MECA will jost performances by hip hop dance icon, Rennie Harris, and innovative butoh dance artist, Michael Sakamoto, of their dance theater duet, Flash. It has been some time since Harris's last appearance in Houston and this will be Sakamoto's debut in the city. Flash is an interdisciplinary project combining butoh and hip-hop dance, multimedia, and other theatrical elements to address the intersection of urban and environmental crisis, social resistance, and corporeal identity. Hip-hop and butoh were born from marginalized, postwar urban subcultures, and each embodies a philosophical approach to the creation of cultural identity through dance. Conceived as a public “conversation” between the artists’ respective aesthetics (butoh and hip-hop), cultural backgrounds (Japanese-American and African-American), and personalities, the work combines their dual approaches to manifesting a body in crisis. Rennie Harris is an award-winning artist/choreographer and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Rennie Harris Puremovement. His work encompasses African-American traditions through its ever-evolving interpretations of dance. Michael Sakamoto is a transdisciplinary artist active in dance, theater, media, and photography, best known as an innovator in contemporary butoh.
Rennie Harris and Michael Sakamoto will be in residence at MECA with support in part from National Performance Network.
MECA will jost performances by hip hop dance icon, Rennie Harris, and innovative butoh dance artist, Michael Sakamoto, of their dance theater duet, Flash. It has been some time since Harris's last appearance in Houston and this will be Sakamoto's debut in the city. Flash is an interdisciplinary project combining butoh and hip-hop dance, multimedia, and other theatrical elements to address the intersection of urban and environmental crisis, social resistance, and corporeal identity. Hip-hop and butoh were born from marginalized, postwar urban subcultures, and each embodies a philosophical approach to the creation of cultural identity through dance. Conceived as a public “conversation” between the artists’ respective aesthetics (butoh and hip-hop), cultural backgrounds (Japanese-American and African-American), and personalities, the work combines their dual approaches to manifesting a body in crisis. Rennie Harris is an award-winning artist/choreographer and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Rennie Harris Puremovement. His work encompasses African-American traditions through its ever-evolving interpretations of dance. Michael Sakamoto is a transdisciplinary artist active in dance, theater, media, and photography, best known as an innovator in contemporary butoh.
Rennie Harris and Michael Sakamoto will be in residence at MECA with support in part from National Performance Network.
MECA will jost performances by hip hop dance icon, Rennie Harris, and innovative butoh dance artist, Michael Sakamoto, of their dance theater duet, Flash. It has been some time since Harris's last appearance in Houston and this will be Sakamoto's debut in the city. Flash is an interdisciplinary project combining butoh and hip-hop dance, multimedia, and other theatrical elements to address the intersection of urban and environmental crisis, social resistance, and corporeal identity. Hip-hop and butoh were born from marginalized, postwar urban subcultures, and each embodies a philosophical approach to the creation of cultural identity through dance. Conceived as a public “conversation” between the artists’ respective aesthetics (butoh and hip-hop), cultural backgrounds (Japanese-American and African-American), and personalities, the work combines their dual approaches to manifesting a body in crisis. Rennie Harris is an award-winning artist/choreographer and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Rennie Harris Puremovement. His work encompasses African-American traditions through its ever-evolving interpretations of dance. Michael Sakamoto is a transdisciplinary artist active in dance, theater, media, and photography, best known as an innovator in contemporary butoh.
Rennie Harris and Michael Sakamoto will be in residence at MECA with support in part from National Performance Network.