Butoh will become a tool for self-discovery during a four-day retreat, "Connecting To Nature And True Self Through Butoh Dance", which will be held at Faa Sai Resort and Spa at Kung Wiman Beach, Chanthaburi, from April 16-19.
Butoh is recognised as one of the most innovative and influential forms of modern dance. Originating in Japan, Butoh is based on improvisation. Dancers are encouraged to explore movement at the moment and respond to their environment which allows for a deeper connection between the dancer, their body and their surroundings.
By responding to the present moment, dancers can create a more authentic expression that reflects their individual experiences.
Promised to get you to experience the divine inside and outside yourself, the upcoming retreat will be conducted by Anais Carmen Bourquin, a holistic artist and Butoh practitioner of more than 15 years.
Born in West Berlin, she studied with Butoh masters in Japan as well as rituals and sacred dances across Asia, with inspirations from tattoo artists in Cambodia and Borneo, traditional Eastern healers and temple dancers in Bali.
Her unusual life path began with a nomadic childhood growing up in Europe and Africa while travelling to other places like the US and Polynesia. She then studied visual arts and curating at the University of Paris.
After being trained by great Butoh masters in France, Finland and Japan she spent seven years in Asia, Indonesia and India improving her knowledge and practice of sacred dances. She once said that Butoh saved her life as it helped her to heal her relationship with the world and herself.
She has developed her own unique style of Butoh, Bhakti Butoh. Bhakti means devotion, which she describes as an inner experience, an offering to the Divine, inside and outside.
The fee is 9,000 baht covering three nights' accommodation, meals and retreat. It will feature a solo performance by Anais to welcome in the Thai New Year; Butoh workshops in the gardens, by the sea and by the lake; and solos and a collective performance.
Email bronwenannevans@gmail.com or call 086-889-2595.
