Butoh Research  Yumino Seki

A Butoh research residency over 5 days with Yumino Seki at Felinganol Woodland Retreat in West Wales. 

Shifting attention from ‘action’ to ‘active listening’ this 5 day workshop will make an inquiry into the transformative nature of the body with the land’s consciousness. 

Submerged in the landscape of Felinganol we will explore the rhythm, pace and terrain of the untamed woodlands and the river Mwldan, and the transient nature of the elements. Drawn from a Butoh perspective and somatic practice we will explore liminal space between  the earth and the sky, day and night, tangible and intangible and corporeal and incorporeal.  The participants will be given their own explorative time to work towards ‘performance making’.  This will be guided by Yumino and will be shared informally with the group.

The workshop combines studio and outdoor practice. Outdoor practice directly engages with nature where the boundaries of life & death become more fluid and the senses are more stimulated whereas studio time focuses on body awareness drawn from somatic practice.  Working in groups and pairs and individuals in both dynamic and quiet practice at different times of the day.

Butoh is a form of avant-garde dance which emerged from the post war chaos in Japan in the late 50s when the country grappled with the clash between new Western technology and traditional Japanese values. Butoh was called ‘the dance of darkness’. Influenced by German Expressionism, self-identity was radically explored with culturally diverse concepts through bodily expression.

Somatic practice* - in particular experiential anatomy and developmental movement - will help widen the perception to connect to the deeper self.  A series of guided improvisations using imageries and concepts, such as Wabi (humbleness/simplicity), Sabi (process of decay) and Ma (in between space which applies to both time & space) we will explore the uniqueness of individual  expression towards performance making. Aiming to embody dance, sensation and the themes and imagery. Be playful, curious and attentive. Butoh sees dance as a living process and it pushes the boundaries of what we already know.  

‘My work starts from trust; trusting that the body has its own intelligence & experience.  Not moving but being moved.  Raw yet subtle, meditative yet self-destructive, stark yet sensual. Conflict and harmony co-exist in an ambiguous way.  I explore and reflect the inner self where the body becomes mere ‘being’ and where a point of transformation occurs’.  Yumino. 

*The Somatic is the study of a ‘person’ as a living functional body.  Integrating the body, mind and emotion whilst using movement as the main exploratory tool.

Yumino SEKI is a Japanese dance artist, Butoh practitioner and qualified somatic movement educator who performs, teaches, directs and collaborates to make performances. She has been interested in the authenticity of the temporal body for many years resulting in many dance pieces, which are site responsive and improvised in nature. Collaborating with artists from diverse disciplines has given her a broad approach to her movement practice.  Since 2013 developing her Butoh and somatic work SEKI has been directing group choreography with cross-discipline performances. 

Between 1999-2009 she performed in Butoh predominately with Tadashi Endo (Mamu Dance Theatre), Yumiko Yoshioka (Ten-Pen-Chii) both in Germany and Carlotta Ikeda (Ariadone) in France. In 2012  she became qualified in VMI Somatic Practice with Patricia Bardi in Amsterdam.

Expanding her work in theatre, music, film and visual art she collaborates with a broad range of artists including  Zadie Xa for her projects including performances at the 58th Venice Biennale, Art Night, Dance International Glasgow, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada & The National Gallery, London.

https://www.yuminoseki.com/

https://www.instagram.com/yuminoseki/

https://www.facebook.com/yumino.seki/photos

https://www.facebook.com/sekidanceprojectuk/

Starts: 4pm Thursday 23rd April 2026

Ends: 1pm Monday 27th April 2026

Pricing:

£490.00 (incl. single occupancy cabin accommodation)

£290.00 (without accommodation)

Enquire directly for double cabins if attending with a partner.

Bookings:  felinganolretreats@gmail.com

Felinganol cabins are cosy and immersed in in the forest alongside the river Mwldan and near the studio. They have electricity and heating. There are two showers & 2 compost toilets. There is a communal lodge for cooking, dining, making tea and a wood burning stove. There is also a covered fire circle for outdoor fires. We aspire to make as little impact on the environment as possible. It's a 5 minute drive to Mwnt beach and Aberteifi / Cardigan town.