"We had a nice benefit here on November 11.  That was, coincidentally, the same day that they had Anzu's memorial in Japan.  Hiroko Tamano performed a compelling and touching tribute to Anzu.  They were planning to dance together some day."

They also included an email from Chikashi Furukawa (Anzu's 'little boy' brother) dated October 23rd that read, in part, "I am sorry to inform you that Anzu passed away early this morning. She had been sleeping for more than 30 hours and stopped breathing in peace with her two lovely children holding her hands. She danced at Freiburg New Dance Festival only 20 days ago. In my memory, Anzu was and is always a 'little girl in an oversized dress'. She ran through all of us in such a hurry."

ANZU FURUKAWA

born: February 28, 1952 in Tokyo, Japan
died: October 23, 2001 in Berlin, Germany

An accomplished ballet dancer, modern dancer, studio pianist for ballet companies and a student of modern composition of music in addition to being both a teacher and performer of Butoh dance.

1973:  Debut as a director and choreographer with the first piece "grand
conceptual opera" SALOME TALE at Deutsche Kultur Zentrum, Tokyo

1974-79:  Soloist in the Butoh Dance Company, DAIRARUDA-KAN directed by
Akaji Maro.  Worked with Carlotta Ikeda, Ko Muroboshi, Ushio Amagatsu.

1979-86:  Co-founded and co-directed the butoh dance company DANCE LOVE MACHINE
with Tetsuro Tamura.  Created 53 original theatre pieces.

1987:  toured Europe and Japan as a solo dancer and as a guest choreographer, 
with  successful performances in Germany, Italy, Finland, Ghana

1989/91/94/95:  Founded and directed the international dance-theater project
DANCE BUTTER TOKIO

1991-97:  University Professorship in Hochschule fur Bildende Kunste
Braunschweig, Germany (schwerpunktPerformance)

Many grants and prizes from the Goethe Institut Tokyo Contemporary music series, The Japan Foundation, Nippon Geijutsu Bunka Shinko Kikin, Afred Kordelin Foundation, The Art Council of Province of Central Finland & Goethe Institut Tokyo, Astro-Labium prize, The International Electronic Cinema Festival-Montreux, Kolner Theatre Prize

SOME THINGS OTHERS SAID ABOUT ANZU FURUKAWA

"Anzu Furukawa is one of the leading Butoh dancers of our time.  Besides performing as a solo dancer, she has also participated in several collaborations of great significance to the development of Butoh. " 
(Kupio Dance Festival 1994)

"Anzu's approach to movement and choreography is a revelation, a re-evaluation, 
a revolution in our thinking about dance. " (The International workshop festival London 1994)

"Anzu Furukawa:  eine Art Pina Bausch von Tokio"
(DER TAGESSPIEGEL 25 Aug 1989)

Those who have seen her perform or who have taken her workshops and classes will remember those times that she shared Butoh with us. Brechin and Molly also asked, "In tribute to this passionate artist, we'd like to collect your messages of remembrance and forward them to Anzu's family.  If you have anything you would like us to pass on to her loved ones, please send your messages back to this email address <sfbutoh@earthlink.net>.  Thank you."

My own experience with Anzu came in 1999, during the San Francisco Butoh Festival. I participated in her workshop and found her to be a good teacher, able to communicate well to her students despite the fact the her English was somewhat limited. She used humor to break the tension that so often can hamper a student from learning. That same humor was communicated in her performance of one of her most famous works, Crocodile Time.

Thank you Anzu, you will be sorely missed.-Dan Hermon