Following a critically U.S. and International tour, Vangeline Theater presents BUTOH BEETHOVEN: ECLIPSE (Admiring Tatsumi Hijikata) on October 14, 2017 at 8pm at Theater For the New City, 155 First Avenue, NYC. Tickets are $15 general admission ($12 for students/seniors) and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3056947.
New York Butoh dancer Vangeline conjures the ghosts of two passionate giants - Tatsumi Hijikata, founder of Butoh, and composer Ludwig van Beethoven in this hypnotic, electrifying and award-winning solo performance. 80 minutes with a 10 minute intermission.
"Virtuosic solo performance that will make your skin crawl in the best way possible, conjuring the ghosts of tortured geniuses Beethoven and Tatsumi Hijikata and bringing Butoh into the 21st century with technical marvels and masterful skill. Vangeline is an artist who knows the darkness of Butoh well, and has the incredible skill to make that darkness dance." - Theasy
The word "eclipse"is derived from the ancient Greek verb ἐκλείπω (ekleípō) which means "to abandon," "to darken," or "to cease to exist." Butoh is likewise the "Dance of Darkness" where performers dance on the threshold of Life and Death Life.
BUTOH BEETHOVEN: ECLIPSE is a solo piece that illuminates the darkness of Butoh with the addition of cutting edge lighting technologies such as the futuristic creations of European designer Tilen Sepič and fiber optic costume by the French company Lumigram. After touring this show for the past three years and receiving four stars at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, five stars at Copenhagen Stage Festival and critical acclaim in New York City, Vangeline shines a new light on Butoh and will transport audiences.
This program is supported in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
ABOUT VANGELINE THEATER
Vangeline is an award-winning teacher, dancer, and choreographer specializing in the Japanese postwar avant-garde movement form Butoh. She is Artistic Director of The Vangeline Theater Inc., an all-female dance company that she founded in 2002. Firmly rooted in the tradition of Japanese Butoh, The Vangeline Theater is committed to providing programming, performances and classes that honor the legacy of the art form while moving it forward in the 21st century. Vangeline is the winner of the 2015 Gibney Dance's Beth Silverman-Yam Social Action Award recognizing excellence in the field of Community Action. Vangeline's Butoh work has been commissioned by Atlantic Records' Grammy award-winning artist SKRILLEX and Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding, and is featured in a major motion picture "The Letter" with James Franco and Winona Ryder, as well as on CNN's Great Big Story.
Since its inception in 2002, Vangeline Theater has fused the post-apocalyptic vision of Butoh (the Japanese dance form that developed after Hiroshima) with the near-cinematic aesthetic of 21st Century science-fiction noir. The mission of Vangeline Theater is to be at the forefront of the artistic movement to address environmental awareness providing artistic, socially responsible engagements in our community. The Vangeline Theater is home to the New York Butoh Institute, dedicated to the advancement of Butoh in the 21st century, with a special emphasis on scientific research as it relates to Butoh.
