BUTOH

Listening to Silence

“Pedro Valiente’s connection to Butoh reveals itself more as an enduring form shaping his vision as a filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist. Drawn to Butoh’s meditative intensity —a living landscape where time, memory, and silence collide— his films breathe with the same elemental force found in Butoh, often unfolding as a dialogue between the ephemeral and the eternal.

MADRID | Valiente’s early formation was marked by an encounter with the legacy of Kazuo Ōhno, whose spirit of poetic embodiment left an indelible imprint on his creative language. Immersing himself in research, performance, and collaboration with Bufons —performers trained in physical and visual theater— he learned to embrace vulnerability, absurdity, and the unseen layers of human emotion. These formative experiences marked a path toward a multidisciplinary view of performance, where gesture, image, and narrative converge into an act of collective memory.

NEW YORK | Seeking to deepen his exploration, Valiente trained closely with Atsushi Takenouchi, whose teachings emphasized the elemental forces of Butoh through organic, site-specific performance. In New York, he was immersed in a vibrant experimental arts scene where practice and creative research intertwined. Here, his practice evolved into an interdisciplinary language, weaving together influences from theater, contemporary dance, installation, and experimental cinema —all grounded by Butoh’s philosophy of presence, transformation, and profound listening.

MEXICO CITY | This groundwork culminated in Flying Fish Over Mexico, a pivotal project blending Butoh, film, and poetry into an epic visual journey. Inspired by the landscapes and cultural histories of Mexico, Valiente collaborated with dancers, artists, and students to create a multimedia performance where the body became a base for the earth’s own myths. In this work, art forms dissolve into one breathing organism.

Today, Valiente’s ongoing projects continue to expand this exploration, integrating immersive media and visual art. In this evolving landscape, he experiments with new modes of presence where the human body interacts with virtual architectures, and the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. These emerging works embody a continuous inquiry into how forms of embodied storytelling can be reimagined through technologies of the present and future.

Pedro Valiente’s ongoing projects expand his exploration of immersive media and visual art. In this evolving landscape, he experiments with new modes of presence, where the body meets virtual architectures and the boundary between reality and imagination blurs. His works ask how storytelling might be reimagined through the technologies of today and tomorrow. His journey is a fearless crossing between the visible and invisible. Rooted in the deep listening of Butoh and reaching toward uncharted realms of creation, this art invites audiences into an intimate encounter where memory, body, and imagination speak as one.” Flying Fish Work I EXTERNAL REVIEW