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Japanese Butoh dance. Formed in 1975 by Ushio Amagatsu, Sankai Juku creates an other worldly, emotionally charged atmosphere, uniting the audience in an imagined world of secret ritual. The work is sensual, meticulously choreographed and performed with immense intensity. This season, the company presents Kagemi, or Beyond the Metaphors of Mirrors, a work in seven tableaux for seven dancers. ‘Kage’ roughly translates as shadow and ‘Mi’, seeing or being seen, and it is thought that ‘Kagemi’ is perhaps the origin of the word mirror: a surface which is at once reflective and reflexive. Amagatsu uses this notion to explore concepts of identity and metamorphosis. Sankai Juku’s distinctive style, using shifting natural forms such as sand and water, is once again in evidence here - the powdered white dancers create striking visual imagery and the spectacular set, composed of huge suspended lotus flowers, moves inexorably to dominate the stage. Now a regular feature of the Sadler’s Wells programme, Sankai Juku again prove that they are a theatrical force that demands our attention.