Parade/Traces

CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) presents new solo works by Japanese Butoh artist and Dairakudakan veteran Mariko Endo and American Butoh-inspired dance and theatre artist Leigh Evans.

Endo’s new work Parade looks back to Tatsumi Hijikata’s practice of making dance out of the physical presence of the weak bodies of those in poverty, those who labored in the rice fields, which are usually not seen in dance on the stage. Created with musical collaborator Gregory Reynolds, Parade also looks forward to the day when we may see the parade of human beings praising each other simply for being who they are.

Traces, created and performed by Leigh Evans, investigates the residual memories embedded in the tissues, muscles, skin, and cells of our bodies. Memories of our past experiences as well as those of our ancestors’ dwell within our physicality. Combining Butoh, sound, song, and text, Traces plunges deeply into the interior body to unveil ancestral, cellular, and archetypal memory. Dissections of mind states and memories through anatomical gestural collages set the stage for the live performance. Traces also features collage by Leigh Evans, set design by Claire Falkenberg, and music by Miguel Frasconi & Peter Whitehead.