shadowbody

This is what a lineage tree of over 650 butoh artists looks like. The bubble in the bottom right are those who haven't studied under anybody or who haven't revealed who.

If you're a butoh artist, you can add yourself to the directory at butohdirectory.com/.

4 months ago | [YT] | 11

shadowbody

Hi all, I heavily recommend this site-specific dance and butoh retreat guided by friends and co-members of Nomadic Dance Collective -- Concetta Cariello and Alessia Mallardo -- taking place at the French Alps.
More info here:


nomadic.dance/upcoming-events-traces-of-the-living


I know there is an early bird until the 25th of this month.


Contact: nomadic.dance.collective@gmail.com

5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

shadowbody

I've been very busy for the past week engaged in a new initiative that was born out of the need for a more complete and reliable Butoh list/archive, one that truly represents ALL Butoh artists, and one that can be regularly updated.
butohdirectory.com/ is here where Butoh artists and lineages can be explored, and artists can add themselves or somebody else.


For all you dedicated Butoh people, add yourself, and if in case you are already on the list, if you want to update any of the information, simply add yourself again and the old post will be deleted.

5 months ago | [YT] | 10

shadowbody

Dara Siligato (Italy) will fly into Tbilisi specifically to offer a 4-day Butoh laboratory via Plazm Platform.

May 22, Thursday – 11:00-14:00
May 23, Friday – 14:00-17:00
May 24, Saturday – 17:00-20:00
May 25, Sunday – 11:00-14:00

60 GEL (20 EUR) per day
200 GEL (66 EUR) for all 4 days

More info & Registration form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe8Z7a3ijsbBoM3nK…

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7 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 3

shadowbody

Join the free virtual seminar on the subject of the intersection between Butoh and Christianity hosted by CID. To register, email danceandspirituality@gmail.com.

8 months ago | [YT] | 3

shadowbody

Join Santeri (Finland) and Adam (USA) for a unique collaboration: Butoh: Space & Spirit. Together, they will delve into two profound dimensions of butoh dance theatre, drawing inspiration from its co-founders, Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno.

Reservation info: www.facebook.com/share/19e8n1ZJdD

The two dimensions, Space and Spirit, embody distinct yet intertwined aspects of creation:
Space centers on resonance, the endless unfolding of creation, its metamorphosis, and its mystery.
Spirit focuses on the spark of inspiration—the force that moves us deeply, as if touched by God or the "Provider."
How will these two dimensions engage in dialogue and dance with one another? Over the course of 9 days, the answer will emerge through exploration and performance.


The 9-day intensive takes place daily from Saturday, January 25th, to Sunday, February 2nd, running from 5 PM to 8 PM. On the final day, participants will engage in a full improvisational jam, integrating all that has been explored and learned over the previous eight days.


Location: Tbilisi Music & Drama State @ Natia's studio, 2 Giorgi Tsabadze St, Tbilisi (same building as New Platform)


Santeri Vikström (Finland)


In this workshop series, Santeri Vikström will present a holistic approach to butoh, allowing participants to explore existence in its heights and depths, and to dance towards embodiment, creativity, metamorphosis, and space itself.
Through various techniques, frameworks, and exercises, we will discover ways to deepen our movement practice, participatory access, and flow. Methods such as the water body technique, body resonance method, and integrative use of images will be introduced, alongside the ritualistic aspects of butoh. These practices enable participants to connect with their guts and beyond and to navigate the liminal spaces of transformation.
The workshop includes clear, meditative instructions supported by insightful philosophy, offering a profound and reflective experience.


***


Santeri Vikström is a system poet, butoh practitioner, artist, and curious wanderer from Helsinki. With a background in butoh, various wisdom traditions, and improvisational theater, Santeri has been actively practicing butoh since 2012. His work focuses on building bridges between butoh and other disciplines, cultivating the possibility of an emerging artful alchemy.


Over the years, he has organized and presented performances, workshops, and long-term courses across the globe and has been studying butoh and other methods with various butoh artists and somatic practitioners. Santeri is a co-founder of the iLiminal Butoh Collective.


Adam Koan (USA)


Adam returns after offering several butoh sessions throughout the years in Georgia with his latest project Theokinesis (theokinesis.com/).


Theokinesis draws inspiration from Christian wisdom and the co-founder of butoh Kazuo Ohno's emphasis on "Spirit." Kazuo, a practicing Christian, rooted his understanding of "Spirit" to the Holy Spirit.


In this intensive, we will explore the 6 Wings of Theokinesis, a framework designed to guide dancers toward establishing a personal connection with God or "Provider." Through this connection, the dancer responds with their entire being, much like King David in the Bible. As described in 2 Samuel 6:14-15, David, wearing a linen ephod, danced like a wild man before the Lord, accompanied by the shouts and trumpets of all Israel as they brought the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem.


