Ushio Amagatsu (天児 牛大, Amagatsu Ushio, 1949 – 25 March 2024) was a Japanese choreographer known as the leader of the Butoh dance group Sankai Juku, which he founded in 1975.
Ushio Amagatsu was born in Yokosuka, Kanagawa in 1949. He was the artistic director, choreographer and a dancer of Sankai Juku. He was also a co-founder of the seminal Butoh collective Dairakudakan in 1972. All Sankai Juku works since 1982 were premiered at and co-produced by Théâtre de la Ville, Paris. Sankai Juku has performed at more than 40 countries, 700 cities worldwide. From 1997, he worked as opera director as well. Amagatsu died from heart failure on 25 March 2024, at the age of 74.[1]