Weekend Workshop : Butoh as Creative Catalyst

　　　　　　　　　　　Photo by Vikk Shayen: image from ButohOUT!2025

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Butoh as Creative Catalyst 

Weekend Workshop

at Dancehouse

FACILITATOR
Yumi Umiumare

WHEN
27(Fri) 28(Sat) 29(Sun) June 2025

COST
$260/240

WHERE
Dancehouse : 150 Princes St, Carlton North

Terms & Conditions

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Weekend Workshop : Butoh as Creative Catalyst 

Yumi Umiumare and Atsushi Takenouchi in ButohOUT!2025
(Photo by Vikk Shayen)

”When I dance, I try to become one with the light, but I also know that the shadow is always with me.”
Kazuo Ohno
(Butoh dancer who continued performing into his 100s)

Following last year’s popular weekend workshop at Dancehouse, Yumi Umiumare returns to guide participants in discovering their own ‘creative gateway’ through the physical and philosophical approach of Butoh—a Japanese contemporary and subversive dance form.

Originally called the “Dance of Darkness,” Butoh contains many layers of practice and philosophy. Yumi believes it exists beyond duality—where darkness and light are not fixed states, and one always contains the seeds of the other. ‘Beauty’ can be ugly, and ‘ugly’ can be beautiful. Broken things can become new catalysts for transformation.

Over the weekend, Yumi will guide participants through 10 focused points and introduce historical, classical, holistic, and contemporary approaches to Butoh, while also sharing insights from her diverse practice.

This workshop is suited for those wanting to reflect on an existing piece, create new movement phrases, or simply dive into the ocean of Butoh.

The workshop welcomes both experienced practitioners and those new to the form.

You are able to attend only the ‘lecture: what is Butoh” on Friday 27 June, from 6pm.

(The workshop price includes the lecture.)

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あめつちの聲＿In the middle of Awe , at Tenri University Dance Club 2024 (Photo by Takahiro Kitagawa)

The 10 Focus points：

1.Presence & Being：在り方
 2.Gravity / Suspension：重さ／つられる体
 3.Isolation – “Each part of the body has its own kingdom”：「体それぞれの部分に王国がある」
 4.Internal & External Landscapes：内側と外側
 5.’Ma’ (space in between) & Accumulations：間と溜め
 6.The Moment of Transition：変容
 7.Metaphor & Object：暗喩とオブジェ
 8.Sequence of Movement :身振り手振り
 9.Form-> Non-Form->Transformation：形 ->無形-> 変容
 10.Imagination / Creation /：想像／創造

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Time line(subject to be changed)：

27 (Fri) June @6pm-8pm
Informal Lecture: What is Butoh ?
including Q & A (using slides &,video of historical and contemporary aspects of Butoh)

28(Sat) June @10am-4:30pm
10:00am-10:30am : Introduction and warm up
10:30am-1:00 pm : Session #1
1:00pm-1:45pm : Lunch break
1: 45pm-2:00pm: informal Q and A
2:00pm-4:00 pm: Session#2
4:00pm-4:30pm : creation and debrief

29(Sun) June @10am-4:30pm
10:00am-10:30am : Warm up
10:30am-1:00 pm : Session #3
1:00pm-1:45pm : Lunch break
1: 45pm-2:00pm: informal Q and A
2:00pm-3:30 pm: Session#3
3:30pm-4:30pm : creation and debrief“

Butoh LabCamp 2025, Romania

Romania Butoh Lab Camp : 22-30 July 2025
Yumi is invited to be in Romania, running workshops with other amazing Butoh masters and practitioners !

"Butoh Lab Camp (BLC) is a project of artists for dancers and people from all kind of fields to sustain Butoh dance and individual artists offering workshops through dance and movement for creation and coexistence.

Having each year a different set-up of teachers with the raw nature sites of the Transylvanian mountains we can explore the art of transformation in a safe and inspiring environment.

We invite you to join BLC and take the chance to experience with us."

Lists of teachers :

• Yumi Umiumare born in Japan, living in Melbourne, Australia

• Marlene Joebstl from Austria and France, living in Barcelona, Spain

• Sachiko Ishikawa from Tokyo Japan with Thierry Castel from Paris, France

• Matilde Javier Ciria from Madrid, Spain

• Tebby W. T. Ramasike from South Africa and Netherlands

• Yumiko Yoshioka from Berlin, Germany and Tokyo, Japan

Salish Sea Butoh Festival in Washington

Salish Sea Butoh Festival in USA16-24 Aug 2025

Yumi is invited to perform and run the workshops at the Salish Sea Butoh Festival in USA!

The Salish Sea Butoh Festival is an annual artistic convergence in Port Townsend, Washington to celebrate and deepen the study of Japanese Butoh and Butoh performance. I will be teaching and performing amongst amazing Butoh masters, SAGA KOBAYASHI SEISAKU , YURI NAGAOKA and more.　

It would be like dream situations !　

So please join us there!:))

Links are in the comment area:)

こちら舞踏ワークショップ、フェスティバルの宣伝です。

7月にルーマニアでの舞踏キャンプがあり、そちらに参加した後、ワシントンでの舞踏フェスティバルに参加させてもらいます。このフェスティバルは、海沿いの街、ポート・タウンセンドで過去５年行われており、舞踏について見識を深めるために、数々のワークショップや舞台が企画されております。

この度は、舞踏の大御所、小林嵯峨さん、正朔さん、長岡ゆりさんとご一緒ができるようで、夢のような企画です！！

ぜひご参加を！

リンクはコメント欄にて。

[SOLD OUT!] ButohBAR番狂わせOUT of ORDER II @AsiaTOPA festival

[SOLD OUT]
BUTOHOUT! 2025
Performance Season
@ Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne

Following the sold-out success of ButohBAR 2023, ButohBAR 2025 Out of Order II is also now sold out!

This electrifying event returns with a new line-up of local and international talent, including Japanese Butoh master Atsushi Takenouchi.

Led by acclaimed Melbourne artist Yumi Umiumare, this new edition of ButohBAR mixes fresh performances and rituals with outdoor spectacles at the iconic Abbotsford Convent, celebrating our beautifully dysfunctional existence. Featuring guerrilla performers, roving installations, out-of-order karaoke and more, the evening includes exquisite sake and food by Tamura Sake Bar.

ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II thrillingly throws back to a time when Butoh ruled Japan’s nightclubs and strip joints in the 1970s and 1980s.

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CREDIT

CREATIVES
Co-creator / artistic director/ choreographer: Yumi Umiumare
Co-creator / creative producer: Taka Takiguchi 滝口貴
Visual artist: Jacqui Stockdale
Sound designer: Ai Yamamoto
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
International guest artist: Atsushi Takenouchi and Hiroko Komiya
Lighting operator and stage manager: Celina Mack
Website and graphic designer: Taka Takiguchi 滝口貴
Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Videographer: Takeshi Kondo
Food and Sake: Tamura Sake Bar and Izakaya by Tamura


CO-CREATORS & PERFORMERS
ButohOUT! Ensemble 2025
Kaira Hachefa
Willow J Conway and
Yumi Umiumare

GUEST ARTISTS
Emma Bathgate
Maude Davey and more

ButohOUT! Ensemble Members
Alex Rouse, Em Kimber, Emma Fayelecaun, Kei Murakami, Pauline Sherlock, Spira Stojanovik, Taka Takiguchi and Tania Perez

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ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II is supported by Asia TOPA, a joint initiative of Arts Centre Melbourne and the Sidney Myer Fund, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Playking Foundation and the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.