OPEN CLASSES IN LONDON 2022
Journey into Butoh classes
Journey into Butoh: London Butoh Classes 2023/2024
Saturdays from 16:00 to 18:00 at Theatre Deli (107 Leadenhall street, EC3A 4AF).
Term 1: December 9th 2023 - February 3rd 2024
Term 2: February 10th 2024 - March 16th 2024
Term 3: April 6th 2024 - May 11th 2024
Each term will have different topics and will consists of six training sessions, with the final session serving as a public sharing of the work in progress (participation at the end-of-term public presentation is optional).
These movement classes are open to everyone. If you're eager to explore something new, consider joining these inclusive classes, which are suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
We will delve into this dance form through a variety of exercises and movement improvisations. Our toolkit will include Butoh techniques, movement meditation, physical theatre, Yoga, Noguchi Taiso, visualisations, and focus training. Due to the public sharing as a part of the course, you will also have an opportunity to learn more about the role, usage and the relationship with the Butoh face/body paint. Each session will commence with a warm-up, followed by movement meditation, individual or group exercises, and a creative segment (with Butoh-fu) that builds up throughout the term. We will also incorporate some reading and basic Butoh theories into the learning process.
* No prior dance or theatre experience is necessary!
* You can attend any term you like; while they focus on different topics, they are not a prerequisite of one another.
Aleksandar is an international performer, dancer, choreographer, Yoga teacher and dance anthropologist who has studied Butoh with renowned instructors such as Rhizome Lee, Ken Mai, Mushimaru, Saga Kobayashi, Julie Becton Gillum, Adam Koan, Imre Thormann, and others.
Prices:
One term: £80
Two terms: £150
Three terms: £220
(Concession 10% off for students, unemployed, disabled and pensioners)*
*only for one term fee
For additional information and to book a place, please email posthumantheatre@gmail.com.
Feedback from participants:
"What a brilliant experience. Butoh bridges the worlds of visual art, performance art and dance in a way that really intrigues me. I knew very little about it before joining the classes. What I have learnt has opened me up to all sorts of creative possibilities. There is a lot of experimenting through using certain Butoh practises during the sessions. It can be challenging and also very funny. I especially enjoyed learning with the group and creating my own Butoh piece and sharing that with an audience. Definitely feel inspired to continue learning more." - Alison
"One of the things that felt really liberating, and exploration of the body in a greater depth, was the connection of the inner vision, through description, joined with a movement that comes from within, as a reaction to the feelings, sounds and sensations that descriptive vision unfolds. For me a lot of these experiences of embodying those inner visions and feelings felt like being physically present and engaging in a waking dream. It shed to a certain extent, preconceptions of limitations of the experience of being human. It indeed felt often, like a post human experience!
The engagement of the body and voice for the act of an inner vision brought fourth a connection that enhanced the potency of the experience, it felt like a spiritual journey, very much explorative with body mind voice, from an inner informed intuition. That experience is useful in the feeling of being embodied in existence. As musician working with the voice, I found that the bodies deep connection and action intention and physical/ facial expression through movement, allowed for less boundaries on vocal expression, and I am looking forward to merging Butoh with my vocal and musical practice more!" - Christina
What did strike me most about Aleks' weekly Butoh classes was his skill to gently encourage exploring unfamiliar inner spaces and experiences based on powerful imagery - an amazing journey into an unknown territory called 'me'. - Klaus, London, 70 years old
" I have found the first term amazing. I really enjoyed the challenge of working in silence and the exercises using the imagination." Denize
"Aleks’ workshops and classes have taken me across thresholds and into images and experiences that have touched me deeply."
"Butoh as an art, along with Aleks’ gentle and secure facilitation, offers subtle and often profound exploration of how the body wants to speak as well as what wants to be spoken. It is a moving process of imagination which encourages rich and deep integration. Each individual, as well as the group as its own entity, morph into aspects, atmospheres and characters that are as captivating as they are cathartic. "
There is appreciation, delight, curiosity, playfulness and acceptance of the vast range of human experiences - messy, difficult, ugly, joyful and beautiful. Aleks’ guidance encourages me to take growthful risks and finetune my physical and emotional responses. This has been especially useful for me as a psychotherapist working with trauma and how it impacts the nervous system. There is so much in these practices for anyone to learn and discover, I highly recommend diving in. " Rachel Jane Cooke, Intersectional Relational Therapist & Writer