Lethe/Yomi (2018-) 

This Project is the first creation phase of Lethe / Yomi , a new Butoh dance theatre piece to be created in collaboration between artists Yokko and Paul Michael Henry. 

​​The Project 
This Project is the first creation phase of Lethe / Yomi , a new Butoh dance theatre piece to be created in collaboration between artists Yokko and Paul Michael Henry. 

The Piece
The title reflects this:
                  Lethe: The river of forgetfulness in the Ancient Greek underworld.
                  Yomi: The underworld itself in the Japanese Shinto tradition.
The central question of the project is thus ‘What are we living for?’. We will ask across cultures, gender and with our bodies and spirits through the medium of Butoh.
​
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. – Friedrich Nietzsch
Paul Michael Henry (Performer/Sound Artist) 

I make performances.  My starting points are dance, music, writing and ritual; my artistic approach grows out of punk rock and Butoh.Most of the time this ends up on a stage, but I also make recorded music, films and collaborate on other artists' projects. I'm artistic director of UNFIX Festival and teach dance workshops called The Dreaming Body.

My themes are political, social & spiritual, dealing with love, neglect of the body, destruction of the environment and atrophy of the soul in consumerist society. 
Yokko (Performer) is an actress, Butoh & Theatre artist, Choreographer, Director, Solo performer, writer, Theatre educator and certified Yoga instructor from Nagoya, Japan. She has acted in, devised and choreographed a variety of local and international shows, having won several awards, including “Best One-Woman Show” for her Butoh Medea (United Solo 2014 at Theatre Row). Butoh Medea was invited to present at United Solo Europe, Warsaw, Poland (Teatr Syrena, Warsaw, Poland), then toured to Edinburgh Festival fringe (Paradise Green), and is nominated for Asian Arts Award. She blends Theatre and other arts form especially Butoh & movement to create a work through collaborations with other genre of artists.  She has been touring her shows nationally and internationally. Her works have been presented in Warsaw-Poland,  Edinburgh-Scotland, Turin-Italy, Izmir-Turkey, Kiel-Germany, Los Angeles-CA, Canon-NY, Amherst-MA, Washington D.C. and NYC.  She also organizes UNFIX NYC regularly to create an awareness of ecology through performing arts.  MFA in Acting (The Actors Studio)  WORKS

Awards:
Winner of Outstanding of Choreography 
Winner of Outstanding Production of an experimental of a dance piece
Winner of Outstanding of Ensemble of an experimental or a dance piece
(above three awards are for SHINKA, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2018)
Winner of Best Actress (Butoh Medea, TVolution Hollywood Fringe Award 2018)
Winner of Best Physical Theatre (Hide Your Fires, United Solo NYC 2017) 
​Winner of Best Sound Design (Hide Your Fires, United Solo NYC 2017)
​Winner of Best Physical Theatre (Butoh Medea, United Solo NYC 2015)
Winner of Best Choreography (Butoh Medea, United Solo NYC 2014)
Winner of Best One Woman Show (Butoh Medea, United Solo NYC 2014)

Recipient of Special Award (Butoh Medea, Thespis Festival 2018, Kiel, Germany) 
Recipient of Green Award (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2018 NYC)

Nominee for Best International Play (Butoh Medea, Hollywood Fringe 2018)
​Nominee for Best Dance and Physical Theatre (Butoh Medea, Hollywood Fringe 2018)
Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Messenger in Antigone, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2016)
​Nominee for Asian Arts Award (Butoh Medea, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015)
​Nominee for Best International Play (BALDY, Hollywood Fringe 2013)