A special choreography for the Tenri University Creative Dance's annual performance
Yumi was invited to choreograph for the 19th Annual performance event by Tenri University, Nara, Japan @ Nara Century Hall, 17 Dec 2023
19th Annual performance by Tenri University, Nara, Japan @ Nara Century Hall, 17 Dec 2023
Yumi is invited as a guest choreographer to create a short work for the Creative Dance Club in Tenri University, Nara, Japan. The title: ”結” Connecting our Feeling ”
This is their 19th annual event for the Creative Dance Club in the Tenri university, who has been winning several dance awards in the Japanese university competitions.
17(Sun) Dec 2023
Venue：Nara Century Hall (Main Hall) なら１００年会館 大ホール
Open ：17 :30
Start: 18: 00
Buried TeaBowl-OKUNI tours to OzAsia Festival 28, 29 Oct 2023
Buried TeaBowl-OKUNI tours to Adelaide, OZAsia Festival.
Buried TeaBowl – OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance piece. It is a fusion of dance, text, and song, underscored by dynamic visual elements, a compelling original musical score, and of course – a tea ceremony.
A Proustian, unruly one-woman show, a work of pleasure and bite. — The Saturday Paper
Buried TeaBowl – OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance piece. It is a fusion of dance, text, and song, underscored by dynamic visual elements, a compelling original musical score, and of course – a tea ceremony.
Drawing inspiration from the historical Japanese female entertainer, Izumo no Okuni, initiator of Kabuki theatre in early 1600s Japan, Buried TeaBowl – OKUNI is a visceral adventure – a transcendent feast for the senses.
At the height of her creative prowess, Yumi Umiumare, Australia’s leading Butoh artist, unearths precious sacred female powers all too often buried throughout history. Yumi’s channelling of the multifaceted Okuni (who was so powerful, yet fragile and complex) culminates in a powerhouse solo performance that refuses to be defined by genre. Furious, funny, wistful, strange, and wild. Buried TeaBowl – OKUNI will carry you on a bizarre, unruly and heartfelt journey as only Yumi Umiumare can.
DETAIL AND BOOKING
CREATIVE TEAM
Created and Performed : Yumi Umiumare
Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
Dramaturg/ Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Producer : Kath Papas productions
Stage Manager: Celina Mack
Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Photo by Vikk Shayen
Buried TeaBowl- OKUNI: Ready for Tour!
Buried TeaBowl -OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance installation bringing together dance, text, song and tea ceremony. The work was premiered in May 2022 with sold out season and now ready for touring around the globe!
“...the traditional Japanese tea ceremony a 21st century feminist spin. ... a Proustian, unruly one woman show, a work of pleasure and bite.”
“…so strange and grotesque, it almost defies description”
“dense and visceral at the same time.”
INSTALLATION - PERFORMANCE - TEA
ABOUT
Buried TeaBowl -OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance installation bringing together dance, text, song and tea ceremony with stunning film captured in 2021 during the lockdown.The work is inspired by the Japanese historical female dancer and shrine made Okuni, who initiated Kabuki theatre in the early 1600s, which women were banned from performing after these times.
At the height of her powers, Yumi Umiumare, Melbourne performance legend and Australia’s leading Butoh artist, unearths precious sacred female power which has been buried throughout history.Yumi channels the multifaceted character of Okuni who was so powerful, yet fragile and complex, to reawaken her spirit through excavating these buried stories and myths.
CREATIVE TEAM
Created and Performed : Yumi Umiumare
Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
Dramaturg/ Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Producer : Kath Papas productions
Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Graphic design : Mariko Naito & Taka Takiguchi
Calligraphy: Hisako Tsuchiya
Publicity : Diana Wolfe
PHOTO CREDITS
Vikk Shayen (Above)
Takeshi Kondo (Below)
The show was premiered at the BlackCat Gallery in May 2022.
SUPPORT & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS for the premiere season
The premiere season was supported by the Besen Family Foundation and BLACKCAT Gallery.
IN-VOCATION たまおこし Performance in FRAME: biennial dance festival
21(Tue) and 28(Tue) March 2023
3 shows ONLY at Dancehouse
Performed by Yumi Umiumare, Kayo Tamura and Kyoko Amara
Installation by Jacqui Stockdale
Sound by Ai Yamamoto
Punk, playful, and exuberant, this is an intimately epic and profanely sacred ritual.
