New York Butoh Institute presents Women Defining Butoh, a series highlighting women's contributions to butoh, which is a Japanese-style contemporary dance where dancers are covered in white paint. Women Defining Butoh showcases recent works by two generations of women butoh pioneers.
The series presents butoh dancers Natsu Nakajima and Saga Kobayashi, active since 1966; Yumiko Yoshioka and Minako Seki, the first female pioneers to reach Europe in the 70s; and third-generation dancer Yuko Kaseki. Following butoh's migration East to West, according to a New York Butoh spokesperson, Women Defining Butoh follows the spread of butoh in the U.S. via Hiroko Tamano, who settled in San Francisco in 1980, and Joan Laage, who introduced butoh to Seattle in the 90s. Women Defining Butoh aims to celebrate the legacy of these butoh legends with performances by the all-female troupe, Seattle-based dancer Daipan Butoh, Mexican dancer Eugenia Vargas, Chicago-based dancer Cristal Sabbagh and New York-based company Vangeline Theater.
