Ren Gyo Soh Weekly Class - 夏稽古 (Summer Training)
Thursdays 8-10pm
at WMA KARATE in Brooklyn Heights
67 ATLANTIC AVE
BROOKLYN, NY
July 9th-Sep 6th. 2018
at WMA KARATE in Brooklyn Heights
67 ATLANTIC AVE
BROOKLYN, NY
July 9th-Sep 6th. 2018
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Prices:
Single Class $20 Single Class (Students & Artists) $15 |
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About Ren Gyo Soh Classes
Weekly class guided by Yoshiko Usami (AKA Yokko)
"Butoh is a dance of life" - Kazuo Ono
"My dance is expansion of human concept- letting a human body metamorphosis into anything including an animal, a plant, even an object which does not have a life, and the fundamental ideology of my butoh is finding the possibility." -Tatsumi Hijikata
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Class description
Life itself is Butoh to me. I see Butoh as a dance of life. Butoh is breathing itself. Our bodies are organic beings, and we are part of the Universe. Using a series of exercises from Butoh (a contemporary dance form from Japan) plus voice & movement exercises, this class will guide to the freeing organic movements from your soul and the ability to be available for the creative process in life.
These exercises increase physical awareness; help to develop concentration & relaxation, and support you to not only connect with your inner truth, but the outside world. All exercises encourage to explore, discover, and deepening yourself. Through Butoh training, we will be releasing unnecessary tension, self-consciousness, and preconceived notions, and finding space inside our body and outside. The body is a vessel. And emptying the vessel is the key to transform- create something new.
"There is no lightness without darkness"
Butoh brings vibrancy to your life. And its practice challenges your limitations physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And in this way you develop your own “living body.” You may experience more “living” than you do in your daily life. Butoh cultivates and activates your vital energy. **Open to any levels. Please tell the instructor your physical condition before participate.
"Pay attention to the cracks, because that's where the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen
About Ren Gyo Soh:
is a multi-award winning New York-based group. It was founded by Yokko in spring of 2014. It produces works collaborating with other artists using Butoh, contemporary dance, movement, acting, yoga, and voice. Ren Gyo Soh hosts seasonal workshops 4 times annually. Yokko created Ren Gyo Soh to be her KAI, a Japanese word, meaning group, to broaden her training, and create new works to share, and to collaborate with other artists. Mission Statement:"Being a cultural bridge through performing arts". Its major work is Butoh Medea (www.butohmedea.com). Recent Events: UNFIX NYC 2017, 2016, Butoh Festival 2015, Unfix Japan symposium 2017
Workshops: International Butoh Workshops: Turin, Italy, Warsaw, Poland, Edinburgh, UK, NYC Seasonal Workshop (2014-) Recent works: Hide Your Fires(2017), SHINKA (2017, 2016), SHINKA-souls-(2017), Yuragi (2016), SHINKA –evolution- (2015), The Name of Action (2015), Going to Bed (2015), A Green Bird (2015), The Red Shoes (2015) Humore –etude vol.1- (2014), Butoh Medea (2014-), Hoich -the earless- (2014) www.rengyosoh.com
About instructor:
Yokko is the founder/producing artistic director of Ren Gyo Soh, an actress, Butoh & Movement artist, 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. Her work is deeply rooted Japanese culture, and she collaborates with local artists to blend different cultures to create new work. (www.yokko-online.com)
She has been holding her workshop nationally internationally. (Italy, Poland, Scotland Turkey and USA)
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi
"Butoh is a dance of life" - Kazuo Ono
"My dance is expansion of human concept- letting a human body metamorphosis into anything including an animal, a plant, even an object which does not have a life, and the fundamental ideology of my butoh is finding the possibility." -Tatsumi Hijikata
____
Class description
Life itself is Butoh to me. I see Butoh as a dance of life. Butoh is breathing itself. Our bodies are organic beings, and we are part of the Universe. Using a series of exercises from Butoh (a contemporary dance form from Japan) plus voice & movement exercises, this class will guide to the freeing organic movements from your soul and the ability to be available for the creative process in life.
These exercises increase physical awareness; help to develop concentration & relaxation, and support you to not only connect with your inner truth, but the outside world. All exercises encourage to explore, discover, and deepening yourself. Through Butoh training, we will be releasing unnecessary tension, self-consciousness, and preconceived notions, and finding space inside our body and outside. The body is a vessel. And emptying the vessel is the key to transform- create something new.
