Performance Making Butoh Workshop Series Feb/Mar 2026

photo by Vikk Shayen (ButohOUT!2025)

★ Performance Making Workshop through Butoh and Beyond ★ 
27(Fri), 28(Sat) Feb, 1 (Sun) March 2026
@Dancehouse, North Carlton

This workshop invites participants to explore a unique laboratory process of performance-making through constructive and deconstructive approaches to Butoh.

Drawing on over 30 years of performance experience, Yumi guides participants through interdisciplinary practices including Butoh, cabaret, abstract theatre, ritual, and spirituality. Through Butoh-based exercises and experimentation, participants are encouraged to explore their own idiosyncratic creative processes and to actualise original inspirations and ideas.

The workshop offers a journey of deep sensing and listening, opening access to unexpected creative sources where anything is possible. It welcomes both experienced practitioners and those new to Butoh who are willing to dive into the creative process. Visualisations, conversations, and adaptable instruction ensure accessibility for all bodies.

The workshop includes:

• Guided warm-up

• Sensory-based Butoh exercises

• Individual, paired, and group creation

• Feedback and creative support

If you would like to join our mailing list to be notified of up coming workshops please sign up here or contact Yumi.

Photo: Takahiro Kitagawa (as a part of Tenri University annual dance 2024)

Photo from ButohOUT!

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The planned activities are outlined below.

 > Day 1 - Friday 27 Feb
 6:00 - 6:15 am - Registration, sign up, introduction
6:15 - 7:30 pm -  Mini lecture about what is Butoh (slides and short video presentation) 
7:30-7:35 - Short break
7:35 - 9pm - Exercise #1: Warm-up, Activating different parts of body through various images

> Day 2 - Saturday 28 Feb
10:00am - 12:00pm -  Exercise #2: Warm-up, conceiving, visualising and exploring your/others ideas 
12:00 - 12:45pm - Lunch break
12:45 - 1:00pm - Questions and Conversation
1:00 - 3:45pm - Exercise #3 : Exploring various styles : what is your favourite/challenging styles and forms?
3: 45 - 4:00pm - Discussion Q and A

> Day 3 - Sunday 1 March
10am - 12pm -  Exercise #4 : Transformation through narrative/abstraction : what is your trans-formation?
12:00 - 12:45pm - Lunch break
12:45 -  1:00pm -Questions and Conversation
1:00 - 3:00pm - Exercise #5 : Make it up!! : Making some shape through visible and invisible aspect. How?
3:00 - 4:00pm - Creation of a short work, discussion, Q and A, feedback &  debrief 

Other workshop in 2026

★ Weekly Workshop - Butoh Training ★ 

10(Tue) Feb - 17 (Tue) March 2026
Every Tuesday 6pm-9pm 
@ St Marys Anglican Church Hall, North Melbourne

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If you would like to join our mailing list to be notified of up coming workshops,

please sign up here or contact Yumi.

Weekly Workshops - Feb/Mar 2026

WORKSHOPS IN 2026

★ Weekly Workshop - Butoh Training ★ 
(Tue)10 Feb 2026 to (Tue) 17 March 2026
Every Tuesday 6pm-9pm 
@ St Marys Anglican Church Hall, North Melbourne

This weekly workshop (6 sessions in total) trains the body through the transformative philosophy of classic and contemporary Butoh. Melbourne-based Butoh punkess Yumi Umiumare leads physical and imaginal practices that shake the body awake, activate space, disrupt habitual thinking, and push imagery across physical and metaphysical territories.

Originally known as the “Dance of Darkness,” Butoh is layered, contradictory, and unruly. The body becomes a site of transformation, between the known and the unknown, the real and the unreal, the visible and the invisible. We are playfully venturing into realms of disturbance, the grotesque, beauty, and darkness.

Enter the mysterious, unsettling, and strangely liberating world of Butoh!
No experience needed. Beginners welcome.

$35/ per class for drop in
$180 for 6 sessions 

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If you would like to join our mailing list to be notified of up coming workshops
please sign up here or contact Yumi.

Photo: Takahiro Kitagawa (as a part of Tenri University annual dance 2024)

Photo: Vikk Shayen (as a part of ButohOUT! 2025)

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Up Coming Workshop

★ Performance Making Workshop ★
(Fri) 27, (Sat) 28 Feb, (Sun) 1 March 2026
@ Dancehouse, North Carlton 

If you would like to join our mailing list to be notified of up coming workshops please sign up here or contact Yumi.

