Yuki Taniguchi

Butoh (舞踏 Butō) is a form of Japanese dance theatre that encompasses a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement. Following World War II, butoh arose in 1959 through collaborations between its two key founders Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo. The art form is known to “resist fixity”[1] and be difficult to define; notably, founder Hijikata Tatsumi viewed the formalisation of butoh with “distress”.[2] Common features of the art form include playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and it is traditionally performed in white body makeup with slow hyper-controlled motion. However, with time butoh groups are increasingly being formed around the world, with their various aesthetic ideals and intentions. (Wikipedia) Yuki started Butoh in 2008 at Kazuo Ohno dance Studio, under Kazuo’s son, Yoshito Ohno. Since first coming to Australia in 2010, she has been sharing the art, giving workshops and performances regularly around Brisbane and Byron, including “Yuki Onna” (Snow Woman) Butoh dance at Japan Cultural Day (Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens) and Japan Festival (Roma Street Parklands). Chhau is a tribal martial dance from the eastern regions of India. There are three subgenres of the dance, based on its places of origin and development, Mayurbhanj Chhau, Seraikella Chhau, and Purulia Chhau. This little known style is gaining popularity in the world for its beauty, vigour and the marvel of its art. In contrast to the highly refined and lyrical nature of Indian classical dance, Chhau is a particularly strong and strenuous dance in which the sinuous and fluid body movements are animated by a raw and primal energy. Mayurbhanj Chhau, unlike other Chhau traditions, is performed without a mask, and is characterized by a greater freedom of movement and a richer choreography while still retaining the virility of the martial dance from which it took birth. In Chhau, the stylized movements are based either on the handlings of weapons like the sword and the shield, or they imitate the movement of nature like leaves and waves, and of animals like tiger and deer, or they display everyday village activities like sweeping the floor. The themes for these dances include Hindu mythology, folklore and other abstract themes. Having strong association with the worship of Shiva, one of the main items of Mayurbhanj Chhau is Shiva Tandava, dance of Shiva. Yuki learns Chhau from Padmashree Dr. Ileana Citaristi in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, since 2016. Yogeshwari Giri is her sadhu name, given by Shivraj Giri at Kumbha Mela 2010 in Haridwar. Past Shows & Media release “Shiva Tandava” Chhau Dance Chhau is martial art dance form east India, where Shiva is worshipped. Shiva Tandava is cosmic dance of Shiva. Brisbane Diwali Festival 2017 “Yuki Onna (Snow Woman)” Butoh Japanese folktale in Butoh in collaboration with Theatre of Thunder Presented at Japan Cultural Day 2016 & Japan Festival 2017 Featured in Courie Mail, 30 January 2017 “Threshold” Butoh Butoh improvisation with electronic double bass by James Scott Presented at Threshold ~ an extraordinary performance art experience ~ 2016 RIVERCHILD Butoh with Megan Janet White & Peter Kraat Presented at Brisbane Fringe Festival 2014