Butoh Residential WS in Yandoit, Victoria

My dominant right wrist is still half-splinted, but thanks to the rest of my body and voice, our wonderful helpers, 20 participants, and surely the spirits of the land and nature itself, we completed the four-day, three-night camp safely.

We had rain, strong winds, days where heat and cold crossed paths, and even a moment when lightning struck right in front of me and I felt as if I might be hit—an unexpected, mystical OMG experience.

Performance with Dan West- next door neighbour/long term collaborator

As my long-time fabulous collaborator and actual next-door neighbour, we’ve been exploring “intimate distance” since COVID through music, dance, and literally jamming over the fence!

Those who attended the show saw our mysterious dark (and fun !) world !

Japanese Butoh residential Workshop

The Butoh workshop at Taiyosha wrapped up last week — safely and with huge success! To have shared that land, those people, and those one-of-a-kind moments together felt truly miraculous.

We began with my power-point talk, then following days, to be buried ourselves in the earth, drifted in the river, danced, screamed, joked around, and drank tea in silence. At times I thought it could be bit too much? but everyone followed beautifully.

Sea Salish Butoh Festival

My 3.5 weeks in Europe and just under 2 weeks in the U.S. have finally come to an end!

In about 7 weeks since leaving Melbourne, I’ve taken 12 flights. OMG

It all began with a Shamanism retreat in Iwate, then the Butoh Lab Camp in Romania, workshops in the UK, travels through Slovakia and Poland, and finally ending with the Salish Sea Butoh Festival near Seattle.

Butoh-ing in so many places,

Tea making in so many places

Sensing forest, river and ocean everywhere!

“Transformation” is one of the secrets in the mystery of Butoh!

Butoh can be mysterious, abstract, and esoteric, but if we dive right in, it can also serve as a creative gateway, a catalyst for transformation, and even lead to unexpected breakthroughs! You want to try it?

Classic Butoh? Or is it too old-fashioned? Or this the contemporary?

Either way, after a long time, I put on white Butoh makeup and dance with the smoke. It felt great!