Butoh Summer Residential Workshop - 4-7 Dec 2025

Photo by Namchops/ Design by Alex White

Excerpt from Butoh Residential WS 2019 @ Arisaig Wellness Restreat

Butoh- Through magic & Mystery
舞踏 -その神秘と不可思議さ

Step into the mystery of Butoh, Japan’s subversive dance form, through 4days of movement, ritual, and transformation!

This popular annual residential workshop returns, inviting participants to discover their own creative expression and mystery through the physical and philosophical approach of Butoh—a Japanese contemporary and subversive dance form.

Over four days, Yumi will introduce both practical and ‘mysterious’ methods of Butoh, channeling our internal and external creative expression. The stillness and wildness of the landscape will enable us to explore our deeper, authentic "being," and to cleanse our busy thoughts.

Just over 1.5 hours from Melbourne, Arisaig Wellness Retreat is nestled in Yandoit, near Castlemaine. Set on 100 acres of serene bushland, surrounded by stunning Australian native flora, it offers hidden corners and quiet spaces that create the perfect refuge. The beautiful studio, designed to capture an abundance of natural light, provides uninterrupted views of the surrounding wilderness.

Through sharing food and gentle conversation, participants can explore a consciousness of well-being, as well as the essence of ‘personal ritual’—through breathing, walking, moving, and even occasional screaming and laughter. The workshop allows you to explore the intersection of movement, ritual, and spirituality—fostering a deeper connection to yourself, to others, and to the world around you.

Originally called the “Dance of Darkness,” 舞踏 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. Through the magic and mystery of Butoh, ‘beauty’ can be ugly, and ‘ugly’ can be beautiful. Broken things can become catalysts for transformation.

Yumi is renowned for combining Butoh (the darkness) with lightness and humour, embracing a holistic humanity.

THE WORKSHOP IS OPEN TO ALL LEVEL OF EXPERIENCES AND ARTISTIC DISCIPLINES!

PLACES ARE LIMITED!

PLANNED SCHEDULE
(subject to be changed)

THURSDAY 4 DEC
 By 5pm Arriving, setting up tent, and settle in
 6:30pm Dinner 
 8pm Session 1 (Gathering and Greeting) 

FRIDAY 5 DEC
 6:30 am Silent Walk and Exercise
 Breakfast
 10-1pm Session 2
 Lunch 
 3-6pm Session 3
 Dinner
 8pm Session 4 (Gathering) 

SATURDAY 6 DEC
 6:30 am Silent Walk and Exercise
 Breakfast
 10-1pm Session 5
 Lunch 
 3-6pm Session 6
 Dinner
 8pm ~  Performance preparation and Performance

SUNDAY 7 DEC
 Breakfast
 Gathering, debrief and packing
11 am Departure

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WORKSHOP DETAILS

FACILITATORS
Yumi Umiumare

WHEN
Thur 4- Sun 7 Dec 2025
(arrive by 5pm on Thursday 4th, finishing late morning on Sunday 7th)

WHERE
Arisaig Wellness Retreat
Yandoit, Victoria


COST
Early Bird - by 22 Oct 2025
$680 Full / $590 Concession
Standard
$720 Full / $630 Concession

(Including All Training/Workshops, Camping Space, Vegetarian Meals and access to Toilet and Shower)

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation: Participants will be camping amongst the beauty of the bush to allow for a deeper connection to Mother Earth.

Additional options for beds available on request, during the booking process.

Terms & Conditions

Butoh retreat at Taiyo-sha in Iwate

Butoh retreat at Taiyo-sha in Iwate 4-7 Sept 2025

3.5 weeks in Europe, 2 weeks in America, 2 weeks in Western expedition just finished!!

12 plane rides in 7 weeks or so today since I left Melbourne!

Started with a shamanism training camp in Iwate, followed by a dance lab camp in Romania, workshops in England, travelling around Slovakia and Poland, and finally the Salish Sea Butoh Festival near Seattle, USA.

Dancing everywhere
Make tea everywhere
I could feel the Spirit in the woods, rivers and oceans everywhere!

Next stop is a Butoh retreat at Taiyo-sha in Iwate.

Participants will be coming from Kansai, Kanto, and even Hong Kong. There’s still space for 1–2 more people.

If you feel the call—now is the time!

Please join us for this retreat, or come along to the sharing session.

