VANGELINE THEATER INC
Carrying Butoh into the 21st Century
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our organization is deeply invested in the promotion of art and social justice. Our socially conscious performances tie together butoh and activism; our work addresses issues of gender inequality, and social justice. Our yearly New York Butoh Institute Festival elevates the visibility of women in butoh, and our festival Queer Butoh gives a voice to LGBTQI butoh artists. Our award-winning, 15-year running program The Dream a Dream Project, brings butoh dance to incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities across New York State. Our programs promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the field of butoh.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
The Dream a Dream Project
The "DREAM A DREAM PROJECT: Dance workshop for incarcerated men and women" is a program that reaches members of the incarcerated population at correctional facilities in New York.
The "DREAM A DREAM PROJECT" is unique of its kind in New York City /State and brings specific tools to a population, which has rarely been exposed to dance. Dubbed a "Triumph" by JapanCulturenyc, this dance program has successfully reached incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities in New York for the past 15 years.
Dance teacher Vangeline conducts the program in a weekly 1.5-hour class at Edgecombe correctional facility, Taconic and Bedford Hill Correctional Facilities in New York. The training incorporates physical warm-ups, guided imagery, group exercises, improvisation, dance and Butoh training. This class provides a healthy physical and emotional outlet to participants. When it is possible, the inmates perform at the end of the program in front of a mixed audience of inmates and civilians. The performances are an essential part of the program and provide the inmates with a chance to offer something personal in front of strangers.
Butoh classes and workshops
Every year, The New York Butoh Institute offers Butoh community classes and Butoh workshops to the New York public, reaching an average of 1100 students per year. Our weekly community Butoh classes are by suggested donation. We maintain our commitment to making classes affordable to students from all walks of life. The Vangeline Theater provides consistently low-cost, quality Butoh classes in a form that is in demand by the New York community.
Butoh performances
In the past five years, butoh has enjoyed a resurgence of interest as both a medium of artistic expression and exercise modality for the general public. Our very popular Butoh performance series responds to a demand from the New York public- our shows are completely sold out. Vangeline Theater is passionately committed to educating the New York public about Butoh. Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute has consistently brought butoh performances to the New York public for the past 15 years and is thrilled to continue on our mission to bring Butoh to New York City/State. Our socially conscious performances tie together butoh and activism; our work addresses issues of gender inequality, and social justice. Our yearly New York Butoh Institute Festival elevates the visibility of women in butoh, and our festival Queer Butoh gives a voice to LGBTQI butoh artists. Our award-winning, 15-year running program The Dream a Dream Project, brings butoh dance to incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities across New York State. Our programs promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in the field of butoh.
Free Butoh performances
Vangeline Theater offers free Butoh performances to the public, in line with our mission statement to educate the public about Butoh. In 2021, The Vangeline Theater will offer 20 free full-length free Butoh performances to the New York and international public. We estimate a total of over 3500 people will attend our virtual and live performances.
Among these performances:
Queer Butoh 2021, featuring XUE (Singapore), Damiano Fina Helios (Italy), Tebby W. T. Ramasike ( South Africa); our festival Women Defining Butoh in October 2021 features female pioneers Natsu Nakajima, Saga Kobayashi, Yumiko Yoshioka, Minako Seki, and Yuko Kaseki. Following butoh’s migration East to West, our series follows the spread of butoh in the US via Hiroko Tamano, who settled in San Francisco in 1980, and Joan Laage, who first introduced butoh to Seattle in the 90s. Women Defining Butoh celebrates the legacy of these butoh legends with performances by the all-female troupe DAIPANButoh Collective (Seattle), Mexican dancer Eugenia Vargas, Chicago-based dancer Cristal Sabbagh, and a live performance by New York-based company Vangeline Theater at Triskelion Arts.
To kick off this series, New York Butoh Institute is pleased to administer, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Lifetime Achievement Awards to Natsu Nakajima, Saga Kobayashi and Hiroko Tamano.