"There is no lightness without darkness"
Butoh brings vibrancy to your life. And its practice challenges your limitations physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And in this way you develop your own “living body.” You may experience more “living” than you do in your daily life. Butoh cultivates and activates your vital energy. **Open to any levels. Please tell the instructor your physical condition before participate.
"Pay attention to the cracks, because that's where the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen
About Ren Gyo Soh:
is a multi-award winning New York-based group. It was founded by Yokko in spring of 2014. It produces works collaborating with other artists using Butoh, contemporary dance, movement, acting, yoga, and voice. Ren Gyo Soh hosts seasonal workshops 4 times annually. Yokko created Ren Gyo Soh to be her KAI, a Japanese word, meaning group, to broaden her training, and create new works to share, and to collaborate with other artists. Mission Statement:"Being a cultural bridge through performing arts". Its major work is Butoh Medea (www.butohmedea.com). Recent Events: UNFIX NYC 2017, 2016, Butoh Festival 2015, Unfix Japan symposium 2017
Workshops: International Butoh Workshops: Turin, Italy, Warsaw, Poland, Edinburgh, UK, NYC Seasonal Workshop (2014-) Recent works: Hide Your Fires(2017), SHINKA (2017, 2016), SHINKA-souls-(2017), Yuragi (2016), SHINKA –evolution- (2015), The Name of Action (2015), Going to Bed (2015), A Green Bird (2015), The Red Shoes (2015) Humore –etude vol.1- (2014), Butoh Medea (2014-), Hoich -the earless- (2014) www.rengyosoh.com
About instructor:
Yokko is the founder/producing artistic director of Ren Gyo Soh, an actress, Butoh & Movement artist, 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. Her work is deeply rooted Japanese culture, and she collaborates with local artists to blend different cultures to create new work. (www.yokko-online.com)
She has been holding her workshop nationally internationally. (Italy, Poland, Scotland Turkey and USA)
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi
There is a word, "kei-Ko" (稽古) in Japanese. There is a philosophy behind of this word. Kei-Ko is repeatable practice with actively engaging your mind and commitment. It is not just lesson or class which you receive and learn something from your instructor. There is another word, RenSyu(練習）which is more like leaning skills. As you may know-- Japanese words have some meaning of each characters. "Kei" is "thinking deeply something, thinking extremely close to the subject, gathering thoughts." "Ko" is "old thing", "something coming from ancient" (for me, carrying the craft established has been developed from ancient.)
The different between this Kei-Ko and regular practice is passive or active. Ren Syu (Leaning), and Kei-Ko (Thinking). I found beauty in this. I was born and raised in martial arts family in Japan, and we certainly use the term "Kei-Ko." When I was young, I hated this, because it is boring and it seems to take forever to have the craft you are practicing. However, I recently came to realize that it is not just about "time" of practicing, but how you practice it. One of the books about Hijikata Tatsumi-Sensei (written by his pupil) I have read, wrote his philosophy about mental preparation for Butoh dance. Hjikata-Sensei asked his pupils "All or Nothing". He asked how you face to Butoh. You are in or out. Yes, you may think it is extreme if we think of this in this modern time. However, I think we can apply this as considering Kei-Ko, and not "Ren Syu" Actively thinking, and not passively receiving. If you happen to read this, and decide to practice with me in this Fall sessions. Please contact with me. info@rengyosoh.com - Yoshiko Usami, Oct. 11, 2017
The different between this Kei-Ko and regular practice is passive or active. Ren Syu (Leaning), and Kei-Ko (Thinking). I found beauty in this. I was born and raised in martial arts family in Japan, and we certainly use the term "Kei-Ko." When I was young, I hated this, because it is boring and it seems to take forever to have the craft you are practicing. However, I recently came to realize that it is not just about "time" of practicing, but how you practice it. One of the books about Hijikata Tatsumi-Sensei (written by his pupil) I have read, wrote his philosophy about mental preparation for Butoh dance. Hjikata-Sensei asked his pupils "All or Nothing". He asked how you face to Butoh. You are in or out. Yes, you may think it is extreme if we think of this in this modern time. However, I think we can apply this as considering Kei-Ko, and not "Ren Syu" Actively thinking, and not passively receiving. If you happen to read this, and decide to practice with me in this Fall sessions. Please contact with me. info@rengyosoh.com - Yoshiko Usami, Oct. 11, 2017
