"exploring the most fundamental elements of physical and psychological existence"

Sunday 21 November 2010 : Kuala Lumpur Workshop with YUMI UMIUMARE

Acclaimed Melbourne-based performer Yumi Umiumare will introduce the discipline of Butoh dance – its philosophy and physical etudes – within the framework of contemporary Japanese/Western physical theatre-making. Yumi’s hybrid existence that spans both Japanese and Australian culture has inspired her in the creation and development of a unique genre: Butoh Cabaret in which she explores cultural identity, narrative and abstraction.
Participants will explore the elements of body presence through

•     ABC – Accumulating Being Contrasting)
•     Spatial elements – MA 間 both internal and external
•     Imaginary exercises – internal and external landscape

Individual narrative will also be explored through

•     Characterization)
•     Provocation
•     Transformation

About BUTOH

Butoh, conceived in Japan during the late 50’s and early 60’s, during the social turmoil after the war sought to find an expression through dance and movement for a visible and invisible state of living. Rather than aspiring to an aesthetic ideal, the dance attempts to expose the joys and sorrows of life through the Butoh Sprit, exploring the most fundamental elements of physical and psychological existence.
about YUMI UMIUMARE

Yumi is a dancer, choreographer and the creator of Butoh Cabaret and visceral dance theatre works. Originally a member of the seminal Butoh Company DaiRakudakan in Tokyo, she moved to Australia in 1993. Yumi has been creating her distinctive style of hybrid works over the last 20 years and her works have been seen in numerous festivals in dance, theatre and film productions throughout Australia, Japan, East and West Europe, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and most recently Indonesia. Her award winning productions include Fleeting Moment, Tokyo DasSHOKU Girl, and DasSHOKU Hora!!. Yumi performs in legendary The Burlesque Hour all over the world and also in the acclaimed aboriginal dance theatre productions Burning Daylight and Ngapartji Ngapartji. Most recently she created EnTrance, a highly praised one-woman multimedia work touring throughout 2010-2011. She teaches Butoh regularly in Australia.