A three-day Butoh workshop by a 72-year-old Japanese dancer and choreographer in Alibaug offers people a platform to reconnect and channel their emotions through expressive body movements
A moment from Yumiko Yoshioka’s solo performance 100 Light Years of Solitude. Pic courtesy/Edgar Gutierrez Cavillo
There are days when we instinctively feel out of place in our own body and mind; making us feel disconnected with our own selves. This is where Yumiko Yoshioka steps in with her Body Resonance workshop that strives to re-establish the connection through Butoh. With roots tracing back to late 1950s Japan, Butoh is a diverse form of theatre and dance involving a performer in white body makeup channelling the depth of their emotions using slow, dramatic body movements.
Born in Tokyo, and based in Berlin since 1988, Yoshioka came up with Body Resonance, a series of body movements incorporating characteristics of Butoh, combined with Yoga, Noguchi Taiso gymnastics and Tai Chi, to name a few. These techniques allow one to use their body to embrace vibrations and sensations guided by the universe.
Yoshioka performs Before The Dawn. Pic Courtesy/Bea Jun
“After participating in various political movements as a university student, I reached a stage of burnout and decided to do something to enrich my soul. One day, I came across a flyer, requesting for Butoh dancers, and even though I was inexperienced, it felt like a calling, and since then my life has never been the same,” shared Yoshioka.
The versatile dancer and choreographer, who has visited India four times in the past, made her fifth and recent visit to Auroville, Tamil Nadu. She conducted her first Body Resonance workshop in the country during her visit from August 10 to 16. The seven-day session showcased various techniques to its participants who felt liberated and in control of their body and mind.
Participants perform bodywork exercises at Yumiko Yoshioka’s workshop in Auroville. Pics courtesy/Yuvasri, Yatra Arts Media
Her upcoming workshop at UsPaar, Alibaug, a space for artistes to interact with like-minded people, will involve a range of exercises and techniques for performers and non-performers alike to reconnect with themselves. “From making waves, to rotation exercises, and forming the number eight using their bodies, these techniques will help open passages to release unnecessary tension, freeing their bodies to make space for creative energies while seeking inspiration to be able to dance openly,” explains Yoshioka.
She is keen that participants discover their uniqueness amidst a sea of commonalities. “I hope people will not only find the workshop fun and enjoyable but invoke curiosity within themselves. They should come up with their own ways to dance and experience wholeness like never before.”
On August 29 to 31; 10 am onwards
At UsPaar, Kashid, Alibaug
Call 8580464578 (WhatsApp for registration)
Entry Rs 15,000 (includes meals and accommodation)
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