Performance Season - ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II | 5 - 9 March 2025
BUTOHOUT! 2025
Performance Season
@ Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne
Commissioned and presented by
Abbotsford Convent and Asia TOPA,
Arts Centre Melbourne
ABOUT
Dive into a surreal nightclub experience where cabaret collides with chaos! ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II features an enthralling dance, cabaret, song and visual art. The evening is centred around the art form Butoh, a hypnotic style of Japanese dance theatre. Following the sold-out success of ButohBAR 2023, this electrifying event returns with a new line-up of local and international talent, including Japanese Butoh master Atsushi Takenouchi.
Led by acclaimed Melbourne artist Yumi Umiumare, this new edition of ButohBAR mixes fresh performances and rituals with outdoor spectacles at the iconic Abbotsford Convent, celebrating our beautifully dysfunctional existence. Featuring guerrilla performers, roving installations, out-of-order karaoke and more, the evening includes exquisite sake and food by Tamura Sake Bar.
ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II thrillingly throws back to a time when Butoh ruled Japan’s nightclubs and strip joints in the 1970s and 1980s.
The ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER menu includes:
- Tokyo nightbar-esque space & installations
- Butoh 舞踏 dance performances
- 15+ diverse performers
- Out of Order Karaoke
- Presence of Butoh master Atushi Takenouchi
- Japanese food & sake by Tamura Sake Bar
- Guest artists Surprise!
WHAT IS BUTOH?
Butoh, originally called the Dance of Darkness, has its roots in post-WWII Japan in response to the social and cultural turmoil of the time. Classic styles of Butoh sought to express the trauma, anxiety, and confusion of this era through movement, sound, and visual imagery that was often shocking, grotesque, or surreal. Butoh can be seen as an example of an art form that is out of order, challenging the norms of conventional performance styles and offering a way to explore new forms of expression and adaptation in the face of uncertain and unexpected challenges.
CREDIT
CREATIVES
Co-creator / artistic director/ choreographer: Yumi Umiumare
Co-creator / creative producer: Taka Takiguchi 滝口貴
Visual artist: Jacqui Stockdale
Sound designer: Ai Yamamoto
Lighting designer: Emma Lockhart-Wilson
International guest artist: Atsushi Takenouchi and Hiroko Komiya
Lighting operator and stage manager: Celina Mack
Website and graphic designer: Taka Takiguchi 滝口貴
Photographer: Vikk Shayen
Videographer: Takeshi Kondo
Food and Sake: Tamura Sake Bar and Izakaya by Tamura
CO-CREATORS & PERFORMERS
ButohOUT! Ensemble 2025
Kaira Hachefa
Willow J Conway and
Yumi Umiumare
GUEST ARTISTS
Emma Bathgate
Maude Davey and more
ButohOUT! Ensemble Members
Alex Rouse, Em Kimber, Emma Fayelecaun, Kei Murakami, Pauline Sherlock, Spira Stojanovik, Taka Takiguchi and Tania Perez
WHEN
March 2025
Wed 5 7:30pm (Preview)
Thu 6 7:30pm (Opening)
Fri 7 7:30pm
Sat 8 7:30pm
Sun 9 7:30pm
*From 7pm every night, Sake and spine-tingling ritualistic happenings starts, so COME EARLY!
TICKET
Butoh Lovers!: $40
General: $35
Concession: $25
Preview & Mob Tix: $20
DURATION
90 mins including interval
WHERE
Abbotsford Convent
1 St Heliers St,
Abbotsford VIC 3067
Industrial School
Site #4 on the MAP
WARNINGS
Intermittent loud sounds, low lighting and varying intensity, a moment of flashing lights, coarse languages, potential nudity & adult themes
Low level of audience involvement, some contents may be upsetting for some audiences
ACCESSIBILITY & COMPANION CARD HOLDER
Abbotsford Covent - Industrial School is a fully accessible venue, there is a gentle ramp to enter the building and the wheelchair accessible toilets are available. Should you have any questions, please contact at butohout@gmail.com
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Please refer to the detailed Terms and Conditions for cancellations here.
EXCHANGE OF THE TICKET(S)
Tickets are non-refundable, except as required by the Live Performance Australia (LPA) Ticketing Code of Conduct.
Tickets can be exchanged for a different date (where available); exchanges are charged at $5 per transaction. We also accept ticket name changes at no charge.
ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II is supported by Asia TOPA, a joint initiative of Arts Centre Melbourne and the Sidney Myer Fund, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Playking Foundation and the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.