Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Seattle Butoh Festival 2021: FemAlchemy
Joan Laage in Rivers Running Red (by Antagon Theater) |
The return of our annual festival!
Joan Laage, a longtime guide and director of the Seattle Japanese Garden’s annual summer event Wandering & Wondering, and DAIPAN butoh Collective are pleased to feature New York City-based artist Vangeline in the return of its annual festival taking place November 19-21, 2021 at the YAW Theater in Georgetown. The program order with some “teasers” are below for your convenience. Come join us!
Yaw will be following the governmental guidelines. Audience and workshop participants will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test 2-3 days before events and to wear masks.
https://www.facebook.com/daipanbutoh
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/169424351797
Kaoru Okumura & Aoi Lee (by Jason Renek) |
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 19
ALYCIA SCOTT ZOLLINGER: Murmur
Delving into the currents and pulses of inner emotional atmospheres and the external social and psychological murmurs mothers have navigated throughout history.
ROBYN BJORNSON: Grandmother’s Hands
Weaving the past, present, and future with ritual and the natural world.
SHERI BROWN:Red WolfeDragonfly
Choosing liberation and accessing holes that are already here to invite the return of innocence.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20
JOAN LAAGE/KOGUT BUTOH:Rivers Running Red
Inspired by an article exposing the practice in certain traditional societies of sending women off to the mountains to remain in huts and, all too often not surviving the harsh conditions.
DHYANA GARCIA: Exquisite Complexity
Embodiment of women’s voices narrating what feminine energy means to them and the role it plays in their lives: for them personally, for the Earth,and the current world situation.
KAORU OKUMURA & AOI LEE:AWAHI
An offering for sorrowful souls, as in an ancient folklore about the movement of twin females as a mystic ritual.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21
VANGELINE:Eternity 123
Celebrating the impact of women on the art form butoh, exploring the link between women, butoh, and “cabaret.”
HELEN THORSEN: Pearl
Imagining each of our souls as a perfect pearl separate yet connected on a lovely string stretched out to infinity in the dark cosmos.
WORKSHOPS
BUTOH WORKSHOP WITH VANGELINE
November 20, 12-4 pm [YAW]
EMBODYING THE SPIRIT: THE BODY FINDS ITS WAY WITH JOAN LAAGE
November 21, 12-4 pm [BASE next door]
Vangeline in Eternity 123 (by Marko Poolamets) |
Thanks to 4Culture’s Sustained Support Grant and DAIPAN’s fiscal sponsor Shunpike.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Maple Festival 10/8 to 10/17
the brilliant fall colors that fill the Seattle Japanese Garden.
Although the Maple Festival ends October 17,
the garden remains open on its regular schedule and the
all colors will continue to develop throughout October.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
2021 Moon Viewing Haiku Contest Saturday, September 11, 2021
SJG • 9/11/21 |
Judged on Saturday by David Berger and Michael Dylan Welch
Pictures by Tony Monk
SJG • 9/11/21 |
The Seattle Japanese Garden’s annual moon viewing festival returned again for two nights on Friday, September 10, and Saturday, September 11, 2021. This was after a break in 2020 when the festival was not held because of the coronavirus pandemic. For 2021, both nights were sold out to a maximum of 250 attendees, and everyone wore masks—and so did the moon both evenings, masked by clouds and thus unseen. This year we limited entries to one poem per person (we had welcomed up to two in previous years), which sped up and simplified the judging process. We received 44 entries the first night and 47 the second night, for a total of 91 haiku.
The following are our selections for Saturday. As before, we selected poems for their clarity, freshness, sometimes humor and timeliness, and for evocatively portraying the moon, even if we couldn’t see it. No prizes were available this year, but we believe that everyone “won” simply by taking a moment to write about their moon-viewing experiences. One of the honorable mentions was by a poet who said it was his birthday that day, so when we shared his poem, we led the entire audience in singing “Happy Birthday.” Our congratulations to each winner, and to everyone who tried their hand at writing haiku. Our gratitude to the Seattle Japanese Garden for its ongoing support of haiku through these annual contests.
For more information about Haiku Northwest, which meets monthly in the Seattle area, and holds an annual haiku retreat, please visit www.haikunorthwest.org.
