Butoh x Javaese Court/Mask Dance - 2 in 1 Eastern Spirit tasting workshop【Horizons Festival 2025】Horizons Festival

Hurtling Calves Butoh Dance Theatre x Agung Dancing Centre x Moving Arts Hong Kong (Hong Kong, Indonesia)

Butoh and court mask dance share common roots in East Asian body philosophies, beliefs, and earthly nourishment. They coincidentally share a reverence for all living things, life and death, animals, nature, and spirituality, as well as a connection to the poetics, imagination, and transformation of the body. Consciousness empowers unconsciousness, yin and yang energies balance hardness and softness, and muscles or small joints are disassembled or disrupted. Both dance styles emphasize the search for irrational expression and spatial acuity within a neutral state of breathing and contemplation.

Our Butoh session incorporates elements of yoga, Tai Chi, sound resonance, breathing, and line visualization. Our Javaese dance master explores the relationship between the body and the distinctive characters and masks of Javaese court dance. Participants will also explore symbolic hand seals/mudra and the distinctions between the rigid and flexible forms of male and female characters in their movement system.

This two-in-one workshop allows you to witness the seamless integration and synergy between the two Eastern dance traditions/forms. Through the impact of these two Eastern dance spirits, you may even unleash your untapped explosive power.

The workshop lasts approximately 2 hours.
Conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
Target participants: Ages 8 and above; participants with no dance training are welcome.