When: 21 (Tue) March 7pm and 28(Tue) March 7pm and 9pm ( 3 shows ONLY )
Where: Dancehouse 150 Princes St Carlton North, Victoria
BOOKING
Entangling old world Kabuki mystique with volumetric 3D video, “IN-VOCATION たまおこし” summons the sacred power of female archetypes and deities.
In collaboration with a clairvoyant from Japan, local artists, and an international guest performer, Yumi Umiumare opens a Jujutsu 呪術 (Magic) portal to discover the colourful characters of OKUNI — an initiator of Kabuki Japanese theatre.
Evolving out of Yumi’s solo work, “Buried TeaBowl – OKUNI”, the team of mystics return to prod their collective memories and discover the many essences of the divine feminine.
Punk, playful, and exuberant, this is an intimately epic and profanely sacred ritual that incites an audience revolt of the spirit.
CREDIT
Choreographer: Yumi Umiumare
Performers: Yumi Umiumare, Kayo Tamura (Theatre Group Gumbo, Osaka), Kyoko Amara (Taiyosha, Iwate)
Visual Artist: Jacqui Stockdale
Sound Designer: Ai Yamamoto
3D Video: EMD Studio, Centre for Transformative Media Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology.
Original score from “Buried TeaBowl – Okuni”: Dan West
Original video from “Buried TeaBowl – Okuni”: Takeshi Kondo
Image credits: “IN-VOCATION たまおこし” (2023), Yumi Umiumare. Photo by Vikk Shayen.
Buried TeaBowl- OKUNI
Buried TeaBowl -OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance installation bringing together dance, text, song and tea ceremony with stunning film captured in 2021 during the lockdown.The work is inspired by the Japanese historical female dancer and shaman Okuni, who initiated Kabuki theatre in the early 1600s, which women were banned from performing after these times.
INSTALLATION - PERFORMANCE - TEA
Buried TeaBowl -OKUNI is an intimate and epic solo performance installation bringing together dance, text, song and tea ceremony with stunning film captured in 2021 during the lockdown.The work is inspired by the Japanese historical female dancer and shaman Okuni, who initiated Kabuki theatre in the early 1600s, which women were banned from performing after these times.
At the height of her powers, Yumi Umiumare, Melbourne performance legend and Australia’s leading Butoh artist, unearths precious sacred female power which has been buried throughout history.Yumi channels the multifaceted character of Okuni who was so powerful, yet fragile and complex, to reawaken her spirit through excavating these buried stories and myths.
CREATIVE TEAM
Created and Performed : Yumi Umiumare
Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
Dramaturg/ Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Producer : Kath Papas productions
Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Graphic design : Mariko Naito
Calligraphy: Hisako Tsuchiya
Publicity : Diana Wolfe
The show was premiered at the BlackCat Gallery in May 2022.
Date/Time:
Thu 5 May 8:30pm – Preview
Fri 6 May 8pm – Opening
Sat 7 May 8pm
Sun 8 May 6pm
Wed 11 May 8pm
Thu 12 May 8pm
Fri 13 May 8pm
Sat 14 May 8pm
Sun 15 May 6pm
Duration: 80 mins
Tickets:
Full: $35 / Con: $25
Superiori-TEA: $50 incl. drink on arrival
Address:
BlackCat Gallery
420 Brunswick St
Fitzroy 3065
Vic Australia
PHOTO CREDITS
Vikk Shayen (Above)
Takeshi Kondo (Below)
SUPPORT & AKCNOWLEDGEMENTS
This season is supported by the Besen Family Foundation and BLACKCAT Gallery.
Buried TeaBowl a new solo work in progress 2021
Yumi is creating a new solo work Buried TeaBowl, an interdisciplinary work with dance, text, song and poetry, inspired by Japanese female dancer/shaman, Okuni in 1600’s. The work in progress was completed in Aug 2021, and will be premiered in a live and digital performance in 2022.
photo by Vikk Shayen
Yumi's new solo work Buried TeaBowl, a work in progress, Aug 2021
Buried Tea Bowl is a new solo interdisciplinary work in development by Yumi Umiumare, bringing together dance, text, song and poetry with tea ceremony to create an intimate and epic work with both live and digital iterations.
Buried Tea Bowl channels the character of Okuni, a Japanese female shaman who initiated Kabuki during the Edo period (1600s). Kabuki comes from the word ‘Kabuku’, meaning bent or out of the ordinary, and was regarded as a subversive non-art form, passionately expressing ugliness and beauty. Later women were banned from performing Kabuki – the male performers who took over the art form can be seen as the first Japanese Drag Queens. Even though she was one of the most powerful female figures in theatre history, not many people know about Okuni, even in Japan.
