Mitsu Salmon: Desert Turtle
Join us in learning about Mitsu Salmon’s past works, process and what she plans to create in residence.
Butoh Workshop Series
Saturday, February 27 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, March 6 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, March 13 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
Saturday, March 20 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
Mitsu Salmon will lead a Butoh, Japanese contemporary dance, workshop. We will work with guided imagery, movement and structured improvisation. The workshop draws from aspects and the trainings of Butoh and interweaves them with visions and textures of the desert from cacti to fission. The class will start with Noguchi exercises, which foster an experience of the body as water with the goal of encountering and releasing the body. Once our bodies and imaginations are opened, we will go into movement prompts. We will roll around in the sand, embody turtles and eat sour plums. Our bodies will become water seeping into cracks of rocks and ice creating ancient land formations. We will pull from imagery connected to animism, geology and physics. Students are welcome to modify exercises based on their comfort and inventiveness. The series works well together but also fine do drop-in. All levels welcome and please wear comfortable clothing.
Week 1: Saturday, February 27 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
In week one, we will have a quick introduction to Butoh and Noguchi, looking at the history of the dance form and learning warm-ups. From there we will imagine rolling through various landscapes such as desert, ice and rock to embody land formations. We will explore various energies as connected to sensation and movement such as electric, nuclear and fission. We will then be introduced to brush walking (suri ashi), a meditative form of traditional butoh walking.
Week 2: Saturday, March 6 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
In week two, we will start off again with the Noguchi warm-up. Looking at the writing of Kazuo Ohno, one of the founders of Butoh, we will dive into plant (desert and other) improvisation. We will explore ideas of ancestors and the environment. We will then be guided through layered imagery starting with a grandma eating plums to becoming a turtle.
Week 3: Saturday, March 13 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
In week three, we will build upon the Noguchi warm up. We will then work with Kazuo Ohno prompt connected to family, the desert landscape and rain. We will then review brush walking. From there we will look at explosive energy and physical and emotional release.
Week 4: Saturday, March 20 ⋅ 11:00am – 12:00pm
In week four, we will build about the Noguchi warm-up. I will then introduce examples and ideas of mythical creatures. From there we will be guided through one’s own imagery of mythical creatures. There creatures will then interact with one another whether through battle, dance or dream.
Desert Turtle
Desert Turtle is a solo interdisciplinary sound and movement piece by Mitsu Salmon around ideas of shelter, landscapes, and migration. The performance draws from family history, voice and geology.
Mitsu’s mother arrived from the wet and dense city of Fukuoka Japan to the vast and dry Mojave desert. She related to the turtle she found in the landscape, hiding in their shells and traveling with their home on their back. In Japan, a turtle was a symbol for longevity and in the expanse of the Mojave desert, she felt a sense of infiniteness. But across the mountains, there was the testing of the atomic bomb. As if such a thing still needed testing, she thought.
During the residency at Roger’s Loft, Mitsu will spend time in the Mojave desert recording an album connected to these histories, place and the current moment. The album is inspired by Kankyo (ambiance), minimal wave and fossils. The performance will share these songs interwoven with Butoh dance, video and non-linear storytelling.
Artist Bio
Mitsu Salmon creates performance and visual works that fuse multiple
disciplines. Her work starts with personal or familial stories and
branches out to speak to contemporary issues such as diaspora, labor,
and the environment. Salmon received her MFA from the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago in 2014, and her undergrad degree from NYU.
She was a member of the Butoh dance company Ima Tenko and Kiraza from
2008-2011 in Kyoto, Japan. She has received grants from Chicago
Dancemakers Forum and Midwest Nexus. She has participated in artist
residencies at Taipei Artist Village (Taiwan), Incheon Art Platform
(Korea), Guildhall (NY), and PAM (LA) as well as in Chicago at Links
Hall, High Concept Lab, and the Chicago Cultural Center.