Kokoro Dance hosts 30th annual Wreck Beach Butoh performance workshop, July 8 to 21

Registration is now open for two-week-long Japanese dance experience taught by legendary artists Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi

SPONSORED POST BY Kokoro Dance

Kokoro Dance’s annual Wreck Beach Butoh performance. Photo by Peter Eastwood

Kokoro Dance invites folks to learn the practice of the contemporary Japanese dance form known as butoh from legendary artists Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi by participating in the 30th annual Wreck Beach Butoh performance workshop. The workshop will take place July 8 to 21 in Vancouver, located on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

The workshop will consist of nine rehearsal days starting at 9:30 am at Kokoro’s own KW Studios (located at 111 West Hastings), where participants will learn a new movement score that incorporates butoh methods of changing time and space. Everyone will then make their way over to Wreck Beach for an undress rehearsal where participants will discover the challenges and joys of dancing in the ocean and on the beach.

On July 20 at 11:15 am and July 21 at 12 pm, dancers will perform on Vancouver’s largest stage with set, lighting, and sound by Mother Nature. Both performances will take place in the nude with white body make-up, rain or shine. Conditions on the clothing-optional beach are primal and challenging.

Wreck Beach Butoh performers. Photo by Peter Eastwood

Attendance of all classes and rehearsals (seven hours per day with a one-hour lunch break) is mandatory, and everyone must commit to participating in the performances. No previous dance experience is necessary, but those who are interested in registering must be over 18 years of age to take part in the workshop.

Incorporated as a nonprofit in Vancouver in 1986, Kokoro Dance Theatre Society takes its name from the Japanese word kokoro, meaning heart, soul, and spirit. Its mandate is to redefine the meaning of Canadian culture through teaching, producing, and performing new dance works, while emphasizing multidisciplinary collaboration and cross-cultural exploration.

For first-time Wreck Beach Butoh participants, there is a $472.50 registration and workshop fee. For returning participants, the registration fee is $32.00 plus a sliding-scale workshop fee of $0 to $472.50.

Registration is now open, and folks can head to kokoro.ca to sign up online. For more information or to request a printable PDF registration form, please email jayh@kokoro.ca.

Post sponsored by Kokoro Dance.