Got out of my comfort zone this Saturday evening and went to witness the result of a ten-day Butoh workshop led by Valentin Tszin together with his cool production team. After a warm welcome at Theaterforum Kreuzberg, I took my seat just as the show was about to start.
Each of the 16 students from Valentin’s Butoh classes had the chance to express their feelings and movements through this challenging yet deeply vivid form of dance—something between the spiritual and psychological, even touching the borders of metaphysics.
The show was conceived as one fluid, unified journey through life, from beginning to end. Still, although it told a collective story, each student had their own space to express themselves, contributing to the whole narrative.
I witnessed a slow beginning, almost like a birth, followed by a fast-forward into life’s challenges. We all have dreams and hopes—we are constantly aspiring to something. Always moving, sometimes pausing, never completely stopping to admire the view for a moment. Always chasing something, trying to catch it. Sometimes it catches us. It’s a vicious circle ending up with all of us traveling to the stars.
In the end, we find ourselves fighting our own evolution demons—sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always moving, walking, running. Our challenges and personal flaws stop us from moving forward. What should we choose—soul, or money and material things? Comfort without love, kindness, and happiness? What is better? Because we rarely can have it all.
In a way, we’re slaves to our own thoughts, dreams, achievements, and failures. We constantly try to improve ourselves and our environment. Still, even when things are good, we feel the need to chase something else—otherwise, we become unhappy again. There is an irony in all of this, and it was beautifully expressed by all 16 performers.
I also have to mention the remarkable live music by Makoto Sakamoto, which deeply resonated with the audience.
The lighting was equally impressive (as seen in the videos) carefully arranged and coordinated by Philipp Tholey, Artemii Ionaere, and Vasia Berezin.
It was a wonderful experience, and I hope more and more people will embrace dancing (in any form) as part of their lives. It’s far better than just going to the gym.
Butoh
Butoh is an experimental form of Japanese dance-theatre that emerged in the late 20th century as a reaction against both Western modern dance and traditional aesthetics. It focuses on internal states, transformation, and the body as a site of memory and sensation. Butoh rejects fixed aesthetics and linear narratives, functioning instead as an open, evolving practice shaped by each performer’s physical and psychological experience.
ASTERION | Theater Butoh show
Perhaps I have created the stars and the sun and this enormous house, but I no longer remember (Jorge Luis Borges)
Final workshop presentation
Directed by Valentin Tszin
SOUND by Makoto Sakamoto
SET DESIGN: Arthemii Ionaere & Vasya Berezin
LIGHTS: Philipp Tholey
GRAPHICS: Mascha Rodigina
- Alyy Space @alyyspace
- Evgeniia Borzykh
- Heri Shin @fabulous_heri
- Jianyu Wang
- Jonathan Reimann
- Kara Kuckoo @karakuckoo
- Laura Gomez
- Little Vanya
- Maurice Ginsberg
- Noemi Schrader
- Ohii Katya
- Rand El Zein
- Rossana Signorile
- Serena Landriel
- Vasya Berezin
- Wenke Schladitz @wenke__s
unklar 