74
Ohno’s attitude here is like that of Heidegger; the “day-to-day” reality of the dance 
is immaterial when compared to the feelings encountered by the audience through 
reflecting on their individual consciousness. Furthermore, by analysing in this way, 
we will be able to get a sense of the deeper forces at work in Ohno’s butoh that 
affect and charm his audiences. 
My Mother’s Daydream, sometimes referred to as Mother’s Dream, was one of five 
solo dances that made up Ohno’s show My Mother. Ohno’s mother was one of 
his muses. Her life experiences, including the loss of her daughter at a young age 
and her final words, served as the foundation for this piece (DAN 2020). This can 
be seen in the opening moments of the solo My Mother’s Daydream, when Ohno 
begins to dance with and around a small red table. When Ohno first rises from the 
floor (00:09:00), the difference in size between him and the table becomes  
incredibly apparent. So, when Ohno eventually climbs onto the table (01:01:00), in 
this moment, we can see a mother trying to fill the void left by her child. The larger 
figure amidst the small furniture evokes the image of a mother by her child’s crib. 
Phenomenologically, there was initially a sense of worry and unease. The table, 
in comparison to Ohno, looked unstable and unsafe to place so much weight and 
trust in. Although this later led to sympathy and sadness, as we then see a mother 
willing to do anything to hold onto the memory of her daughter. 
 Here rests our first contradiction: seeing the dancer and then the character. In 
theatre, we suspend our disbelief to believe the actors on stage have become 
someone else. However, in this instance, seeing Ohno as a dancer in relation 
to the mise-en-scène was what initially drew me into the moment. Contrary to 
Stanislavsky’s thinking that charm is “intangible” (1989:245), in this moment, 
Ohno’s height and physical presence were the key in grasping my attention. It was 
later in the dance that the experiences of the character were further illuminated by 
this moment. 
Dream of Love is the final solo in My Mother, but Ohno also danced it separately 
as its own individual performance (DAN, 2020), which separates it slightly from 
the other solos in My Mother. This is immediately evident in the recording as Ohno 
emerges without the make-up or the gown, instead wearing a simple suit on a bare 
stage; so unlike in My Mother’s Daydream, there are fewer tangible ways in which 
the audience is likely to be charmed. However, in this dance, Ohno draws the  
audience in by establishing an intimate relationship with his own body and sharing 
it with the audience. Throughout the dance, Ohno weaves his hands in intricate 
patterns whilst his eyes, and eyeline, follow (00:36:00). By placing his attention 
lightly on the parts of his body that are moving and actively tracking them, he 
guides the attention of the audience to the significance of these movements.  
Similar principles are used in puppetry. Puppeteers make the audience believe 
in the reality of the puppet by directing all their focus and attention into it. His 
weaving and winding through the space becomes slightly hypnotic as the viewer 

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.