Akihito Ichihara and Vangeline
In residency with MERCURY STORE
with
MAN WOMAN
with costumes by Machine Dazzle
and composer Ray Barragan Sweeten
at the MERCURY SYORE
Oct 14-18, 2024
Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute has partnered with ELF and the legendary New York artist Machine Dazzle to create a new duet titled MAN WOMAN, a collaboration between Butoh dancers Akihito Ichihara (Sankai Juku, ELF) and Vangeline. Ichihara and Vangeline will develop MAN WOMAN during a MERCURY STORE Residency. MAN WOMAN is expected to premiere in the US in New York in 2025. Machine Dazzle has created original costumes for this piece and Ray Barragan Sweeten will compose the soundscape for MAN WOMAN.
MAN WOMAN is a duet about love articulated through the language of Butoh.
The piece is a reimagining of Japanese photographer Eikoh Hosoe’s eponymous photo book from 1960. Choreographed and performed by Butoh dancers Akihito Ichihara and Vangeline, the duet explores the tension between male and female forms by way of an intimate encounter. The iconic poses from Hosoe’s work serve as inspiration and leitmotifs for this sculptural piece; like photographs coming to life, the dancers weave in and out of the poses without making physical contact. The tension found in negative space rises, a commentary on distance and connection in intimate relationships that culminates in a single touch.
Eikoh Hosoe’s photographic masterpiece tried to “capture the human drama in the dark, like a ritual in a closed room," by featuring Tatsumi Hijikata, the founder of Butoh, and his wife Motofuji in sexualized depictions of traditional gender roles. This new, dynamic dance encounter between two 21st-century Butoh artists from Japan and the US disrupts normative expectations of dyadic heterosexual relationships. The dancers embody ambiguous gender roles as they slowly emerge from what seems an enchanted forest as creatures that are only half human, bedecked in fantastical costumes created by Machine Dazzle. In an allusion to Ninjinski’s Rites of Spring, a piece that exerted a profound influence on Butoh, they gradually perform a mating ritual of sorts. However, never before in the history of the art form has the dramaturgy of a piece been propelled by such extravagant, wildly colorful, campy, and fabulous costumes; the signature costumes by Machine Dazzle are reminiscent of Louis XIV and Versailles and carry the story forward as the dancers gradually undress until only classic Butoh white remains.
Ichihara and Vangeline each come from different Butoh backgrounds; Ichihara from Sankai Juku, or what could be considered “classical” Butoh, while Vangeline’s 20 years of Butoh expertise was informed by her prior experience as a jazz and burlesque dancer. The artists imagine this encounter as cultural cross-pollination: the creation of something new and original choreographically, challenging aesthetic expectations and carrying Butoh into the 21st century.
Photos by Michael Blase
Akihito Ichihara (“Ichi”) and Vangeline first met at the Sankai Juku summer camp in 2016 in Japan, and have long admired each other’s work. They decided to embark on a collaboration in October of 2023, only knowing that they wanted to work on a duet. In a stroke of inspiration, Vangeline asked Ichi’s thoughts on utilizing signature costumes created by her friend and collaborator of decades, the iconic queer artist Machine Dazzle. Ichi responded with unbridled enthusiasm, and thus, MAN WOMAN was born.
Machine Dazzle and Vangeline became friends as performers in the ‘90s at nightclubs in New York City. Ichi has also known Machine for years, as Sankai Juku and Machine are both represented in New York by Pomegranate Arts. Having immense trust in Machine’s talent, skills, and vision, the dancers gave Machine carte blanche to create a costume for each of them, with only the directive that it must be ornate and flamboyant, with elements removed layer by layer until only Butoh white remained.
Machine’s costumes turn the dancers into sculptures, creating entirely new shapes that necessarily inform their movements. Vangeline and Ichi respond not only to one another’s choreographic vocabulary but also to the wearable art that adorns them. In turn, Machine modifies the costumes to facilitate the emergent dramaturgy of the piece. Vangeline and Sweeten have built on a 20-year history of creative collaboration; All four artists are seasoned professionals who see this collaboration as an exploration, expanding their own artistry as they influence one another.
The artists involved in MAN WOMAN are masterful, successful professionals embarking on this collaboration to elevate their own craft, push artistic boundaries, create a legacy, and help shape the future of Butoh.
For Akihito Ichihara and Vangeline, this duet is an unprecedented opportunity to synergize with a peer whose artistic vocabulary so harmoniously complements their own. These self-described "Butoh twins" find it "revolutionary" to choreograph together, as their mutual influence on one another brings forth novel expressions rooted in decades of experience. Machine Dazzle's elaborate, sculptural costumes provide both constraints and possibilities that urge innovation. Simply creating a dance that realizes the progressive potential of Butoh today will mean they have succeeded.
That said, these artists intend to bring MAN WOMAN in front of the entire world. This is only the start of a project that will take on a life of its own, as they all want it to grow and evolve over the next decade as it encounters spectators of all stripes. Vangeline and Ichi see this collaboration as an investment into the future of the art, a labor of love that will allow new audiences to experience the transformative, healing potential of Butoh. They hope that MAN WOMAN will reconfigure Butoh in the public consciousness, attracting new practitioners who will invigorate it and bring it forward into the 21st century as an avenue of authentic expression available to anybody.
