STUDIO 303 Montreal, Canada
VANGELINE (US) — Butoh: the crucible of body and mind
Jan. 28 to Feb. 1st, 2019 – 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Mon.-Fri.)
$75 with the support of *Emploi-Québec (or $110, non-eligible rate)
$17 drop-ins (unless full)
Open to artists of all disciplines / Bilingual teacher
Capacity: 25 people, priority for full week attendance
“This is one of the best workshops I have ever taken. If it were available every month, I would always take it. All aspects are applicable to my work as a theatre maker.” (Anthony Kennedy)
Developed in post-World War II Japan, Butoh is a dance form characterized by the deep investigation of impermanence, authentic expression, and letting go. Butoh as a body practice is about “revealing” rather than “showing.” In Butoh, we research through mindful repetition and physical engagement, transforming our shadow and unveiling our most authentic selves. This practice is a wonderful opportunity to practice concentration, regardless of our surrounding circumstances. Vangeline’s Butoh workshop creates a supportive environment to start an individual and collective process of investigation through creative movement. Participants start a spiritual and energetic journey to express, heal and transform hidden aspects of themselves. Vangeline’s Butoh classes incorporate Japanese Butoh, bio-energetics, core energetics, elements of Noguchi gymnastics, and guided imagery to offer a high-energy workshop adapted to each group’s level of physical fitness. This unique training is an invaluable tool for dancers, actors, adult beginners, encouraging participants to open up and expand physically and energetically. Absolute beginners are welcome.
Vangeline is a teacher, dancer, and choreographer specializing in the Japanese postwar avant-garde movement form Butoh. She is the Artistic Director of the Vangeline Theater (New York), a dance company firmly rooted in the tradition of Japanese Butoh while carrying it into the 21st century, and the founder of the New York Butoh Institute. Vangeline draws on more than 16 years of experience as a Butoh teacher and Butoh performer. She is the winner of the 2015 Gibney Dance’s Beth Silverman-Yam Social Action Award, and the founder of the 10-year running, award-winning program “Dream a Dream Project”, which brings Butoh dance to incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities across New York City. Widely regarded as an expert in her field, Vangeline is a regular guest Butoh teacher at universities such as Cornell University, New York University, and Brooklyn College. Recent invitations include teaching at CUNY and a residency at Princeton University (Princeton Atelier).
She is a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and continues to take accredited training and professional development programs in continuing education from the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Science. She is currently writing a book, which explores a groundbreaking, scientific approach to butoh. She teaches trauma-informed Butoh classes.