OUR GUEST ARTIST
Shinichi Iova-Koga

Shinichi Iova-Koga serves as the Artistic Director of the physical theater and dance company inkBoat, founded by Shinichi in 1998.  He has toured in North America, Europe, South Korea, and Japan, often collaborating with local artists in museums, theaters, studios, and site-specific locations. He is  the editor of the book “95 Rituals,” a tribute to Anna Halprin, and a contributing writer to “The Routledge Companion to Butoh Performance.” He is featured in the book “Butoh America.” Shinichi teaches annually at ImpulsTanz in Vienna. He has served as a full-time core faculty member of the MFA Dance program at Mills College in Oakland, California, from 2009 to 2017. He has taught Composition in the Arts for MFA students at UC Davis in 2014 and 2022. He has taught workshops at Bath University (U.K.), UC Riverside, UC Berkeley, SF State University, Stanford University, Experimental Theater Wing at NYU/Tisch, Texas Women’s University and others. He co-teaches the workshop “Dance on Land” and multi-month workshops with his wife Dana Iova-Koga. 

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Deconstruct the Darkness Workshop Saturday, 11/18: 11-4 pm

Becoming air, ocean, cloud, mountain… manifests uniquely for each individual, arising from the ground that nourishes the dance. The culture and training of each individual infuses Butoh dance with vital new perspectives and flavors. Digging into self-formation ripens the dancer’s transformation process. Physical precision combines with imagistic prompts. Dance through unreasonable terrains. Suspend time. Complex and nuanced forces shape the momentary gesture, the pathway of the eyes. Exercises develop energy-efficient motion and connectivity to build clarity and stability. With this foundation, enter the chaotic stream of life. Become wild. Let go. Enter an unknown world. Build the strength to allow weakness. Dance belongs to mystery.

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photo by Vanya Polunin