Kazuo Ohno | Japanese dancer, 103

Kazuo Ohno, 103, who brought the Japanese modern dance style of Butoh to the international stage and charmed audiences with eerie but poetic performances, died Tuesday of respiratory failure.

Mr. Ohno was credited along with Tatsumi Hijikata as a founder of Butoh - a dance form characterized by slow movements executed in a low crouched stance and often performed in whiteface.

He was born on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, a son of a fisherman. He began to study dance after graduating from college in the 1930s.

He remained determined to perform even in his 90s, so he "danced" seated in a chair. - AP