こちらです：workshop@ Iwate information : ★岩手太陽舎 9/4,5,6,7

『ゆみ うみうまれ舞踏合宿』

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。

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

Experimentation series #1 "What is the Ultimate?” 究極とは？

Experimentation series #1

Video•Dance•conversation• Drinks

BUTOH and BEYOND

"What is the Ultimate?” 究極とは？

It was fun and stimulated night where we just gathered, experimented and shared!

Performers

Hinata Kawamura

Leyla Boz

Tylah Syme

Yumi Umiumare

Music

@tweakandtwang @audibleartefacts

@tenridance @solgalleryspace

天理大創作ダンス部との作品も

お見せしました！大盛況でした

SOL GALLERY 420 Brunswick St, Vic, Fitzroy 17 June 2025

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“

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE: Live Calligraphy with Hisako Tsuchiya

After sold out performances we are doing an extra special performance on this Sunday 30 March @ 4pm!

Yumi dances with her 87 yo my mother who does live calligraphy.

The last chance to see !

Book now before selling out again !!

The link is in the comment area.

金曜日のパフォーマンス

売り切れのため、日曜日に最後なパフォーマンスあります！

87歳母比佐子の書と私の踊り！

なかなかない機会です、是非どうぞ！

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Yumi’s 87-year-old mother, Hisako, will be holding a calligraphy exhibition @ Sol Gallery during her stay in Melbourne!

The exhibition will feature over 30 works, ranging from highly original pieces to classical calligraphy. Some of the works were created during the 16 years she spent caring for Yumi’s brother, who passed away two and a half years ago.

This exhibition will be a reflection of her life’s journey through calligraphy.

It will be held for 10 days at a gallery in Fitzroy, so please pop ion if you can!!

First Sign of Light： 兆し

Calligraphy exhibition by Hisako Tsuchiya

Venue: SOL Gallery, 420 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

Dates: Tuesday, March 18 – Sunday, March 30

Opening Hours: 11 AM – 6 PM (NOT opened on Mondays)

Details are in the comments sections !!

Opening reception: 19(Wed) 6PM-8:30PM(no booking required)

I will be also dancing on Friday 21 and 28 March.

Special performance : Live calligraphy/ Dance/Music
Opening: Music: Dan West(21 March) Ai Yamamoto(28 March)

21(Fri) and 28(Fri) March @7pm 30 (Sun) @4pm

(booking required)

See you there:)))x

日本語ポスより
「この度、８７歳母、比佐子がメルボルン滞在中に、書展をすることになりました。かなり独創的なものから古典の書まで、３０点以上展示予定です。

２年半前に亡くなった私の兄を１６年間「老幼介護」をしながら創作したものものあり、母の人生の軌跡を綴ったような書展になると思います。

交通の便も良いFitzroyで、私もよく知っている友人のギャラリーにて１０日間開催します。

お時間のある時に是非お越しください！！」

場所：SOL Gallery 420 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

時間：3月18日（火）から3月30日（日）１１時から１８時までギャラリー・オープン（月曜休館）

Annual Performance Season with Tenri University Dance Club, Dec 2024

Photo by Takahiro Kitagawa
写真：北川大志氏

I am still in awe, to think about this performance, I've done in Japan, as a part of annual performance season with Tenri University Dance club, at the Nara Centennial Hall, December 2024.

The title: 'あめつちの聲〜 in the middle of the awe'

あめつち（AME TSUCHI): Heaven and Earth

聲(KOE) : Voice

It was a grand stage featuring a total of 22 dancers and 15 musicians from Tenri University's Dance Club and Gagaku Club, both of which are among the top-level university groups in Japan. Adding to this luxurious setup, my brother, who is a successful pro Sumie artist, was in charge of the projection visuals.

Gagaku, which is recognised by UNESCO as the world’s oldest continuously performed orchestral music, historically used as imperial court music, has a history spanning over a thousand years!

It was epic and so powerful to tap into my DNA and heritage of my spiritual ancestry (and beyond)..and I am still beyond the words..it will come and take a place sometime.

Photo: by Takahiro Kitagawa

Great soundscape by Dan West and Ai Yamamoto

This trip was supposed by Creative Australia, international engagement program.

Special Thanks to Prof. Junko Tsukamoto and Gagaku Master Koji Sato as well as many supporters!　

