Vangeline Theater announces Fundraising Gala at Temple NYC
On Sunday evening, December 11 at 8 pm, Vangeline Theater will hold a Fundraising Gala with Butoh performances by Kelsey Strauch, Margherita Tisato, Vangeline, and other surprise guests.
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Butoh is a form of Japanese dance theatre that encompasses a diverse range of techniques, performances, and movements. The unique art arose in Japan in 1959 post World War II as a reaction to the loss of identity caused by the westernization of Japanese culture, and the realization that ancient Japanese performing traditions no longer spoke to a contemporary audience. The Vangeline Theater is home to the New York Butoh Institute, which aims to preserve the legacy and integrity of Japanese Butoh while carrying the art form well into the future.Proceeds from the gala will support sending dancers to Houston, Texas, from February 6-10, 2023 to make history by conducting a pilot study for The Slowest Wave - the first neuroscientific study of Butoh. Tickets are $35.
As part of a Gibney Dance DiP residency, Vangeline will spend January 2023 developing a pioneering project combining Butoh and neuroscience, called The Slowest Wave. She’ll be choreographing a 60-minute ensemble Butoh piece, in collaboration with neuroscientists Sadye Paez, Constantina Theofanopoulou and Jose 'Pepe' Contreras-Vidal, and composer Ray Sweeten. The piece is uniquely informed by the protocol being established for a scientific pilot study researching the impact of Butoh on brain activity.
About the artists
Vangeline is not just a teacher, dancer, and choreographer specializing in Japanese Butoh but also the artistic director of the Vangeline Theater/ New York Butoh Institute (New York). She also founded the New York Butoh Institute Festival and pioneered the award-winning, 15-year running program The Dream a Dream Project. Her choreographed work has been performed in Chile, Hong Kong, Germany, Denmark, France, the UK, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. For her remarkable work, Vangeline has received several awards. She has also taught at different universities, including Princeton and Cornell.Kelsey Strauch is a visual and movement artist based in Brooklyn. She’s toured as a professional circus artist specializing in object manipulation and completed the Professional Track program at New England Center for Circus Arts in Brattleboro VT. Kelsey grew up in Montana where she developed a deep relationship with the natural world that she carries into her visual and movement art. Her first Butoh performance was with Tetsuro Fukuhara's 'Tokyo Space Dance' as a part of Future Fest in 2013. Recently she has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera in Philip Glass's 'Akhnaten' as a member of the juggling ensemble. In the past she’s worked with Rick Owens, Cirque du Soleil, Orange is the New Black, and CBS Sunday Morning among others.Margherita Tisato has been dancing since she was 17. But that’s not her only passion. For over a decade now, Margherita is leading yoga and meditation classes, workshops, and teacher training. As an international Butoh teacher, she is known for creating Trauma-informed spaces for transformation, in addition to other educational offers. She has also been a guest speaker and teacher at universities, colleges, and institutes throughout the United States. Currently, she is working on a research grant on Embodiment and Addiction through the University of Nebraska Rural Drug Addiction Research Center. In recent years she's been commissioned by three-time Grammy Award-winning artists Esperanza Spalding, Skrillex, and David J. (Bauhaus), and has published a book among others.
The Slowest Wave is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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