Workshops, Intensives, and Master Classes
The UNDERTOW Butoh Confluence 2026—the first event of this kind in Minnesota—will be presented at the Center for the Performing Arts from Friday, August 14—Sunday, August 16. Co-produced by Masanari Kawahara and Lelis Brito, this gathering explores under-currents in the Butoh performance diaspora and includes a workshop, artist talk, and a Butoh Cabaret with local luminaries of weirdness.
Friday, August 14 from 6:00-9:00pm
Saturday, August 15 from 10:00am-9:00pm
Sunday, August 16 from 10:00am-9:00pm
Location: Center for Performing Arts
Register here.
Questions? Email undertowbutohconfluence@gmail.com
Workshop Description
Immerse yourself in the fascinating aesthetics and physicality of Butoh dance while utilizing improvisation. Dancers will be guided to use aspects of Butoh to explore ideas of space and time, create physical movements inspired by natural phenomena and approach the dancing body from a non-western perspective that emphasizes mindful movement and interconnectedness with nature. The dance material is the essence of our bodies; water, air, bone, muscle, and skin—leading us into form and texture through a flow of sensations in space, time, and dynamics.
About Iván-Daniel Espinosa
As a choreographer and performance studies scholar, Iván-Daniel writes about and creates work engaged with ecology, mushrooms and fungi, Japanese Butoh, Eco-dramaturgy, Bioperformativity, and interspecies performance. Iván-Daniel’s PhD dissertation research examines interspecies relationships between human beings and mycelium fungi through the lenses of choreography and performance. This interdisciplinary research highlights how ‘fungal choreographies’ create ecological and cultural meaning in diverse human and non-human environments, including in the context of theatrical performances that engage with fungi.