Weekend Workshop with Yumi Umiumare

Sat 26th —Sunday 27th August 10am -4pm $140.00

Opening Performance: Yumi Umiumare & David Hewitt explore tea, ritual and percussion

Friday 25th August 5pm $20.00 (Entry to opening performance FREE for workshop participants)

Over the weekend, internationally renowned choreographer and dancer Yumi Umiumare will introduce the basic philosophy and physical exercises of Butoh*. Participants will be guided to explore familiar and unfamiliar elements of physical and spatial expression through the unique philosophy of Butoh and beyond. There will also be the opportunity to craft these skills into performance making. Through her years of practicing Japanese tea ceremony, Yumi also introduces the elements of ritual, working with daily objects, mundane gestures and images. The personal ritual can become a gateway towards the ‘unknown’, transforming into an imaginary world of performance installation.

*Butoh, originally called Ankoku Butoh (Dance of Darkness) was conceived in Japan during the late 50’s& early 60’s, during the social turmoil after the war. Rather than aspiring to an aesthetic ideal, the dance attempts to expose the joys and sorrows of life, exploring the most fundamental elements of physical and psychological existence.

The workshop is open to all levels of experience.

ABOUT Yumi Umiumare

Born in Japan, Yumi is an established Butoh dancer, choreographer and creator of Butoh Cabaret works. She has been creating her distinctive style of works for 30 years and her creations are renowned for provoking visceral emotions and engaging with cultural identities with a sense of humour. Yumi’s 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 several Australian Green Room awards. As a choreographer, Yumi has worked with many socially engaged theatre projects in Australia, including communities of First Nations, refugees and culturally diverse people and also inclusive companies. She is a recipient of the fellowship from Australian Council (2015-16) and a winner of the Green Room Geoffrey Milne Memorial Award (2017). Yumi is a key figure of the international contemporary Butoh scene and artistic director of ButohOUT! festival in Melbourne since 2017, teaching and activating local and international Butoh communities. Yumi ‘s recent works focus on Arts, Tea and Spirit. www.yumi.com.au