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"Furnace," Ensemble Work of Butoh

By Rajdeep K. Bhathal

"Furnace," an ensemble work of collective creation led by Tokyo based master Ko Murobushi and inter-media artists Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya. L-R: Ximena Garnica, Shige Moriya, Stephanie Lanckton, Theresa Magario. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

"Furnace," an ensemble work of collective creation led by Tokyo based master Ko Murobushi, director-performer Ximena Garnica and visual artist Shige Moriya, has been commissioned by the 2009 CAVE New York Butoh Festival and will premiere November 5 to 8, 2009 at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, which is co-presenting the piece.

The dance is being developed by and for the performing ensemble known as Garnica LEIMAY, which is the resident company of CAVE. The only clues to the piece's nature lie in this statement by its creators, who write, "The ball of movement was born amid the fire of the furnace blast. It is a great hybrid, a miscellaneous of species. Today we are at the center of the furnace again, new transformation upland."

The piece will feature Stephanie Lanckton, Steven Carlino, Irem Calikusu, Denisa Musilova, Teerawat Mulvilai (Kage), Ming, Amelia Schembri, Will Pritchard, Kieran Morris, Therera Magario and John Schneider.

Ko Murobushi trained and performed with Butoh's creator Tatsumi Hijikata and was a founding member of Dairakudakan. His influential group Ariadone introduced Europe to Butoh in 1978. Based in Japan, he leads the Edge Company and tours internationally throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Ximena Garnica is active as a performer, director, choreographer, installation artist, producer and curator. She has been the co-director of CAVE since 2003, and is the co-director/founder and curator of the New York Butoh Festival.

Shige Moriya has presented his video pieces locally and in Germany, Japan, Finland and Vietnam. Currently, he is the founder of CAVE and Co director of the New York Butoh Festival. Moriya is currently a core member of Garnica LEIMAY.

Garnica LEIMAY is an interdisciplinary company-project and laboratory of performance founded in 2005 by Ximena Garnica in Brooklyn, New York. LEIMAY synthesizes-through the body, and other visual and performing arts -a performance experience designed to sharpen the senses both for the artists who engage in the creative process and for the audience who relates to the
performances.

L-R: Ximena Garnica, Stephanie Lanckton, Shige Moriya, Theresa Magario. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Accompanying "Furnace" will be a benefit exhibition that is touring to all locations of this year's CAVE New York Butoh Festival. Titled "Body As A Medium: NY Butoh Festival & NY Butoh-Kan Retrospective," it is a silent auction of photos and videos taking during the first three NY Butoh Festivals (2003, 2005 and 2007). It is being mounted to raise funds to pay travel fees for international artists of the festival and for its general operating costs.

"The CAVE New York Butoh Festival--Butoh-kan Phase" (http://nybf09.caveartspace.org) is the fourth biennial Butoh Festival organized by CAVE to celebrate and promote the origins and international evolution of Butoh Dance while strengthening the local community with performances, workshops, and conversations with the artists. Events of the festival are being presented at Dixon Place and Dance New Amsterdam in Manhattan and at CAVE in Brooklyn.

The festival also includes "New York Butoh-Kan Masters," a series of individual works by Ko Murobushi, Daisuke Yoshimoto, Mari Osanai and a special guest, at Dance New Amsterdam from November 12 to 15; an Emerging Artist Series November 20-22 at CAVE, 58 Grand Street, Brooklyn; and intensive and introductory workshops provided by masters who will perform throughout the festival from October 23 to November 25, also at at CAVE.

"Furnace" is co-presented by Dixon Place and produced by CAVE. The dance will be performed from November 5-8, 2009 at Dixon Place, located at 161A Chrystie Street (between Rivington and Delancey Streets) in Manhattan. An after-performance talk with Garnica LEIMAY follows the November 6 show. Show times are 8 PM on Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays and 3 PM on Sundays. Tickets are $18 for students and $20 for others, available through the Dixon Place Box Office at (212) 219-0736 or online through CAVE at http://nybf09.caveartspace.org. There is a benefit performance on November 7 with tickets $28 for students and $35 for non-students, which includes admission to the performance and a breception with the artists.