September 10 was the 26th anniversary of the
death of Japanese dancer Yoshiyuki Takada. He was a member of the Butoh-style
dance troupe Sankai Juku, and perished when he fell off the side of the Mutual Life Building during a performance
of a “hanging dance" in Seattle, Washington.
The dance involved Takada and three of his troupe-mates
being suspended from the roof of the building, then slowly being lowered down the
outside of the building while in a fetal position. It was a dance performance that Takada
and his group had performed many time around the world, but on this occasion,
Takada’s rope broke just seconds after starting the descent. The 31-year-old
dancer fell a reported 80 feet to the pavement below, never releasing from his
fetal position.
After the accident, Takada’s rope was examined and was found
to be incapable of holding his weight, which caused the fall. The rumors were
that, while some tests on the ropes and the rigging had been done, they had not
been a thorough as usual, and it was possible Takada’s rope had not been tested
with sandbags to see if it could hold a person’s weight.
The Los Angeles Times reporter Lewis Segal wrote an excellent article on the tragedy two days after it happened, which can be found here.
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