MAN/WOMAN
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5 Sep 202619:00Schwarzman Centre, OxfordTheatre
A bold reimagining of Butoh for today
MAN/WOMAN is a hypnotic duet about intimacy and the complexities of human connection.
Performed by acclaimed artists Akihito Ichihara (Japan) and Vangeline (US), the piece is inspired by Eikoh Hosoe’s legendary photobook Man and Woman (1960) which featured Butoh founder, Tatsumi Hijikata, and his wife, Motofuji.
Through slow, ritual-like movement and striking visual design, the dancers explore closeness without contact, building tension through space, gesture and silence. Emmy Award-winner Machine Dazzle’s fantastical costumes and Ray Barragan-Sweeten's atmospheric score shape a world that’s both surreal and deeply human.
Imagine creatures from an otherworldly Versailles stumbling through a forest - half human, half mythical. As the piece unfolds, layers of costume are gradually removed, revealing the iconic Butoh white underneath, a powerful image of emotional vulnerability and transformation.
[Vangeline] moves with the clockwork deliberation of a practiced Japanese Butoh artist
Credits
Akihito Ichihara (Sankai Juku) - Choreography & Performance
Vangeline (New York Butoh Institute) - Choreography & Performance
Machine Dazzle - Costume Design
Ray Barragan-Sweeten - Music (Recorded Score)
Dr Alice Baldock - Discussion Facilitator
Academic partners:
Dr Alice Baldock, Okinaga Junior Research Fellow in Japanese Studies, Wadham College and Nissan Institute for Japanese Studies
Also funded by The Japan Foundation, Monira Foundation, Mercuty Store Foundation and New York Department of Cultural Affairs.
In-kind support: residencies at Chelsea Factory, Monira Foundation, and Mercury Store in NYC, New England Foundation for the Arts.
Supported by Pomegranate Arts, who represent Sankai Juku and Machine Dazzle.