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去年、年末に天理大学単独公演に参加し、

あめつちの聲〜 in the middle of the awe'

という作品を発表させていただきました。

この舞台を思い出すと、今でもドキドキ、そしてAwe (畏敬の念）の気持ちにかられます。

天理大のダンス部と雅楽部という、双方とも日本でも屈指のレベルに入る大学生の方達の、総勢・踊り手２２人、奏者１５人という、大きな舞台に、私の弟でプロで成功している土屋秋恆がプロジェクターでの画像を手がけるという贅沢な設定でした。

雅楽は１０００年以上もの歴史を誇り、ユネスコでも世界で一番古いオーケストラと位置付けられているそうです。

私の中のDNAや血がさわぎ、古代に身を馳せていったような、なんとも言えない深い感動を味あわせていただきました。まだ言葉にすることができませんが、そのうちに、どこからか、ジワジワと、言葉や踊りが滲み出てくるように感じております。

この舞台作りに関わっていただいた天理大の教授塚本順子先生、雅楽部の最高顧問佐藤浩司先生をはじめとする、たくさんの方々に心から感謝します！

ありがとうございました

写真：北川大志氏

@_ta_ka_ta_

音楽 ダン・ウェスト、山本アイ

今回のプロジェクトの一部は、クリエイティブ-オーストラリアの助成によって可能となりました。

Yumi Umiumare

shukoutsuchiya

@gagakubu

Ai Yamamoto

Dan West

@creativeaustralia

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Beyond – Racing Through This Moment

20th Annual performance by Tenri University Creative Dance Club 
Beyond—Racing Through This Moment

22(Sun) Dec 2024, Nara Centennial Hall 18:00 start (17:00 door opens)

Yumi has great opportunity of choreographing and performing at the annual event of the Tenri University Dance Club, Nara Japan, renowned for winning numerous awards due to the high quality and creativity of their dance.Yumi has been staying in Nara for 2 weeks in December, to create and perform a piece, collaborating with 22 dancers and 18 Gagaku musicians to present it on the grand stage of Centennial Hall in front of an audience of 1,500!!

Gagaku, historically used as imperial court music, has been established for over ten centuries. It served as ceremonial music for the imperial court, major Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines in Japan. Recognised by UNESCO, it is considered the oldest continuously performed orchestral music in the world.

55th year anniversary of the establishment 
20th Annual performance by Tenri University Creative Dance Club 
Beyond – Racing Through This Moment

Come and Join us!

EVENT DETAILS:

22(Sun) Dec 2024

At Nara Centennial Hall 18:00 start (17:00 door opens)

Link (in Japanese ): 
FIND OUT MORE HERE

Enquiry (in English):
CONTACT YUMI

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ゆみうみうまれは、日本・奈良の天理大学創作ダンス部の創立５５周年、２０回目の記念イベントにおいて、振付とパフォーマンスを行う素晴らしい機会を得ました。同部は、そのダンスの高いクオリティと創造性によって数々の賞を受賞していることで知られています。うみうまれはiは12月に2週間奈良に滞在し、22人のダンサーと18人の雅楽演奏者と共に作品を創り上げ、1500人の観客を迎える奈良100年会館の大舞台で披露します！

雅楽は、歴史的に皇室の宮廷音楽として使用され、千年以上の歴史を持っています。

皇室の儀式や、日本の主要な仏教寺院や神社で演奏される音楽として発展しました。ユネスコによって世界最古の継続して演奏されているオーケストラ音楽と認められています。

乞うご期待！

創部５５周年
第２０回創作ダンス部単独公演、

Beyond この瞬間を駆けぬける　

１２月２２日（日）開演１８：００　（１７：００開場）

（於）奈良１００年会館大ホール

リンク：https://www.tenri-u.ac.jp/event/46906/

Buried TeaBowl- OKUNI: Ready for Tour!

“...the traditional Japanese tea ceremony a 21st century feminist spin. ... a Proustian, unruly one woman show, a work of pleasure and bite.”

— The Saturday Paper

“…so strange and grotesque, it almost defies description”

— The Age

“dense and visceral at the same time.”

— Australian Stage

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INSTALLATION - PERFORMANCE - TEA

ABOUT

Buried TeaBowl -OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance installation bringing together dance, text, song and tea ceremony with stunning film captured in 2021 during the lockdown.The work is inspired by the Japanese historical female dancer and shrine made Okuni, who initiated Kabuki theatre in the early 1600s, which women were banned from performing after these times.

