Butoh Workshops: To Encounter a Human
Butoh, Health Qigong, and Physical Theatre
The Aim
To encounter the human being. To enable individuality. To help a person discover their physical, mental, and emotional possibilities in a distinctive and rich way.
Every person and every moment is unique, and yet part of a shared world of experience. Through the lived experience of presence, the individual becomes an inviter and enabler of the moment’s potential: freer from the idea of success, freer from performance, freer from the “social flesh.” A person grows from fragmentation toward integration, toward their own independent creativity.
Performances and encounters are there to be discovered. They have their own value and suchness. They are allowed to breathe and stand on their own feet, and they move closer to being events in themselves.
What Is Butoh?
Butoh is an embodied practice. It is imagery. It is a return to the beginning. It is the crystallization of time and space and the expansion of inner space. It is dance without a predetermined form. Butoh can open worlds we thought were unreachable, forgotten, or whose existence we did not yet know.
The key is listening: becoming sensitive to interaction and encounter. The door is our own body. The more you feel, the more you understand.
To influence, and to be influenced in turn. To open to the moment and find directions. To allow the voice and knowledge of inner intuition.
For the philosophy behind this, see Butoh Art. For Butoh as a performing art, see Performances.
What May Happen in a Workshop
We may seek something we long for. We may step into a world opened by imagination. We may begin physical work, act together, and allow things to happen. We may diverge within a moment created by another. We are allowed to be, and more. We may walk through not-knowing without anxiety.
We move from one moment to another, letting our movement, energy, and mind orient themselves. It is also important to wander quietly for a while.
We explore movement and stillness, time and space, and the point from which everything begins. What is the smallest moment of change, of form breaking, of something new being born?
To set something in motion: a creative seed, a small stone placed on the path.
Slowness, Silence, and Presence
Images become movements. Movements become presence.
With our own life experiences as the starting point, we embark on a journey into movement, presence, and inner landscape, our own story.
Slowness lets us dwell on experience and gradually trains us to feel mind and body as one. Silence is the key to listening, and listening helps us to be present. Dialogue unfolds naturally into a broad-minded encounter with ourselves, with those around us, and with the world.
A distinctive feature of these exercises is that we usually work without speaking and without assuming roles. Instead of building something external, we begin by gently deconstructing: letting inner noise settle and sharpening sensory awareness. Our unique presence becomes clearer and quieter, and a grounded confidence of being here and now can emerge.
As the senses awaken, the world becomes richer. Each participant discovers their own story, one that is both deeply personal and part of a larger, shared human narrative.
The goal is to experience well-being, presence, and creativity, and to feel the joy of existence.
Who Workshops Are For
Workshops in Butoh, Health Qigong, and physical theatre suit all groups and individuals. No expertise in movement or dance is needed. Your own life experience is already your preparation: it is the material we begin with.
They are particularly well suited to:
- Work communities and organizations seeking embodied presence, active listening, and creative interaction.
- Individuals exploring movement, creativity, and their inner landscape.
- Performers and theatre professionals developing natural presence and composition.
- Anyone interested in well-being, stillness, and creative joy.
Butoh exercises can be done standing, sitting, or lying down. Images, relaxed concentration, silence, and slowness support the experience of being present. Nothing needs to be performed or perfected.
Workshop Offerings
Butoh: Movement and Stillness, Presence and Creativity
The body is our closest world, and a profound place to begin. Inner images transform into movement and stillness, into presence and beauty. It is open to anyone curious about embodied practice.
Health Qigong
Standardized sets from the Chinese Health Qigong Association, taught as both physical cultivation and meditative practice. They are accessible to all ages and physical abilities, and some sets can be done seated. See the Health Qigong videos for an overview of the routines.
Physical Theatre Skills
Customized training drawing on mask theatre, contemporary mime, movement composition, and natural presence work. It is designed for performers, theatre professionals, and creative groups.
Sound and Movement / Wakefulness
Exploratory sessions that combine listening, inner attunement, and responsive movement. It is a gentle but surprisingly deep entry point for participants with no movement background.
Structure and Duration
Workshops can be tailored to your needs, from a one-hour introduction to a full-day or multi-day immersion.
Longer workshops may include:
- Natural presence training
- Composition and directing
- Preparing a final sharing or performance
- Performance implementation
A non-judgmental, attentive approach fosters courage, creative joy, and embodied confidence. Participants often find new ease in expression, and for some, stage fright begins to ease.
Questions
Do I need to know how to dance? No. Butoh as we practice it has no predetermined form. Your own life experience and your own body are the starting point.
Will I have to perform in front of others? No. Nothing needs to be performed or perfected. Longer workshops may include a final sharing, and taking part in it is your choice.
Can I take part if I have limited mobility? Yes. The exercises can be done standing, sitting, or lying down, and Health Qigong has seated versions. Tell me beforehand about anything I should know.
Is this therapy? No. Butoh and Qigong can support well-being, but they are not medical treatment or a substitute for professional care.
What should I bring or wear? Comfortable clothing that lets you move, and an open mind. Details for each workshop are agreed when you book.
Lineage and Continuity
My Butoh work grew from training and performing with Odddance Theatre (from 2008) and from butoh.name Mythopoetic Theatre, later MO Theatre (2009 to around 2024), together with visual artist Masha Salangina. That story is told on the MO Theatre page. Today I work as a solo artist and teacher.
The dance continues, in 2026 and beyond.
Contact
Tell me about your idea, your group, or your questions. I’m happy to discuss what kind of workshop, collaboration, or training might work for you.