In Theokinesis, the body and immediate space transform into a living church. Using the creative medium of butoh dance theatre, this practice seeks to liberate the body from everyday constraints, allowing it to move freely and become a sacred offering.
***
Adam Koan is a butoh practitioner and performance artist with a history in classical dance. Since 2013, he has toured extensively across the USA, Europe, Mexico, and India, performing and facilitating butoh workshops and intensives. Over the course of his journey, Adam has studied under 43 international butoh and butoh-related guides, shaping his unique approach to his butoh.


Currently, Adam's work is fully dedicated to Theokinesis—a pedagogy, dance, and performance art project he launched in November 2023.


Adam is also the creator of the Shadowbody Butoh Manual (butohmanual.com/), an expansive resource designed for those seeking to engage in self-study and deepen their practice in butoh. See less

1 year ago | [YT] | 4

shadowbody

Telegram link: t.me/+p-J8aZ3oTfY2ODcy

1 year ago | [YT] | 6

shadowbody

The first workshops of Theokinesis happening this 4th & 5th and will reoccur every Thurs & Fri after till mid May in Bhagsu, India.

The rest of the calendar for this year so far. There's still some gaps for some other activity in Europe. If you want Theokinesis in your area, let me know!

theokinesis.com/

4, 6, 11, 13, 18 Jun | Tbilisi, Georgia | Classes | 5 days @ Lumos Studio, 7PM

9 – 13 Jul | Malczyce, Poland | Intensive & Performance | 4 days, 2 hour workshops @ Slot Art Festival

15 – 20 Aug | Gorzanow, Poland | Intensive & Performance | 1-week, Institute of Devotional Arts

9 – 21 Sep | Sirince, Turkey | Intensive | 2-week program | STOA

1 year ago | [YT] | 17

shadowbody

I’ve been in the dance field for 12 years, endlessly traveling, constantly searching for how to take my dance to a deeper place. In this search, I’ve come full circle, back to the faith familiar to me growing up, seeing that all along, what I’ve been searching for was always in my backyard, hidden in plain sight. Here was depth, Spirit, Love, soul—things I know deep down inside everybody is seeking in their own way.

Quite possibly the most common message from near death experiences is put plainly here by NDEr Veronica: “Our main purpose is love and realizing the source of that love, which is God.” (1) This message is precisely the core message of Jesus’s gospels. Anybody who goes into a deep dive with this message will automatically find themselves in a journey of mysticism—communication with God, Spirit, and the heavenly realm.

The Passion of Christ was the greatest performance of all time. The practice of the Christian faith when it's not luke warm is nothing but depth that penetrates deeply into the heart. The message of the gospels is the science of love. There is only depth, the milk and honey that gives anything any true meaning in the first place.

So of course the Christian faith can fit right in with Butoh as Butoh has always had the reputation of being “something more” or “liminal.” The co-creator himself (Kazuo Ohno) was someone who embodied the Christian faith into his every being. He didn't talk about it, he embodied it. This is precisely why, I feel, he left such a deep impression in the performance world because he lived the Spirit and those around him felt the Spirit.

It’s been nearly 3 months now since developing Theokinesis, a Christian-based pedagogy and performance project. The website is a Creative Commons resource for dance ministers, theatre, dance, and experimental body researchers to take inspiration from. The resource undergoes continuous updates, similar to my previous project, the Shadowbody Butoh Manual. As of this writing, there are over 75 exercises, much of which has been adapted from butoh exercises experienced or guided throughout my 10-year butoh career.

2024 is a year of focus on Theokinesis. I am still in the process of booking where I'll be in the world. If you get any ideas, I am always open to hearing them.

April & May | Dharamkot, India | 2 day per week classes
15 - 28 July | Sesalac, Serbia | Rebel For Christ 2 week camp
14 - 20 August | Gorzanow, Poland | Institute of Devotional Arts

The website: theokinesis.com/

-----
(1) Long, Jeffrey, MD. God and the Afterlife. The Groundbreaking New Evidence of Near-Death Experience. Page 57.

1 year ago | [YT] | 3

shadowbody

Since October, I have been in India diligently developing a new Christian butoh dance theatre method that incorporates my entire history of butoh, theatre, and contemporary dance.

I am making headway for the beginning of a 2024 schedule. Thusfar, God willing, Theokinesis will be piloted in Dharamkot (India) for the months of April & May, and there is also a 1 week intensive happening in Poland in August (more info TBA). There is obviously much more calendar to fill and am open to being in Europe (especially Eastern Europe) for Summer & Fall.

If anybody knows of any organizations or even churches that may be interested in this pedagogical and performative project, feel free to let me know. This is a project that touches at the very depths of my heart, and so I shall go wherever I am led to go with it.

For more info, check out: theokinesis.com/

2 years ago | [YT] | 4