as a living, evolving ecology. The festival’s curatorial frame, "Butoh in the Time of Ecological Crisis," addresses a world grappling with environmental collapse and the desperate hope for renewal.

The visual heart of the festival is a haunting stage installation: a floating, uprooted tree—suspended in mid-air, wounded yet stubbornly alive. It serves as a visceral symbol of the tension between decay and resilience, mirroring the festival's central performance program, "Falling Earth, Moving Sky". This performance arc moves from the "Falling Earth"—gestures of extinction and grief—to the "Moving Sky," where bodies search for new forms of kinship and repair.

The Program: From Critical Discourse to Embodied Magic

The festival offers a rich tapestry of intellectual and physical immersion across multiple venues:

Dialogue & Workshops (Feb 6): The event opens at WhyNot Manila with roundtable conversations featuring speakers from nine Asian regions, moderated by Katrina Stuart Santiago, and a keynote by Anton Juan. The evening transitions into the physical with a workshop led by the renowned Yuko Kawamoto.

Archives & Cinema (Feb 7): Attendees can experience a screening of the 84-minute film Darkness Princess Bamboo, followed by lecture-presentations from Japanese masters Kae Ishimoto, Tenko Ima, and Yuko Kawamoto.

The Grand Finale (Feb 8): The festival culminates at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium (RCBC) with the ticketed performance "Falling Earth, Moving Sky," a powerful exploration of ancestry, land, and gender.

Festival At-a-Glance

Feature Details

Dates

February 6-8, 2026 

Theme

Moving Roots, Moving Cultures 

Primary Venue

WhyNot Manila (Makati) & Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium (RCBC) 

Core Philosophy

Kapwa—shared self and interconnectedness 

Ticketing & Registration

The festival invites both the curious and the devoted to join this process of reflection and exchange. While many daytime sessions are free, the closing performance is a ticketed event with Early Bird rates available until January 31, 2026.

Early Bird: ₱800 

General Admission: ₱1,000 

Student/PWD: ₱800 (or ₱600 with Early Bird) 

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