• Butohchannel

Butoh Channel

Butoh is not generally known in Russia, and the opportunity to practice Butoh is quite limited. That's why February 2012 we initiated a program of BUTOH CHANNEL, oriented to create an interdisciplinary framework for the development and popularization of the Butoh culture in Russia.

Butoh Channel program received sympathetic support of the Embassy of Japan in Russia and of the Japan Foundation at the origin of its realization. Butoh dance, even after the enormous changes occurred by Western culture, shows Japanese conventions of artistic expression, and embodies the identity of aesthetic ideas and culture of the land of the rising sun, remains one of the most philosophical and most paradoxical form of dancing from the standpoint of Western man. The objectives of the program BUTOH CHANNEL included at the origin the launch of data and news portal www.butohchannel.org, organization of performances of world famous companies and dancers of Butoh, development of schemes of Butoh interaction with other trends of contemporary art.

Constellation of BUTOH CHANNEL invited artists kindled leading Moscow and St. Petersburg’s stages interest . And in fact limitless possibilities of integration of Butoh into contemporary art - from multimedia till performance and installation - just let us get into the central exhibition places (from MMSI till Artplay). Performances of Butoh’s masters, invited by BUTOH CHANNEL, aroused great interest and audience-proof. For our students were organized the multi-day outdoor workshops.

Project BUTOH CHANNEL in collaboration with Creative country estate "Guslitsa" has organized for the first time ever Russian International "Butoh-Village" - a unique scheme of transmition of the deep cultural content of Butoh, enabling total exposure in the culture for butoh dancers, students and visiting artists.

The first two "Butoh-village" were retreated "in the country", near Moscow with great success. It enabled us to train a group of butoh dancers in the most comfortable conditions. Nevertheless, the principle of choice of location has a specific strategy, leading to integration into the urban space.

The intermediate result of an extensive program of our events, theater and film screenings, meetings, workshops, seminars, conferences and round tables will be the first International Butoh Channel Convention in Moscow, scheduled for December 2012.