As an avant-garde art, Butoh has as many varieties as choreographers. Its tendency to visceral emotionality expressed truthfully makes it a healing practice for many afflicted by trauma and violence. In this way, simply the wider proliferation of Butoh is a boon to the diversity of the dance world.
And yet, the few Americans familiar with Butoh have their impression of it colored by the stark and minimalist style of the all-male, all-Japanese Sankai Juku. Featuring the troupe's own Akihito Ichihara as an equal counterpart to non-Japanese woman Vangeline, both flamboyantly adorned, MAN WOMAN disrupts each of these limited expectations. Their collaboration with one another - and with Machine Dazzle, who infuses an unmistakably queer sensibility - is revolutionary on- and off-stage. Vangeline’s refusal to submit to Ichi in narrative is only superseded in feminist significance by their true partnership behind the scenes. In an art form in which women have rarely risen to positions of prominence, MAN WOMAN showcases the realities and possibilities of Butoh in the 21st century – one in which neither gender, race, nor sexuality are barriers to success.
Moreover, orchestrated by a trio in their 50s, MAN WOMAN is a rebuttal to ageism in a world that expects dancers to retire by 40. It is a testament to the prowess and revelatory potential of seasoned professionals, reaching new heights in their careers after decades of perfecting their craft, and an inspiration to people of all creeds.
LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST EPISODES ABOUT MAN WOMAN
BIOGRAPHIES
Akihito Ichihara
Akihito Ichihara is Japanese Butoh dancer (ELF, Sankai Juku).
Ichihara started acting in his teenage years. In the 1980s, he was greatly influenced by watching the renowned Butoh troupe Sankai Juku on TV, which inspired him to explore a greater range of physical expression on stage. In 1993, he majored in theater at Nihon University College of Art. He was moved to pursue a Butoh career in 1994; in 1996, he studied with Semimaru, a founding member of Sankai Juku. In 1997, he appeared as a dancer in an opera directed by Ushio Amagatsu, the artistic director and choreographer of Sankai Juku, and later joined Sankai Juku. Since then, he has been featured in Sankai Juku’s entire repertoire and most of Sankai Juku’s world tours.
Ichihara is very active in theater, dance, and Butoh. In addition to his solo projects, he has worked with the most significant butoh dancers and butoh troupes in the history of contemporary butoh. Since the 2005 recreation of “Kinkan Shonen” (which premiered in 1978), he has danced solos in many of Sankai Juku’s performances and has led the group dances as one of the principal dancers. He is also in charge of the design and production of the accessories dancers wear on stage.
Parallel to his work with Sankai Juku, he collaborates with various choreographers, directors, and dance groups worldwide. He is also a guest faculty at Okayama University Graduate School and a guest speaker at international forums.
In 2022, he founded the dance company “ELF” with dancers Kei Kamioka, Rino Fujimoto, and Miu Shibata. Since then, ELF has held workshops and presented works at renowned institutions and universities worldwide. In the spring of 2023, ELF went on tour in Latin America in Bogota, Colombia, and various locations in Mexico, Taiwan, and San Francisco. These activities received critical acclaim and repeat invitations. The company plans a world tour in 2024.
While many underground and grotesque expressions exist in Butoh, Ichihara, and ELF’s Butoh dance has deeply resonated with people worldwide. This dance is based on the “Sankai Juku Method,” a method accessible to everyone. By developing this method, Ichihara aims to go beyond Butoh by developing a dance technique that can bring a higher level of excellence to professional dancers in ballet, modern, and contemporary dance.
Ichihara hopes to continue learning, collaborating, progressing, and contributing to the development of dance worldwide. He is interested in creating and directing various dance projects that transcend borders, cultural differences, and styles of expression.
Ichihara aims to develop a form of dance that promotes empathy and mutual respect. His goal is to do this worldwide, even between countries and cities that still bear the scars of war. He would like to contribute by acting as a bridge and connecting people across the borders despite their differences.
By sharing physical expressions, dancing, and empathizing with each other, the hope is to transcend borders and contribute to peace efforts worldwide. Based on this idea, ELF advocates a ”Dance Project without Borders.”
Recent work by Akihito Ichihara
Photo by Pili Pala
Vangeline
Vangeline is a teacher, dancer, and choreographer specializing in Japanese Butoh. She is the artistic director of the Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute (New York), a dance company firmly rooted in the tradition of Japanese butoh while carrying it into the twenty-first century.
The Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute is dedicated to advancing Butoh in the 21st century, with a particular emphasis on education, social justice, research, and archiving.
The Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute reaches out to the New York and international community by offering public Butoh classes, workshops, and performances through collaborations with international and national Butoh artists. Our socially conscious performances tie together butoh and activism; our work addresses issues of gender inequality and social justice. Our yearly New York Butoh Institute Festival elevates the visibility of women in butoh, and our festival Queer Butoh gives a voice to LGBTQIA+ butoh artists.
