RAQUEL AMAZAN, PERFORMING ARTIST, WITNESS "July 12 at 7pm was a presentation by six women in the prison at the corner of 11 avenue and 20th street. Six women hung to the walls of a gym inside a prison in Manhattan. This first image was a startling one after coming from the NYC city streets where we are all avoiding millions of walls. There inside that room the women began a connection with themselves and what boundaries they were breaking with those walls. their movement penetrated the walls , sending the message of their experience to the audience with thier brutally honest dance. Having worked with women in prison before I know about the challenges of creating art work that comes directly from woman in prison enviornment. It is a process of honoring their courageous and difficult metamorphosis to guide them as an instructor. Vangeline created a sacred and peaceful environment in which to let the women create from their core. Her guideance allowed them to make themselves vulnerable , strong, and discover their dance with us. It was an honor to have witnessed the event of the six amazing women using a variety of dance disciplines and ideas of movement in the space on such a personally revealing level. The offering of thier flowers at the end of their dance, after they unifed, explored and showcased solo moments was incredibly impactable. That offering included us in their experience and with their responsibility to continue what they had revealed. I hope that this project continues and gains more support to allow artists to work with women in prison to voice thier experiences and further contributions to the world. I also offer any assistance that may be needed to continue this program." Raquel Almazan
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- EIN 35-2237400
- (917) 749-9062
- 240 Irving Ave Apt 1l Brooklyn NY 11237-5290 USA
- www.vangeline.com
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Arts & Culture, Dance
Mission: The vangeline theater's mission is to educate the public about butoh dance, promoting an understanding butoh dance history and its social and cultural significance; to connect butoh to other art forms and disciplines and to build community through butoh. Butoh is an avant garde dance which originated in japan in the 1950's. The company reaches out to the new york community by offering public butoh workshops and performances through collaborations with international and national butoh artists, as well as to members of the incarcerated population, via teaching butoh at correctional facilities in new york ("the dream a dream project" since 2007). This award-winning project continues to contribute to the rehabilitation of new york's incarcerated population.
Programs: Community butoh classes and butoh workshops offered to the public: the vangeline theater offered 35 community butoh classes in 2017: 506 students attended. We also offered 6 intensive butoh workshops with national and international butoh teachers, (attendance: 518 students), for a total of 57 occurrences of butoh instruction open to the public. In total, 1024 students attended our butoh classes and workshops in 2017.
the "dream a dream project: dance workshop for incarcerated men and women" is a program which reaches to members of the incarcerated population weekly at correctional facilities in new york. The dance classes have between 6 and 24 participants enrolled and incorporate physical warm ups, relaxation exercises and butoh dance training. Using simple movements and basic dance training for beginners, this class provides a healthy physical and emotional outlet to participants. No prior dance experience is required. Every few months, the inmates perform in front of a mixed audience of inmates and civilians. A q&a ensues. The performances are an essential part of the program, and provide the participants with a unique chance to offer something deeply personal in front of strangers. In 2016, this program took place at edgecombe correctional facility, supported, in part, by the new york department of cultural affairs and new york council on the arts. Overall, participants reported a new openness towards others, a new ability to bond with each other, an increase in strength and flexibility, and a new positive outlook on life. The class helps them face their imminent release from prison with hope, courage and dignity. This program was recently featured on cnn's great big story with millions of viewers and 165,000 online viewers. Susan hamaker, a writer for japanculture-nyc. Com who witnessed the 2013 performance wrote: "a triumph" "in eight short weeks vangeline theater's dream a dream project transformed those three men who performed. In thirty short minutes the fruits of her labor transformed an entire audience. " cnn's great big story is available online here: https://www. Youtube. Com/watch? V=bco2ip0rmic
free butoh performances offered to the public. In 2017, the vangeline theater offered six free butoh performances to the public, and 32 performances total, exposing the public to butoh. All performances featured professional butoh dancers. This effort to offer free butoh performances every year is in line with our mission statement to educate the public about butoh. We estimate a total of over 600 people attended the performances. All performances were free and open to the public. Vangeline performed in daniel arsham's lunar gardens at cadillac house, october 26, 2017; queer butoh, an evening of site specific butoh performances with three lgbtq butoh artists from chicago, san francisco and new york on october 17, 2017 at howl arts; 9/11 butoh commemoration, in times square, ny - choreographed and directed by vangeline, with students of vangeline theater and the new york butoh institute, september 11, 2017 at 7pm; el jardin del paraiso, butoh performance with vangeline theater, sunday, september 24, 2017 at 1:30pm - vangeline theater performed a site-specific butoh installation for lungs 2016 harvest festival, at el jardin del paraiso in the east village, as part of howl! 's effort to save our gardens and green spaces; butoh performance and artist talk with vangeline & helene nyman, april 26,2017 at 8pm at the pfizer building.