Combining Yumi’s practice of Japanese tea ceremony, which flourished at the same period as Okuni was alive, she is choosing the ‘tea bowl’ as a creative metaphor of precious sacred female power which was buried under history.
Creative Team for Creative Development 2021
Created and Performed by Yumi Umiumare
In collaboration with
Cinematographer/ Editor : Takeshi Kondo
Composer/ Sound Designer : Dan West
Dramaturg : Maude Davey
Provocateur : Moira Finucane
Vocal Artist : Emma Bathgate
Shamisen Artist : Noriko Tadano
Photographer : Vikk Shayen
Producer : Kath Papas productions
This project has been assisted by
The Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body
City of Darebin, Cultural Infrastructure Grants
Abbotsford Convent Foundation, Pivot 2021
Unwoman by The Rabble 15–28 November 2019 @Substation
Yumi is performing in Unwoman by The Rabble
15–28 November 2019 @Substation
UNWOMAN is an epic and imagistic piece of feminist theatre created in both Ireland and Australia, examining reproductive rights, experiences of pregnancy and bodily autonomy.
UNWOMAN is an epic and imagistic piece of feminist theatre created in both Ireland and Australia, examining reproductive rights, experiences of pregnancy and bodily autonomy.
Made with THE RABBLE, professional performers and a community ensemble of pregnant performers, UNWOMAN is an invocation of the pregnant body as a plurality of experiences. It is visceral, carnal and an uncompromising piece of feminist theatre horrified by the history and laws attempting to curb bodily autonomy and reproductive rights.
FEATURING / Dana Miltins, Mary Helen Sassman and Yumi Umiumare.
PHOTOGRAPHY / Hero image by Patricio Cassinoni. Production photography by David Paterson, featuring Olwen Fouéré in UNWOMAN Part III, Dublin Fringe, November 2018.
“PERVERSE, REAL, HARROWING AND DEEPLY AFFECTING, THIS IS A UNIVERSAL, UNFORGETTABLE MASTERPIECE OF PERFORMANCE ART. – THE TIMES UK”
Booking
ButohOUT!2019@Abbotsford Convent 12March- 12May 2019
ButohOUT! 2019 is a festival to celebrate creative communities in Australia and beyond through the profound performance art medium of Butoh. 4 public workshops and 2 weeks performance season are held at Abbotsford Convent.
ButouOUT!2019 @Abbotsford Convent
Forbidden Laughter
禁じられた笑い
Abbotsford Convent
12 March - 12 May 2019
LINK
“The action of laughing is like the breaking of the stiff mask of ego.
When we laugh, the authentic spirit jumps out from deep inside of us”
Keiichi Ueno
ButohOUT! is an annual festival celebrating creative communities and the profound performance art of Butoh. Originally called Dance of Darkness, Butoh was conceived in Japan in the late 1950s during the social turmoil after the Second World War. It goes beyond the confines of specific culture, gender, status and religion, aspiring to universal expression that touches the true nature of humanity.
ButohOUT! 2019 will challenge the commonly held conception of Butoh as dark and grotesque, and will ask: “Can the audience laugh at Butoh? Can we portray comedy in Butoh?” In the Japanese language the word for laughter warau 笑う comes from the verb wareru 割れる- to break, crack or split.
Exploring the theme, ‘Forbidden Laughter’, ButohOUT! 2019 will focus on surreal comedy. The Butoh will draw upon cabaret, bouffon, burlesque, physical theatre and visual art installation.
Open to experienced dancers, newcomers, children and families, the ButohOUT! program presents an exciting opportunity for participants and audiences to learn from expert practitioners and experience this unique performance arts form. Workshop participants have the opportunity to receive mentoring and present original solo and group works at the Convent during the public performance season in May.
Artistic director Yumi Umiumare
Producer Takashi Takiguchi
Dramaturg Maude Davey
Visual artist Pimpisa Tinpalit
Funded by Creative Victoria
Presented in partnership with Abbotsford Convent Foundation
Photography Vikk Shayen
WORKSHOPS
12 March - 16 April 2019
"Breaking the Dark Mask"
29 March - 31 March 2019
5 April - 7 April 2019
Convent Kids presents: Peek-A-Butoh
23 March 2019
2 - 12 May
Industrial School,
Abbotsford Convent
