Vangeline Theater/ New York Butoh Institute presents a Butoh performance with Akihito Ichihara and dancers on Sunday July 14 2024 at 8pm at Belvedere Plaza Battery Park Manhattan. The Butoh performance will feature Akihito Ichihara and students in costumes designed by Mr. Ichihara. This performance is free. https://www.vangeline.com/calendar-of-upcoming-events/2024/7/14/butoh-performance-with-akihito-ichihara-and-dancers-at-battery-park
Akihito Ichihara is Japanese Butoh dancer (ELF Sankai Juku). Ichihara started acting in his teenage years. In the 1980s he was greatly influenced by watching the renowned Butoh troupe Sankai Juku on TV which inspired him to explore a greater range of physical expression on stage. In 1993 he majored in theater at Nihon University College of Art. He was moved to pursue a Butoh career in 1994; in 1996 he studied with Semimaru a founding member of Sankai Juku. In 1997 he appeared as a dancer in an opera directed by Ushio Amagatsu the artistic director and choreographer of Sankai Juku and later joined Sankai Juku. Since then he has been featured in Sankai Juku’s entire repertoire and most of Sankai Juku’s world tours.
Ichihara is very active in theater dance and Butoh. In addition to his solo projects he has worked with the most significant butoh dancers and butoh troupes in the history of contemporary butoh. Since the 2005 recreation of “Kinkan Shonen” (which premiered in 1978) he has danced solos in many of Sankai Juku’s performances and has led the group dances as one of the principal dancers. He is also in charge of the design and production of the accessories dancers wear on stage.
Parallel to his work with Sankai Juku he collaborates with various choreographers directors and dance groups worldwide. He is also a guest faculty at Okayama University Graduate School and a guest speaker at international forums.
In 2022 he founded the dance company “ELF” with dancers Kei Kamioka Rino Fujimoto and Miu Shibata. Since then ELF has held workshops and presented works at renowned institutions and universities worldwide. In the spring of 2023 ELF went on tour in Latin America in Bogota Colombia and various locations in Mexico Taiwan and San Francisco. These activities received critical acclaim and repeat invitations. The company plans a world tour in 2024.
While many underground and grotesque expressions exist in Butoh Ichihara and ELF’s Butoh dance has deeply resonated with people worldwide. This dance is based on the “Sankai Juku Method” a method accessible to everyone. By developing this method Ichihara aims to go beyond Butoh by developing a dance technique that can bring a higher level of excellence to professional dancers in ballet modern and contemporary dance.
Ichihara hopes to continue learning collaborating progressing and contributing to the development of dance worldwide. He is interested in creating and directing various dance projects that transcend borders cultural differences and styles of expression.
Ichihara aims to develop a form of dance that promotes empathy and mutual respect. His goal is to do this worldwide even between countries and cities that still bear the scars of war. He would like to contribute by acting as a bridge and connecting people across the borders despite their differences.
By sharing physical expressions dancing and empathizing with each other the hope is to transcend borders and contribute to peace efforts worldwide. Based on this idea ELF advocates a ”Dance Project without Borders.”
Recent work by Akihito Ichihara:
VANGELINE THEATER/ NEW YORK BUTOH INSTITUTE aims to preserve the legacy and integrity of Japanese Butoh while carrying the art form into the future with a special emphasis on education social justice research and archiving. For more info visit: www.vangeline.com
Vangeline Theater programs are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
This performance was made possible by the support of Japan Foundation New York.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Rockefeller Park, 75 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280, United States
