“Good Evening Kazuo Ohno”

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Dance and costume | Tanssi ja puku:

Grazyna Chmielewska

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Duration | Kesto: 20 min

Music | Musiikki: “Angel” by Terry Oldfield

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The show “Good Evening Kazuo Ohno” was created on my birthday when I put on

my theater hat, my great-grandmothers clothes and lace and danced for my friends.

The spectacle touches on passing, leaving, forgetting but also the memory of those

who have passed before us. I dont know if I was dancing with my ancestors or

maybe with our demons.

 

“Its not about technique, its about the primal life force. As soon as we feel

something in the heart, we move. Its in us and thats why we move…

You dont dance to move, but to leave feelings” (Kazuo Ohno)

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Bio:

Grażyna Chmielewska – actress-mime, butoh dancer.

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In the years 1982-2001 she was an actress of the Warsaw Pantomime Theatre. She took part in all the premieres of this theater. She also participated in drama theater performances, film and television productions. While working in the theater, she completed a week-long internship with the body and voice using the Jerzy Grotowski method. She has participated in many contact improvisation, Authentic  Movement and choreotherapy workshops.

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In 2001, she saw for the first time a butoh show "Edge 01"; by Japanese dancer Ko Murobushi, which made a great impression on her. From that moment, fascinated by the new expression of the body, she began to practice butoh with various recognized teachers: Ko Murobushi, Ken Mai, Yoshito Ohno, Imre Thorman, Maya Dunsky, Minako Seki. He considers Atsushi Takenouchi as his master, with whom he has been dancing for 20 years, participating in his workshops every year. Gradually, she began to create her own improvisations, among others, for the installation of the Japanese artist Koji Kamoji, as well as performances: “Tabu” (2008), ”Between” (2013), “ Good evening Kazuo Ohno“ (2021) shown at festivals and during various artistic events, in Warsaw, London and also in the USA in California. For four years she collaborated with the Limen Butoh Theater where she performed in the performances: “Kanabasis”;,  “Mechanical Angels”; and “Twilight of Abandoned Cities”;.

 

For several years, she has been participating in Butoh Kai meetings (artistic studio - Butohsfera in Warsaw) where butoh dancers and workshop participants show their performances. Currently, she dances and conducts dance classes with elements of pantomime and butoh dance.

 

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