Diego Piñón is a Mexican branch of the global family tree of butoh. Founded in Japan in 1959, it has been passed from teacher to student, from performing group to individual performer and from performer to audience. Along the way each individual has drawn from it, and contributed.
Drawn to dance and movement, Piñón studied many movement and theater systems, incorporating his own uniquely Mexican traditions. Along the way, he encountered butoh, performing with Byakko-Sha and Min Tanaka's Maijuku. (I would disagree with the article's statement that Tanaka is second only to Hijikata, that is absurd. Tanaka is a gifted primarily self taught mover.) My experience with Piñón is as a workshop teacher who uses psychodrama techniques derived from each individual's history to create unique and sometimes intense movement. Piñón speaks of his work in a talk sponsored by Portland butoh's Headwaters Studio and Portland State University's Department of Japanese Language, Dance and Theater. Piñón has been teaching a workshop the last few days, so his students may be able to relate their experiences.
At Smith Memorial Center, Room 328/9, 7PM Free
Meanwhile, at the always excellent PSU Art Department Monday Night Lecture Series, Stephanie Smith speaks. Sustainability is big in Portland now, but Smith has been exploring it as a theme in her curatorial activities for some time. Her interest in socially engaged public practice in art is a great complement to similarly themed work in the PSU art programs. It has moved to a new location this semester - Shattuck Hall, Room 212, 1914 SW Park Avenue, at the corner of SW Broadway and Hall on the PSU campus. 7:30PM Free
Past Monday night lectures can be viewed at PICA normal working hours. Free.
