Cascadian Butoh Confluence

Minja Mertanen workshop May 21st 1at Teatro de la Psychomachia 1534 1st Ave S Seattle 7pm to 9pm Performance May 22nd 8pm Teatro de la Psychomachia

May 21st Butoh Dance Workshop
”About the Bones”

In this workshop we will listen to bones as a support structure and living tissue. Through butoh exercises and somatic methods, we will explore, among other things, the support of bones, architectural element of the bones, the space inside the bone, porousness of the cancellous bone, the rhythm of bones and the spirality of bones, and as the first form of the bones, the memory of water in the structure of the bones. Minja did her somatic movement therapy thesis studying bones. Working around the bones was also part of her last group work, Withering and Death, which premiered at Höyhentämö, Helsinki in the winter 2025. 

May 22nd Performance Teatro de la Psychomachia

May 22nd Teatro de la Psychomachia 1534 1st AVe S Seattle at 8:00 pm performances by:

Minja Mertanen, Vanessa Skantze, Amapola & Glacier, Lin Lucas

Julie Becton Gillum Workshop May 24th Tacoma Armory 1001 S Yakima Ave 12pm to 4pm

Performance May 23rd Seattle YAW Theater 6520 5th Ave

May 23rd YAW Performance

 May 23rd at 8:00 PM, at YAW Theater 6520 5th Ave., Seattle. YAW transforms into a stage for the mystical and compelling art of Butoh. Performers Julie Becton Gillum, Robyn Bjorson, Dhyana Garcia and Helen Thorsen with Dancers Mary Cutrera, Suzanne Parenteau, and Amy Ward Journey into the surreal and poetic realms of Japanese dance, where every gesture pulses with meaning and the boundaries between performer and audience blur. Expect an evening of bold artistry and haunting beauty.

Julie Becton Gillum May 24th Tacoma Armory 12 pm to 4pm

From Rascal to Reverent, a workshop in butoh dance

Dancers will be guided to use aspects of butoh dance to explore ideas, create movements, and embody different characters. Our material is the essence of our bodies: water, air, bone, muscle, and skin—leading us into form and texture through a flow of sensations in space, time, and dynamics. The training will include exercises from the Noguchi Taiso water body practice along with specific images and forms to foster freedom and range of movement.

Our goal as dancers is to break free from the normal, cliched, and traditional—to push beyond the conventions that have kept us bound since losing our childhood inhibitions. Movement lessons will encourage playfulness with our inner rascal and discovery of what we revere in ourselves and the universe.