APRIL 2004 WORKSHOP IN SEATTLE

Body Weather Workshop with Frank van de Ven (Amsterdam)

April 21 & 22 (7-10 pm), April 24 & 25 (11-2 pm)

@Seattle Central Community College

Body Weather was founded by Butoh dancer Min Tanaka and further developed with his Maijuku Performance Company, Japan. Bakatsaki and van de Ven were members of the company from 1983-1991. Since 1993 they lead Body Weather Amsterdam, a platform for training and performance.

Cost: $100 - full (March workshop participants, $65) / $30 single (March workshop participants, $20)

Body Weather is a comprehensive training and performance practice that investigates the intersections of bodies and their environments. Bodies are not conceived as fixed and separate entities but are - just like the weather - constantly changing through an infinite and complex system of processes occurring in- and outside of these bodies. This introductory workshop proposes a re-examination of the habitual body and it's accompanying mental structures as a means of indicating and reflecting upon possible areas of change in the perception and the actual state of our own body and that of others. As a training, Body Weather is of relevance to anyone interested in exploring the body and physical presence and can be aligned to various dance and theatre practices.

The daily training-routine consists of:

- 'MB' (mind/body, muscles/bones)
An energetic, dynamic and rhythmic movement work-out that observes the kinaesthetic sensitivity and co-ordination potential of the body-in-motion while developing strength, endurance, flexibility and grounding.
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- 'Manipulations'
Structured and paced work with partners, concerned with breathing, stretching, alignment and the notion of 'relaxation'.

- 'Laboratory'
A wide forum of explorations including work on segmentation, different speeds within the body and the notion of time, sensory investigation, spatial awareness inside and outside the body, image-to-movement work. Emphasis is given on observation and feedback as a means to objectify experience and to sharpen and articulate the perception of bodies.

Information & Registration: Dappin' Butoh 206-526-5756