At the height of her powers, Yumi Umiumare, Melbourne performance legend and Australia’s leading Butoh artist, unearths precious sacred female power which has been buried throughout history.Yumi channels the multifaceted character of Okuni who was so powerful, yet fragile and complex, to reawaken her spirit through excavating  these buried stories and myths.

CREATIVE TEAM

Created and Performed : Yumi Umiumare
Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson 
Dramaturg/ Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Producer : Kath Papas productions 

Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Graphic design : Mariko Naito & Taka Takiguchi
Calligraphy: Hisako Tsuchiya
Publicity : Diana Wolfe

PHOTO CREDITS

Vikk Shayen (Above)
Takeshi Kondo (Below)

The show was premiered at the BlackCat Gallery in May 2022.

SUPPORT & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS for the premiere season
The premiere season was supported by the Besen Family Foundation and BLACKCAT Gallery.

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IN-VOCATION たまおこし Performance in FRAME: biennial dance festival

When: 21 (Tue) March 7pm and 28(Tue) March 7pm and 9pm ( 3 shows ONLY )
Where: Dancehouse 150 Princes St Carlton North, Victoria

BOOKING

DETAIL

Entangling old world Kabuki mystique with volumetric 3D video, “IN-VOCATION たまおこし” summons the sacred power of female archetypes and deities.

In collaboration with a clairvoyant from Japan, local artists, and an international guest performer, Yumi Umiumare opens a Jujutsu 呪術 (Magic) portal to discover the colourful characters of OKUNI — an initiator of Kabuki Japanese theatre.

Evolving out of Yumi’s solo work, “Buried TeaBowl – OKUNI”, the team of mystics return to prod their collective memories and discover the many essences of the divine feminine.

Punk, playful, and exuberant, this is an intimately epic and profanely sacred ritual that incites an audience revolt of the spirit.

CREDIT
Choreographer: Yumi Umiumare
Performers: Yumi Umiumare, Kayo Tamura (Theatre Group Gumbo, Osaka), Kyoko Amara (Taiyosha, Iwate)
Visual Artist: Jacqui Stockdale
Sound Designer: Ai Yamamoto
3D Video: EMD Studio, Centre for Transformative Media Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology.
Original score from “Buried TeaBowl – Okuni”:  Dan West
Original video from “Buried TeaBowl – Okuni”:  Takeshi Kondo

Image credits: “IN-VOCATION たまおこし” (2023), Yumi Umiumare. Photo by Vikk Shayen.

Artists Biography

Buried TeaBowl a new solo work in progress

photo by Vikk Shayen

Yumi's new solo work Buried TeaBowl, a work in progress, Aug 2021

Buried Tea Bowl  is a new solo interdisciplinary work in development by Yumi Umiumare, bringing together dance, text, song and poetry with tea ceremony to create an intimate and epic work with both live and digital iterations.

Buried Tea Bowl channels the character of Okuni, a Japanese female shaman who initiated Kabuki during the Edo period (1600s). Kabuki comes from the word ‘Kabuku’, meaning bent or out of the ordinary, and was regarded as a subversive non-art form, passionately expressing ugliness and beauty. Later women were banned from performing Kabuki – the male performers who took over the art form can be seen as the first Japanese Drag Queens. Even though she was one of the most powerful female figures in theatre history, not many people know about Okuni, even in Japan.

Combining Yumi’s practice of Japanese tea ceremony, which flourished at the same period as Okuni was alive, she is choosing the ‘tea bowl’ as a creative metaphor of precious sacred female power which was buried under history.

Creative Team for Creative Development 2021
Created and Performed by Yumi Umiumare

In collaboration with 

Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Dramaturg : Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Vocal Artist : Emma Bathgate
Shamisen Artist : Noriko Tadano
Photographer : Vikk Shayen
Producer : Kath Papas productions

This project has been assisted by 
The Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body

City of Darebin, Cultural Infrastructure Grants

Abbotsford Convent Foundation, Pivot 2021

ButohOUT! 2021 New Ab/Normal 2 Feb- 23 May 2021

BUTOH OUT! 2021
NEW AB/NORMAL 新しい異常
2 Feb - 23 May 2021

The 5th iteration of ButohOUT!, a collection of events inspired by the dance theatre artform of Butoh, explores the artistic theme New Ab/Normal during the post-pandemic era with the question: what is normal? Originally called Dance of Darkness, Butoh has always been associated with the marginalised, embracing the abnormal, odd, quirky & the deviant. One of the first Butoh performances so shocked its Japanese audiences that it was forced to go underground, yet now it is accepted as an innovative art form. Conversely, what we used to think as ‘normal’ is no longer so. Instead, the term, 'new normal' exists, which contains the paradoxical nuance that an abnormality can become ‘normal’. We hang onto a semblance of normalcy like a security blanket - but why?

