Butoh Dance Workshop

Meshi Chavez is a seasoned Butoh practitioner, queer artist, and MFA graduate from the University of the Arts. As a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Middlebury College, his work explores embodiment, presence, and the radical potential of movement. Chavez has trained extensively with Butoh masters Denise Fujiwara and Natsu Nakajima, shaping his approach to dance as a practice of deep inquiry and transformation. His workshops create space for divergence, spaciousness, and the shedding of colonial legacies, fostering a profound connection between movement, creativity, and Queer Futurity.

 Ness's  journey with Butoh began in high school after seeing Oguri at Cal State LA and deepened through study with Hiroko and Koichi Tamano in San Francisco in the early 90s. During that time, she danced with the late Jess Curtis, Contra Band and performed within the vibrant experimental scene led by artists like Keith Hennessy. She has practiced extensively with The Siti Company and Anne Bogart as well as performance art icons like Rachel Rosenthal, Maureen Fleming and Portland Experimental Theater Ensemble. She was introduced to Mari Osanai and (Noguchi Taiso) as well as Meshi Chavez, through Mizu Desierto at The HeadwatersTheatre in Portland, Oregon. It is her dream to create a Butoh scene in Southern Oregon. Ness Hopkins is the founding Director of The A Space, Life is Short Films and 

The Human Stage