Butoh Performances “Dreams in Clay” at Yume Japanese Gardens on March 2

  • Saturday, March 2, 2024
  • 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, and 7:15 to 8:15 PM
  • Yume Japanese Gardens of Tucson (map)
  • Google Calendar  ICS

“In eternal vessels of clay, we wander and wonder, at once in and of the landscape. We are earth and stars and the eternal space between unseen realms. We are the clouds and mountains, the rivers and forests, presence and prayer. We are the dreams within the clay.

Funhouse movement theater returns to Yume Gardens to take you on a butoh exploration of eternal body as landscape. Inspired by the writings of Shundo Aoyama and John O’donohue, Dreams in Clay combines the Zen aesthetics of the Japanese garden with the sculptural works of artist Keita Tsutsumi. Visitors to this unique performance will encounter dancers engaged in communion with the sights, sounds, and sensations of the natural environment.

A contemporary, avant-garde performance art, butoh is a seamless blend of dance, theater, improvisation, and traditional Japanese performing arts. Butoh compels both performers and audience to investigate the primal, universal energies that connect us, and invites us to share an embodied experience of the collective unconscious.

Dreams in Clay is directed by Lin Lucas and Keita Tsutsumi and features Sabrina Geoffrion, Karenne Koo, Lin Lucas, Sherry Mulholland, and Keita Tsutsumi, with renowned butoh artist, Julie Becton Gillum. Music composed and performed by Paul Amiel. 

Date & Time:

3/2

6 to 7 p.m. and 7:15 to 8:15 p.m.

Tickets:
General Admission: $30

Members: $25

Children 3-15: $10

Advanced ticket reservation is required. This is a limited admission event.Purchase Tickets

English Rakugo storytelling on Feb. 27 at Koffler Building on UA campus

“Join us for an enchanting afternoon of traditional Japanese comedic storytelling, English Rakugo!

★Date: Tuesday, February 27th
★Time: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
★Location: University of Arizona Henry Koffler Building 204 (1340 E University Blvd. Tucson, AZ)

No reservations needed! Admission is FREE!
Don’t miss this unique cultural experience! 🇯🇵

If you have any questions, please contact me at nhayashijoi@arizona.edu
See you there!

🌸What is Rakugo?
Rakugo is a form of traditional Japanese comedic storytelling performed by a lone storyteller who portrays multiple characters using only a fan and a hand towel as props. The stories typically involve everyday situations and are known for their clever wordplay and humor.”


Potluck dinner at Tucson Johrei Center in honor of late SAJCC Director Yuki Ibuki on Feb. 26

Our SAJCC Director Yukihiro Ibuki passed away suddenly at age 64 in Kyoto, Japan, his home town. He was a Johrei practitioner for decades at Tucson Johrei Center, which is located east of N. Alvernon Way.

Please RSVP to this event to meet his two sons, and to remember Yuki. He served as our Director since May, 2017 (interim since July 2016), and helped us found our coalition back in 2012.

More about Yuki on our SAJCC Culture page:
Culture/History | Southern AZ Japanese Cultural Coalition


Reception for ceramic artist Keita Tsutsumi on Feb. 23 at Yume Japanese Gardens

“Join us to celebrate artist ceramist Keita Tsutsumi with an open reception on Friday, February 23rd from 5:30pm to 7pm.
Keita has been working in clay since 2007 and started dancing as a repertory member of Dancesequences Inc. in 2018. Since then, they have been enthralled with the possibilities and opportunities to begin combining these two passions in any and all ways.
His exhibit, “Yūgen: Dreams in Clay”, features a diverse array of ceramic artworks that are, according to the artist, “a check-in point” to questions like “What are we doing?”
And he found that “amid the vast beautiful universe, and even this vast planet, we are simply here. We are being hugged here between the landscapes below and beside us and the atmosphere above and against us. We are blooming with scapes inside us and the air that holds us. Forever between a land and a sky”.
The reception will include light refreshments and a chance to discuss the exhibit with the artist.
Art also available for purchase. No admission required, this event is free for the public.
“Yūgen: Dreams in Clay” will be available for your enjoyment from February 23rd through April 30th, 2024.”

Date & Time:
2/23
5:30PM – 7:00PM
Tickets:
Free Admission


Spring Ikebana Festival at Yume Japanese Gardens on Feb. 22 to March 3, 2024

“Let’s welcome the season of renewal surrounded by vibrant colors and fragrances. Our annual Ikebana Festival is here! 

Ikebana is considered “an art of the moment”: one flower, one branch, one artist, one encounter. Ikebana exemplifies how no moment repeats itself and how the rarity of that moment cannot be forgotten.

Step into this world where every flower arrangement tells a story and captures a fleeting moment.

Spring is finally here, come enjoy it!!”

Date & Time:

Festival will be held from 2/22 – 3/3. Special event fees apply, please check ticket prices below.

Our general admission hours are: 

Thursday – Sunday: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Tickets:

General admission: $18

Children under 15: $5

Members: $10Purchase Tickets