ButohOUT! 2021 offers 5 public workshops including one for children and seniors, a performance-making laboratory, a forum and 2 performance presentations, one at Dancehouse and Abbotsford Convent.

WORKSHOPS
@ Abbotsford Convent

★2(Tue)-23(Tue) Feb 2021
Weekly workshop
Is Butoh Abnormal?

★19(Fri)-21(Sun) March 2021
Weekend workshop
What is normal in Butoh?

★27(Sat) March 2021
Family and Kids workshop
Peek-A- Butoh
(FREE)

★27(Sat) March 2021
Senior workshop
You Don't Think You Can Dance?
| For 50+, 60+, 70+ or beyond
(FREE)

★ 24(Sat) 25 (Sun) April 2021
Weekend workshop with Butoh, Voice and Visual Arts
What is our New Ab/Normal?

PERFORMANCE
★25-28 March 2021
Colour-Fool (4 shows only!!)
@Dancehouse
Detail

★20-23 May 2021
Odd Hours (4 shows only!!)
@Abbortsford Convent
Detail

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About
ButohOUT! Festival is An Artists-led, inclusive festival that breaks expectations and boundaries. It invites diverse arts and non-arts communities to engage with the profound internationally-acclaimed art form of Butoh. ButohOUT! also engages with international Butoh dancers to interact with local Australian practitioners from new initiates to established performers in an open exchange of expertise and performance.

Creative team of ButohOUT! 2021
Director & Choreographer: Yumi Umiumare
Producer: Takashi Takiguchi
Emma Bathgate(Voice)
Jacqui Stockdale(Visual arts)
Dan West and Ai Yamamoto (Sound)
Rachel Lee(Lighting)
Monika Benova(Graphic Design)

Performers:
Kiki Ando, Emma Bathgate, David Blom, Jessie Ngaio, Pauline Sherlock, Tomoko Yamasaki, Takashi Takiguchi, Yumi Umiumare and ButohOUT! Ensemble

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UnpredictabiliTEA @Bochum, Germany Sep 2019

PopUp Tearoom Series - unpredictabiliTEA

Special One night event inside of the airplane installation

with performance by local artists- Christian, Lila,Eva, Lukas, Walther and Rosi

1 Sep 2020
at Jahrhunderthall.
Jahrhunderthalle Bochum Germany
An der Jahrhunderthalle 1
D-44793 Bochum

Butoh and Body Weather residential workshop in Dec 2018

Residential workshop exploring the discipline of Butoh and Body Weather, Led by

Yumi Umiumare & Frank van de Ven (Amsterdam)

On the Wimmera River, 15kms west of Horsham, our base will be a 130-acre site near Mt Arapiles with a variety of bush, scrub, sand dunes, open fields, river and elevated rock - allowing participants to experience and open up the senses to colour, texture, sound and shapes. Through the powerful combination of Butoh and Body Weather, Yumi and Frank will guide participants in creating movement, stillness, and dance in response to landscape and nature.

YUMI UMIUMARE is an established Butoh Dancer and choreographer and has been creating her distinctive style of works over the last 25 years. Her works are renowned for provoking visceral emotions and questioning cultural identity. The works have been seen in numerous festivals in dance, theatre and film productions throughout Australia, Japan, Europe, New Zealand, South East Asia and South America, and have received critical acclaim and garnered several Australian Green Room awards. As a choreographer, Yumi has worked with many socially engaged theatre projects in Australia with aboriginal communities, refugees, culturally diverse people and disability groups. In this workshop Yumi is going to explore the elements of Ritual, Ceremony and Gateway to the unknown.

