From 07th-09th of February 2025 I will be teaching another Butoh-Clown-Workshop
Limited to 12 participants at Kultur Anker Zentrum Schlingermarkt
Brünnerstraße 34-36
1210 Vienna
07 FEB, 2025
18:00 - 21:00
08 & 09 FEB, 2025
11:00 - 18:00
Contact me for more Information and registration:
+43-663-06404453
Price: sliding scale from 150€ to 250€, depending on your personal situation
This Workshop is for:
Beginners to advanced students in the fields of dance, theater or performance art
Artists and performers who want to expand their expressive possibilities
People who are interested in body awareness and deeper emotional expression
Aims of the workshop:
Introduction to the basics of Butoh and clowning
Exploring the connection between the two art forms
Developing personal expression through physical and emotional transformation
Creation and presentation of short butoh clown performances
The Butoh clown workshop is a rare opportunity to explore two contrasting yet interrelated art forms. You will learn techniques that can transform you not only as an artist, but also as a human being. Experience how you can reveal deeper truths about life through the body and absurd expression. Immerse yourself in a unique performance art that takes you on
a journey between darkness and light, between pain and laughter.
In this intensive workshop, you will learn to combine the slow, deeply emotional world of movement of Japanese Butoh dance with the playful, eccentric and sometimes absurd art of clowning.
Materials you should bring:
Comfortable clothing that allows freedom of movement
Notebook and pen for reflections and notes
Possibly your own props, costumes or masks that can be used
A blanket and/or Yoga-mat for some exercises
Warm clothes (pullover and warm socks) for waiting moments
Requirements for the participants:
Openness to physical and emotional work
Willingness to engage intensively with yourself and the group
No specific prior knowledge required, but a certain level of physical fitness and
experience in performance art are an advantage
What can you expect?
Physical and emotional transformation: explore the depths of your expressive capacity through the powerful techniques of Butoh. Learn to physically embody inner states and emotions and bring them to life on stage.
Playful Absurdity: Awaken your inner clown and discover how to convey deep emotional messages through humor, exaggeration and the power of surprise.
Creative expression: Combine both art forms to develop your own Butoh clown persona. Create performances that challenge the audience, make them think and maybe even make them laugh.
Whether you are a beginner or advanced, this workshop offers you the opportunity to dive deep into the world of butoh clowning and find your own creative voice.
Here is some final feedback from participants:
“I feel extremely inspired and grateful for all the creative input!”
“I feel like a deep sea diver who must now slowly return to the surface...”
“I signed up out of curiosity because I couldn't imagine how butoh and clown could be combined - now I'm thrilled with all the knowledge and creative input - thank you for the valuable techniques and for the great instruction!”
“What I particularly liked about Miriam's workshop is how she manages to introduce people of all levels of experience to the basics of butoh and clowning in a playful way. She gives exciting and well-founded insights into the historical and scientific foundations of these two art forms. Starting from these basics, a great experimental space is created where the exercises build on each other in a coherent way, where you feel in good hands
and really enjoy creative introspection and emotional empathy when performing.”
Workshop-Impressions:
About Butoh Clown
Butoh clown is an interesting and rather rare combination of two different performance art forms: Butoh and clowning. Each of these art forms has its own deeply rooted tradition and mode of expression, and their combination creates a unique performance that is strongly characterized by emotion, physicality and often deep, sometimes disturbing symbolism.
Butoh
Butoh is an avant-garde Japanese dance form that emerged in Japan after the Second World War. It was developed in the late 1950s by artists such as Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno. Butoh is known for its slow, often grotesque movements that express an intense emotional and psychological depth. The dance style is strongly characterized by the expression of the unconscious, darkness, pain and existential themes.
Clowning
Clowning, or clown art, is a theatrical art form that has its origins in the commedia dell'arte and relies heavily on body language, facial expressions and eccentric behavior. Clowns often play with humor, absurdity and the exaggeration of emotions to entertain the audience, but also to reflect deeper human conditions.
Butoh-Clown
The combination of Butoh and clowning creates a performance that can be both humorous and deeply touching. A Butoh clown uses the slow, often ponderous and emotionally charged movements of Butoh, combined with the expressive, often absurd elements of clowning. This mixture can create a powerful and sometimes disturbing performance that challenges the audience to reflect on human existence, suffering and the absurdity of life.
Butoh clowns are rare and the art form is not widespread, but when it does occur, it often leaves a lasting impression as it explores the boundaries of physical theater and performance art.
About the Workshop Facilitator
Miriam Strasser
In 2019 she initiated her investigation of a Butoh-Clown-Character she named “Homo Kemoni”. In the “Homo Kemoni Project” she collaborates with different artists for inter-transdisciplinary performance research and creation.
Through her work on her character "Homo Kemoni" she delved into the depths of consciousness research to decrypt what exactly happens in these so similar inner states (Butoh and Clowning) in the human brain.Since the year 2014 she has been investigating the human consciousness, both neuroscientifically and through self-awareness such as lucid dreaming, various meditation and breathing techniques.
(For more Information see: https://www.soulmove.org/resume )
IG: @homo_kemoni
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