A Butoh workshop with somatic approach with Yumino Seki
WHAT'S ON
A Point of Transformation
Event details
07 February 2026
1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
£60
Please note, we are on the second floor, accessed by a staircase only. Regrettably the studios are not wheelchair accessible.
About the Workshop
舞踏 Butoh is a form of avant-garde dance which emerged from the post war chaos in Japan in the late 50s when the country grappled with the clash between new Western technology and traditional Japanese values. Butoh became a new form of expression, neither an imitation of Western culture nor a traditional Japanese cultural practice. Butoh was called ‘the dance of darkness’. Influenced by German Expressionism, self-identity was radically explored with culturally diverse concepts through bodily expression.
The word Butoh (舞踏) consists of the characters 舞 and 踏. 踏 means “to stamp,” and 舞 means “to dance,” particularly in the sense of circling and wandering with the feet close to the ground, emphasising stillness rather than jumping or leaping, ((and moving arms with lively rhythms.)) The pictographic character 舞 existed more than 3,000 years ago. Originally, 舞 was performed by shaman as part of ritual practices, and it later became connected to the character of 無“emptiness”. This suggests that ancient people recognised emptiness through the shaman, who transcended ordinary human embodiment and functioned as a mere medium within ritual. Through the process of emptying the body, in this workshop we will explore the transformative nature of the body with particular attention to its connection to the ground.
Shifting attention from ‘action’ to ‘active listening’ the workshop will be based on a somatic approach. Somatic is the study of a ‘person’ as a living functional body. Integrating the body, mind and emotion whilst using movement as the main exploratory tool. Experiential anatomy and attentive touch, drawn from somatic practice helps us elicit details and a depth of expression, from robust muscular action to subtle cellular presence in micro movement.
Using this sensory feedback and a Butoh perspective as guidance we will explore unique visceral & complex expression. Aiming to embody dance, sensation, themes and imagery.
Working in groups, pairs and individuals in both dynamic and quiet practice the workshop will be guided by imagery based improvisations with music. Be attentive, curious and playful. Butoh sees dance as a living process and it pushes the boundaries of what we already know.
‘My work starts from trust; trusting that the body has its own intelligence & experience. Not moving but being moved. Raw yet subtle, meditative yet self-destructive, stark yet sensual. Conflict and harmony co-exist in an ambiguous way. I explore and reflect the inner self where the body becomes mere ‘being’ and where a point of transformation occurs’. Yumino.
About the Facilitator
Yumino Seki is a Japanese dance artist, Butoh practitioner and qualified somatic movement educator who performs, teaches, directs and collaborates to make performances. She was born in Japan and has trained in both classical and contemporary dance.
Between 1999 and 2009 she performed in Butoh predominately with Tadashi Endo (Mamu Dance Theatre), Yumiko Yoshioka (Ten-Pen-Chii) both in Germany and Carlotta Ikeda (Ariadone) in France. In 2007 she started VMI Somatic Practice with Patricia Bardi in Amsterdam, Netherlands and qualified in 2012.
She has been interested in the authenticity of the temporal body for many years resulting in many pieces, which are site responsive and improvised in nature. Collaborating with artists from diverse disciplines has given her a broad approach to her movement practice. Since 2012 on the completion of VMI Somatic Practice she has been developing her Butoh and somatic work.
Her work crosses the boundaries of dance, performance art, installation and ritual. Her work has been presented in many different contexts including art galleries, theatres, shop fronts, private houses, festivals and nature. She has directed group choreography with cross-discipline and site-specific performances both indoors and outdoors. Key funders and commissioners include Arts Council England, The Japan Foundation, Cairo, Japan Society, Chisenhale Dance Space, Hastings Borough Council and many more.
Her collaborative work includes dance, theatre, music, film and visual art as live exhibitions. Collaborating artists include Andrew Kötting (film maker) and Zadie Xa (visual artist) at The National Gallery, London, 58th Venice Biennale, Art Night London, Dance International Glasgow & Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.
She teaches professional, educational and community settings with all ages and abilities including adults with learning disabilities. She is a guest artist at Butoh Brighton, Butoh UK, Mountview and Felinganol Woodland Retreat, Wales. She taught at Independent Dance, South Coast College Hastings, Buck’s New University, London Metropolitan University, University of Sussex and Northern School of Contemporary Dance.