FRANK VAN DE VEN is a dancer and director who spent his formative years in Japan working with Min Tanaka and the Maijuku Performance Company (1983-92). In 1993, he founded with Katerina Bakatsaki Body Weather Amsterdam as a platform for training and performance. He has an ongoing commitment to his Body/Landscape series of workshops conducted worldwide and since 1995 he has led the annual, interdisciplinary Bohemiae Rosa Project with renowned Czech artist Milos Sejn, connecting body and landscape with art, geology and architecture.In these days, Frank will focus on how the body is itself a landscape in a wider surrounding landscape. Body Weather was introduced in Australia by Tess de Quincey in 1989, see more detail about the BodyWeather

13(Thur)-17 (Mon) December 2018

Arrival 13th late afternoon, Leaving 17th morning

PRICE
$460/430 (Early Bird Special by 15 NOV $430/410!)

(Vegetarian meals of 5days included)

Numbers are limited so please book early!

Booking and Enquiry

Draft Schedule

Koto Transformation – Australis

KOTO TRANSFORMATION -AUSTRALIS

Koto Transformation – Australis features striking, expressive koto performance weaved through sensitively layered Japanese and Australian musical styles. This is a rare opportunity to see masterful musical collaborations that will leave you feeling touched and inspired.

The concert will debut enchanting pieces by leading Australian composers. As Japanese and global sounds blend into one another, enjoy the enriching cultural and musical exchange that characterises Odamura’s innovative career and unmistakable style.

Performers: Kazue Sawai (Japan), Satsuki Odamura, Brandon Lee, The Satsuki Odamura Koto Ensemble, Noriko Tsuboi (Thailand), Saeko Kitai (Singapore), Miyama McQueen Tokita (Japan), Hiroko Nagai (Philippines), Sandy Evans (saxophone), Yumi Umiumare (Butoh).

Details
1 June 2018, 7.30 PM
Meat Market – 5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, VIC 3051

Early Bird: $25 + BF
Doors: $35
Book via Eventbrite

WinterWild festival in Apollo Bay

Dog Watch: Earth celebrates the dirt beneath our feet.Yumi is conducting a ritual with her own unique interpretation of butoh, the modern Japanese dance of darkness. Yumi will choreograph local performers to welcome you to the soil of the Otways.

15th July, 6.00pm Location: Apollo Bay foreshore Tickets: Not required Price: Free Detail

Yumi is also performing at the Mech Hall

Date: Saturday 15th July, 8.00pm Gig: Earth at The Mech with EmotionWorks, Tek Tek Ensemble, October Wish Location: The Mechanics Institute, Apollo Bay Tickets: Book Now Price: $75 + booking fee Detail

Photo image by John Pryke

Evocation of Butoh, mini Butoh Festival in Melbourne

EVOCATION OF BUTOHPERFORMANCE,FORUM and WORKSHOP 9-20 MARCH 2017

Evocation of Butoh is a mini festival with the aim of activating artistic and cultural exchange between international artists and local arts communities in Melbourne through the performance art of Butoh. This genre of dance/theatre was started in the late 50’s in Japan in the aftermath of WWII. Butoh, originally called the ‘Dance of Darkness’, finds expression through dance and movement for the visible and invisible states of living. This is a unique opportunity for audiences in Melbourne to experience sublime works by local and international practitioners: a diaspora of artists who left their countries of origin to extend their practice in contemporary society.Intensive workshops, a public forum and an artists’ talk will also be presented to stimulate discourse around what Butoh is now in Australia.

PERFORMANCE& FORUM @ Lamama Courthouse, as a part of Asia TOPA Program1 9(Thur) and 10(Fri) 7:30pm March 2017 Tony Yap (Malaysia/Australia) Yumi Umiumare (Japan/ Australia) Helen Smith (England/ Australia)

Program2 11(Sat) 7:30pm, 12(Sun) 5pm, March 2017 Yumiko Yoshioka (Japan/Germany) and pre-show performance by Alana Hoggart, Miguel Camarero

PUBLIC FORUM What is Butoh now in Australia? 12(Sun) 12-3pm March 2017 Free Admission

Booking and Detail

WORKSHOP WORKSHOP1 Butoh 3 nights Intensive workshop by Yumiko Yoshioka 14(Tue), 15(Wed) ,16(Thur) March 6:00pm - 9:00pm@Abbotsford Convent $250 (Full) & $230 (Concession)

WORKSHOP 2 Residential workshop in Stuart Mill by Yumiko Yoshioka facilitated by Yumi Umiumare 17th (Fri) March to 20th (Mon) March @ Camp Seed $450 (Full) & $420 (Concession)

*$600 when both workshops 1 & 2 are applied.

Workshop inquiry : info@takashitakiguchi.com