What's it all about?

The Butoh Open Training is a chance for dancers and performing artists to develop, experiment and create drawing on training  and choreographic practices from Butoh dance.

It is a weekly event held at dancespace Bristol on Monday nights at 8pm. It is open to anyone regardless of previous experience, age, gender or ability.... however please come prepared to fully engage with sessions and train with the same enthusiasm as the rest of us! For more info please contact jasmin.perrow@yahoo.co.uk

New set of sessions will start 31st of October 2011 with a Halloween special! 45 mins intensive training... followed by costume improvisation, Halloween treats, short talk and discussion.

A brief intro to Butoh...

Butoh is a fusion of body and imagination, the origins of butoh can be traced back to the 1960s Japanese post war underground arts scene. The outrageous, dark and humorous stylised performance of Hijikata and freedom, spirituality and improvised performance of Kazuo Ohno. Since then it has infiltrated the arts and influenced audiences worldwide, increasing in popularity and diversifying in practice.
Some you-tube links to see Butoh dancers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9twRdaplgks&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGt8f1QoSLw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UADgT91AGu8

About the facilitator

Jasmin Perrow is a young dance artist with strong interest in butoh training methods. She has taken intensive training workshops with experienced masters such as Yukio Waguri, Minako Seki, Yukio Suzuki amoung others and is looking forward to sharing some of her learning and understanding of the practice. Her interest in Butoh is physically driven, for her the importance is in the act of giving up the ego and letting the body take over... in this way dance becomes much more fun!


What the sessions will include

 An intensive physical warm up and training. Usually using exercises from Hijikata style Butoh, but also 2nd and 3rd generation Butoh exercises- including Noguchi gymnastics- waves through the spine and relationship to water body and gravity. Meridian stretches to open channels of energy used in oriental medicine and some aerobic exercise too!

The second part of the session will vary from week to week but is usually made up of exercises which develop an ability to articulate and respond to images within the body and develop a strong performers presence. This could be solo work or in partners and participants will be given honest and helpful feedback to help them to develop greater awareness and progress from week to week. The exercises often lead into improvisation where the aim will be to apply the training in the moment of dance... keeping clarity, specificity and articulation whilst letting go of decision making process and moving from a more sub conscious and spontaneous place.