SJG • 9/11/21 - Gabrielle Kazuko Nomura Gainor and Dancers, Tsukiko ("Moon Child") |
Saturday, September 11, 2021
First Place
red-tipped leaves
every moonlit meeting
blushing deeper
Laura Lorenz
Second Place
clouds obscure the sky
is the rabbit in the moon?
the gardens still glow
Setsuko Hosoda
Third Place
in my treasure box
another moon viewing
lived through
Aleksandra Monk
SJG • 9/11/21 - Koto no WA, ensemble evolved from a koto class at Nikkei Manor |
Honorable Mentions
(in alphabetical order by last name)
new year upon me
so much to look forward to
family, friends, and . . . new moon!
Mark English (on his birthday)
the leaves are turning
finally! the moon sighs and
turns away again
Chris Fronek
SJG • 9/11/21 - Leanna Keith, freelance flutist, artist, improviser, and composer in the Seattle area
koi gulp the moon’s reflection
pellets scatter as my Dad
laughs with children
Elizabeth Martin
let us see the harvest moon—
in person please
not on Zoom
Bill McGee
fresh-cut grass
candlelight singing
the crowd sighs
Tamara Power-Drutis
visualizing the silver moon
portent of changes for fall
wearing a cloud mask
Bill Rumpf
SJG • 9/11/21 |
I know you are there
the clouds won’t always mask you
moonlight exists inside
Max Schneider
SJG • 9/11/21 |
Honorable Mentions (Youth)
rabbit of the moon—
is it cheesy where you are
like cheddar bunnies?
Max Curran (age under 18)
dusk settles in
moonlight glows the darkened sky
peace at night
Monday, September 13, 2021
2021 Moon Viewing Haiku Contest Friday, September 10, 2021
SJG • 9/10/21 |
Judged on Friday by Tanya McDonald and Michael Dylan Welch
(Separate post on Saturday haiku upcoming)
Pictures by Peggy Garber
SJG • 9/10/21 |
The Seattle Japanese Garden’s annual moon viewing festival returned again for two nights on Friday, September 10, and Saturday, September 11, 2021. This was after a break in 2020 when the festival was not held because of the coronavirus pandemic. For 2021, both nights were sold out to a maximum of 250 attendees, and everyone wore masks—and so did the moon both evenings, masked by clouds and thus unseen. This year we limited entries to one poem per person (we had welcomed up to two in previous years), which sped up and simplified the judging process. We received 44 entries the first night and 47 the second night, for a total of 91 haiku.
The following are our selections for Friday. As before, we selected poems for their clarity, freshness, sometimes humor and timeliness, and for evocatively portraying the moon, even if we couldn’t see it. No prizes were available this year, but we believe that everyone “won” simply by taking a moment to write about their moon-viewing experiences. Our congratulations to each winner, and to everyone who tried their hand at writing haiku. Our gratitude to the Seattle Japanese Garden for its ongoing support of haiku through these annual contests.
For more information about Haiku Northwest, which meets monthly in the Seattle area, and holds an annual haiku retreat, please visit www.haikunorthwest.org.
SJG • 9/10/21 |
Friday, September 10, 2021
First Place
wonder how to dress
for a moon viewing party?
the koi wear white, gold
David Takami
Second Place
the air is still—
suddenly three birds launch
searching for the moon
Paul Pietromonaco
Third Place
we change, earth changes—
I look up at the same moon
my ancestors did
Aaron Morton
SJG • 9/10/21 |
Honorable Mentions
(in alphabetical order by last name)
it’s a moon viewing
in the grey . . . it’s beautiful
anyway . . . the garden
Brady Curtis
northwest moon, hiding
with the gods, behind gray clouds
holding back the rain
Robert Diaz
SJG • 9/10/21 |
koi beneath the bridge
bonsai balancing moonlight
pines piercing the sky
Larry Hubbell
moon’s first glimmer
long across the water
first soft kiss of a new night
Nick Kreucher
SJG • 9/10/21 |
we gathered to see
Lady Luna hides her face
the clouds make her shy
Dana Pietromonaco
cloudy evening
trace of moonglow
autumn’s coming
Doug Santoni
SJG • 9/10/21 |
Honorable Mentions (Youth)
gentle moonshine—
draping the walls in silver
balancing the world
Piper Belfiore (age 14)
the moon climbs the sky
the earth is under my feet
the sun is far gone
SJG • 9/10/21 |
SJG • 9/10/21 |