States of Possession
Led by Marie-Gabrielle Rotie
September 2022
Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th
2pm to 7pm each day
Chisenhale Dance Space
64-84 Chisenhale Road
E3 5QZ
Butoh often plays with the notion that the body is inhabited by other selves or unseen forces. For both Hijikata and Ohno this manifested in finding and embodying the spirits of their dead relatives, sister, mother, as well as ghosts and demons. in this workshop we will look specifically at the body giving itself over to both unconscious movement as well as choreographic stagings of possession as found in the 19th Century documentation or 'invention' of Hysteria by Charcot. We will draw upon Imagery and techniques from Butoh such as a puppetry of the body via strings, or the idea of energy or forces moving through the body as well as from outside the body, We will relate this back too Charcot's iconic images to examine possession as a 'performance' as a contrast to possession as a deeply embodied and uncanny process.
For Marie-Gabrielle's biography please see www.rotie.co.uk
She is currently working as a choreographer for Film and TV and in addition is collaborating with photographer Keiko Ikeuchi.
No prior experience of Butoh is needed, but the workshop will be energetic and a reasonably good level of fitness is required.