THE ART OF RECEIVING Butoh Workshop to Come to Oxford's Schwarzman Centre
Choreographer Vangeline will guide participants through Japanese Butoh and Noguchi Taiso at Oxford's Old Fire Station.
The Schwarzman Centre Cultural Programme will present Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute in “The Art of Receiving” Butoh workshop on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 10AM at Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ, UK.
Learn to move with ease, fluidity and total control with internationally acclaimed choreographer, dancer and teacher Vangeline.
Developed alongside Vangeline's new dance work MAN WOMAN, this day-long workshop offers insight into the movement principles that inform the performance.
An expert in Japanese Butoh and Noguchi Taiso, Vangeline will guide participants through these influential dance and movement practices, helping them cultivate fluidity, presence and embodied awareness. Participants will also explore principles that can help regulate stress and transform their relationship with movement.
Whether you're a dancer, performer, or simply a complete beginner who is curious about movement and creativity, this workshop welcomes all.
Vangeline is a New York–based teacher, choreographer, and dancer specializing in Japanese Butoh. As the artistic director of the Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute, she is widely recognized for her rigorous, research-driven approach to Butoh and for expanding the form’s relevance in the 21st century. Her work actively champions diversity and inclusion within the field, creating space for historically underrepresented voices. She carries forward the legacy of Butoh while infusing it with contemporary relevance—through activism, research, and performance.
Through her all-female dance company, Vangeline creates socially engaged, innovative choreographic works that unite Butoh with activism. She is the founder of both the New York Butoh Institute Festival, which uplifts the work of women in Butoh, and Queer Butoh, a festival centering LGBTQ+ voices within the form. She is also the visionary behind The Dream a Dream Project, an award-winning program now in its 18th year that brings Butoh to incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities across New York State.
At the heart of Vangeline’s philosophy is the belief that Butoh can be a tool for both personal and collective transformation. Her work reflects a deep commitment to integrating the many dimensions of the human experience—beauty and darkness alike—and reintegrating society’s marginalized voices.
Vangeline’s choreography has been presented internationally in Chile, Germany, Italy, France, Finland, Denmark, the UK, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. She is the recipient of a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Dance Award for her groundbreaking project The Slowest Wave, which explores the intersection of Butoh and neuroscience. She was also a 2022–2023 Gibney Dance in Process resident artist, a 2018 NYFA/NYSCA Fellow in Choreography for Elsewhere, and the winner of the 2015 Gibney Dance Social Action Award and the 2019 Janet Arnold Award from the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Her work has been widely acclaimed, both nationally and internationally, with critics praising its power, precision, and emotional resonance. Reviews have appeared in publications including The New York Times (“captivating”) and the Los Angeles Times (“moves with the clockwork deliberation of a practiced Japanese Butoh artist”), to name just a few.
Her work extends to film as well, including a starring role opposite James Franco and Winona Ryder in Jay Anania’s feature film The Letter (Lionsgate, 2012). She has also been commissioned by Grammy Award–winning artists Esperanza Spalding, Skrillex, and David J. (Bauhaus).
Vangeline is the author of the critically acclaimed book Butoh: Cradling Empty Space, which delves into the connection between Butoh and neuroscience. She led the first-ever scientific study measuring the effects of Butoh on the brain (The Slowest Wave). Her work has been profiled in CNN’s Great Big Story (“Learning to Dance with Your Demons”), featured on the BBC’s Deeply Human podcast (with host Dessa), and explored in her own podcast, Butoh Musing with Vangeline.
|
GETTING REKT (The Evening Star) The Union Theatre (9/21-9/24) |
|
Beethoven's The Creatures of Prometheus Barbican (6/24-6/24) |
|
Luther UK Victoria Theatre Halifax (11/15-11/15) |
|
Albert's Boy Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds (2/26-3/20) |
|
Caroline: a new musical On Demand New Wolsey Theatre (7/13-9/19) |
|
The Go-Between Chelmsford Theatre (9/08-9/08) |
|
Magic at the Gatehouse Upstairs at the Gatehouse (10/12-10/12) |
|
Slik takler du idiotene på jobben! 2 Fana kulturhus (2/15-2/15) |
|
West End Divas: The Leading Ladies of Musical Theatre Victoria Theatre Halifax (9/27-9/27) |
|
Dracula's Guest Upstairs at the Gatehouse (10/13-10/13) |