Spring Training

Coming SOON, Yumiko will be hosting a very special Chicago-style Butoh class, broadcasting live and in person from her home in Tokyo.

March 18-20, 2022
On Zoom
(listed below in Chicago, Honolulu, Tokyo time, dial in from Anywhere)

Register for one, two, or all three classes
Friday in Chicago 8-9:30pm; Honolulu 3-4:30pm;
Tokyo 10-11:30am (Saturday)
Saturday in Chicago 8-9:30pm; Honolulu 3-4:30pm;
Tokyo 10-11:30am (Sunday)
Sunday in Chicago 8-10pm; Honolulu 3-5pm;
Tokyo 10-12pm (Monday)

Three 90 minute classes with an opportunity for Q&A after the third class on March 20.

Yumiko has brought her very unique teaching to us many times in person, and this is her third online class for us during pandemic. We all look forward to the days when she will come again in person. For this set of classes we explore a new idea, won’t you join us?

What is onomatopoeia? (the sound that is the movement, for example, yura yura , puka puka, Aun, papipupepo….)

The word onomatopoeia comes from the combination of two Greek words, one meaning ‘name’ and the other meaning ‘I’ make. So, literally, onomatopoeia means the name (or sound) I make. For example, splat! or boing! Both these words are onomatopoeic and they mean nothing more than what they sound like.

These sounds become both playful and useful tools to deepen and cultivate our body and sensorial awareness.

Belonging to a third generation of Butoh artists, Yumiko has developed a personal style of bodywork called Body Resonance, which integrates Butoh practice with features of Noguchi Taiso gymnastics and various other Asian training methods to help prepare the body to receive and transmit dance and inspirations. Body Resonance starts from the idea that the world, including our body and soul, consists of vibrational waves that create constant resonances like echoes. When we tune our body to that frequency, we receive images, feelings and sensations accordingly. For this to happen, we need first to shake off unnecessary tension. In effect, we make a white canvas of our body to paint new color on it. I teach this as neutralization, encouraging a close-to-zero state, scouring off rust and polishing antenna to catch waves from profound layers of the body. The transformations and concentrations of dancing break up the eggshell of form. They melt down the armor of our ego, allowing resonant memories to emerge from our cells that are floating in the primal liquid of time.

(www.yumiko-yoshioka.com)