Our award-winning, 18-year running program, The Dream a Dream Project, brings Butoh dance to incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities across New York State. "The Dream a Dream Project" contributes to the rehabilitation of New York's incarcerated population. Overall, our programs promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the field of butoh.
Vangeline firmly believes that Butoh can be an instrument of personal and collective transformation in the 21st century. This transformation comes from holding a mirror to each other and integrating our many facets–the beautiful and the ugly; and from reintegrating the forgotten of our society into our midst.
Vangeline’s choreographed works have been performed in Chile, Hong Kong, Germany, Denmark, France, the UK, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. She is a 2022/2023 Gibney Dance Dance in Process residency and the 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Dance Award winner. She is also a 2018 NYFA/NYSCA Artist Fellow in Choreography for Elsewhere, the winner of the 2015 Gibney Dance Social Action Award and the 2019 Janet Arnold Award from the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Her work has been heralded in publications such as the New York Times (“captivating”) and Los Angeles Times (“moves with the clockwork deliberation of a practiced Japanese Butoh artist”) to name a few. Film projects include a starring role alongside actors James Franco and Winona Ryder in the feature film by director Jay Anania, 'The Letter" (2012-Lionsgate).
In recent years, she has been commissioned by triple Grammy Award-winning artists Esperanza Spalding, Skrillex, and David J. (Bauhaus). She is the author of the critically-acclaimed book: Butoh: Cradling Empty Space, which explores the intersection of Butoh and neuroscience. She pioneered the first neuroscientific study of Butoh (“The Slowest Wave”). She is also featured on BBC’s podcast Deeply Human with host Dessa (episode 2 of 12: Why We Dance).
Recent work by Vangeline
Machine Dazzle
Machine Dazzle. Beloved downtown bon vivant and all-around creative provocateur Machine Dazzle has been dazzling stages via costumes, sets, and performance since his arrival in New York in 1994. An artist, costume designer, set designer, singer/songwriter, art director, and maker, Machine describes himself as a radical queer emotionally driven, instinct-based concept artist and thinker trapped in the role of costume designer, sometimes.
Machine designs intricate, unconventional wearable art pieces and bespoke installations. As a stage designer, Machine has collaborated with artists from the New York downtown scene and beyond – including Julie Atlas Muz, Big Art Group, Mx. Justin Vivian Bond, Taylor Mac, Basil Twist, Godfrey Reggio, Jennifer Miller, The Dazzle dancers, Big Art Group, Mike Albo, Stanley Love, Soomi Kim, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Opera Philadelphia, the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, the Curran Theatre, and Spiegelworld; and has created bespoke looks for fashion icons including designer Diane von Furstenberg and model Cara Delevingne for the 2019 Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala.
Machine’s costumes and sets were featured in Taylor Mac’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated A 24-Decade History of Popular Music. A documentary feature film directed by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein and co-produced by Pomegranate Arts will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023.
In 2019, Machine was commissioned by Guggenheim Works and Process and The Rockefeller Brothers to create Treasure, a rock-and-roll cabaret of original songs including a fashion show inspired by the content.
Recent collaborations include the Catalyst Quartet on Bassline Fabulous – a reimagining of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his debut collaboration with Opera Lafayette, for the historic premiere of the never-before-seen Rameau comedic opéra-ballet, Io.
Dazzle was a co-recipient the 2017 Bessie Award for Outstanding Visual Design, the winner of a 2017 Henry Hewes Design Award, and a 2022 United States Artists Fellow. He delivered a TED Talk at TED Vancouver in 2023.
Machine Dazzle’s work has been exhibited internationally. His first solo exhibition, Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle, was held at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City in 2022.
https://www.pomegranatearts.com/artist/machine/
Photo by Gregory Kramer
Ray Barragan Sweeten
Ray Barragan-Sweeten (b. 1975) is a visual artist & sound maker based in New York and Rhode Island. He has performed and screened works at Moma/PS1, San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, New York Film Festival, Anthology Film Archive, Issue Project Room, Participant Gallery, Microscope Gallery, The Kitchen, Roulette, and toured throughout Europe as a member of Fabrica Musica. He has released music as f13 on Beige Records as The Mitgang Audio on Suction Records. In 2010 he co-founded DataSpaceTime with visual artist Lisa Gwilliam and has exhibited, performed, and screened works at Centre Pompidou, Parish Museum, City Center NY, Microscope Gallery, AS220, Next Festival at BAM, Florida Atlantic University, and Cica Museum. He has taught at Guggenheim Museum and was guest artist faculty at Sarah Lawrence with L. Gwilliam. DataSpaceTime is represented by Microscope Gallery in NYC.
Monira Foundation expands the reach and quality of art available to the public through residencies, exhibitions, and public programs that address urgent and ongoing community needs, particularly as these needs evolve and change in New York, New Jersey, and Chicago.
This program is supported in parts by the Japan Foundation New York, the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Monira Foundation.