Butoh research and archiving
The New York Butoh Institute is dedicated to education, research, and archiving. We are currently focusing on new avenues of study. Supported by recent psychomotor research findings, we are investigating butoh’s unique contributions to the field of dance and theater. We are also researching the scope of teaching practices, with an emphasis on the commonality between different butoh methods, including recent findings from the fields of psychology and cross-cultural psychology as they apply to butoh pedagogy today.
Our research takes place in the U.S. and in Japan; Our book BUTOH: CRADLING EMPTY SPACE was published in the fall of 2020.
https://www.vangeline.com/butoh-book
Free Butoh Film Series
On July 12, 2017, Vangeline Theater presented a film screening at Howl Arts focusing on Founder of Butoh Kazuo Ohno. This film screening was free and open to the public
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee- butoh for trash prevention and environmental awareness
In 2017, Artistic Director Vangeline of Vangeline Theater Inc. pioneered a Green initiative called “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee—Butoh for Waste Prevention—Reducing Coffee Trash in New York
The video was screened in 2021 on Vimeo, and will also be shown the the UNESCO conference in October 2021.
Vangeline Theater seeks to increase environmental awareness in New York and nationally, resulting in a positive impact on our ecosystem. As a key component of this initiative, Vangeline Theater remounted the evening-length Butoh performance piece, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee at Triskelion Arts in June 2017. The work—a cautionary tale about global warming—originally premiered at Triskelion Arts in 2015. It includes a set made of 1500 used disposable coffee cups, illustrating the extensive amount of non-recyclable waste generated by society. This remount for the company of eight expanded the reach of the work’s message by live streaming performances and convening panel discussions with environmental scientists such as Paul Bartlett, Environmental Services Consultant and scholar in residence at St. Peter’s University.
Currently, Americans are responsible for a staggering 58% of the paper cup consumption in the world. NYC counts 212 Starbucks, 454 Dunkin Donuts, and 974 other coffee shops for a total of 1,700 coffee shops within the five boroughs. This results in a daily mountain of non-recyclable coffee cup trash, which, for the most part, ends-up in a landfill. There are 4100 coffee shops in the Tri-State area, which represents an estimated 14 million cups New York will generate over the next 10 years. The paper cups used at coffee shops across NYC are laminated with a plastic resin, polyethylene, which helps keep beverages warm and prevents leaking but also prevents the cup from being recycled. Once in a landfill, the paper begins to decompose, releasing methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide. This issue is directly linked to the threat of global warming. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee inspired audience members to make a positive lifestyle change. Vangeline Theater will partner with GreeNYC, a public education program, and will have audiences sign pledge forms online, as well as pledge forms that will be included in programs at each performance as a commitment to using recyclable materials.
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee utilizes the intensity of the art form to convey a serious problem, the environmental repercussions of non-recyclable waste. The tradition and techniques of Butoh are rooted in an art form that has the power to bring us back to our humanity and become closer to the Earth through meditative and hypnotic movement motifs. This includes uncomfortable truths we need to face, such as confronting the “garbage,” or grotesque parts of our society. The performers will literally dance through garbage; a set made of collected unsalvageable coffee cups. This initiative will serve to increase environmental awareness in New York City through dance and have a tangible impact on our ecosystem.
Queer Butoh
Vangeline Theater/ New York Butoh Institute
In collaboration with Howl Arts
Present
Queer Butoh 2021
June 8, 15 and 22nd, 2021
Tuesdays
8pm Eastern
Streaming Free at www.howlarts.org
After each live stream, the video presentations will be available at www.vimeo.com/vangeline
until June 30, 2021
QUEER BUTOH is an evening of Butoh performances and community discussions with LGBTQI Queer Butoh artists. In 2021, Queer Butoh returns during Pride month as a video series featuring LGBT/Q butoh dancers from Singapore, South Africa, and Italy. The featured artists present their work and reflect on the intersection of Butoh and Queerness.
Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 8pm: XUE (Singapore) in Flowers, performed in 2019 in Brooklyn, NY, with a live accompaniment on electric guitar by John Barrington, an improvised score integrated with ASMR style field recordings of hand-manipulated chrysanthemums. In collaboration with Mika Orotea and John Barrington.
VHS Documentation: Mika Orotea.
With introduction by the artist (60 minutes).
XUE; a practice in rescripting the socialized body.
XUE; a persistent state of fatigue, weary of linguistic and secular assurances.
XUE; a site of negotiation, pitting movement against precedent, informed by the art of butoh.
Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 8pm: Damiano Fina (Italy) performs Helios and talks about Queer Butoh Pedagogy (60 minutes).
Damiano Fina is an artist and writer, founder of the FÜYA method. A pedagogical approach to dance, alchemy and their spiritual origin since the Pleistocene. Since 2004 its artistic research has been influenced by alchemy, the ancient rituals of Classical Greece, the teachings of the Zen master Dogen, butoh dance, radical queer theory and continuous readings and meditations. Its artistic research explores mysticism and philosophy through the body and its multiple possibilities of connection. It has performed in London, Paris, Berlin, Thessaloniki, Japan and various Italian festivals. Damiano holds a master's degree in Pedagogy of Expression. In 2017 it connected queer theory with butoh dance in its project for a queer pedagogy, publishing the book "The dance of Eros and Thanatos: butoh and queer pedagogy". In 2020 it published the book "Dance and Alchemy", that introduces to the FÜYA method.
Website: www.damianofina.it/en
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 at 8pm: Tebby W. T. Ramasike (South Africa) in In Search of a Soul: A Blind Man's Cry ... the appeal, performed at TATWERK Berlin in February 2015. With introduction by the artist. (60 minutes).
Tebby RAMASIKE, is a South African choreographer, dancer/performer, dance teacher & researcher, butoh practitioner, cultural activist, residing in Europe since 1995. He travelled extensively during a period of research and collaborations, working with internationally acclaimed choreographers and teachers. He was nominated and won a number of prestigious choreography and dance awards. In 1999 he founded TeBogO Dance Ensemble (TBO), renamed TeBogO Dance – TBO, which since its inauguration has been invited to perform and teach internationally. Holder of an MA degree in Choreography from the Dance Unlimited Programme in Arnhem, Netherlands, was the first recipient of the international choreography bursary from the Michel Tesson Performing Arts Trust and subsequently the Creative Arts Foundation. In 2002 he became a member of World Dance Alliance-Europe and currently he is a member of UNESCO's International Dance Council (CID). Currently, he is working on an interactive multidisciplinary crossover collaborative project and focuses on his on-going research of his Afro-Butoh concept. His latest collaboration butoh project has been selected to be part of the European Capital of Cultures 2022 Programme of Esch2022 & Kaunas2022.
Where we work
Awards
Volunteer of the Year- Edgecombe Correctional Facility New York 2016
Adult Volunteer of the Year
BUILD award 2011
New York Foundation for the Arts
Best Dance VIsit 2011
Time Out Chicago
Learning to Dance with your demons 2016
CNN TV network
Award for Butoh Festival 2020 2019
National Endowment for the Arts
Award for butoh performances 2020
New York Council on the Arts
Award for butoh performances, classes and Dream a Dream Project 2020
New York Department of Cultural Affairs
Award for butoh performances, classes and Dream a Dream Project 2019
New York Department of Cultural Affairs
Award for Dream a Dream Project 2018
New York Council on the Arts
Award for Dream a Dream Project 2019
New York Council on the Arts
Award for Dream a Dream Project 2020
New York Council on the Arts
Award for Dream a Dream Project 2021
New York Council on the Arts
Award for butoh performances, classes and Dream a Dream Project 2018
New York Department of Cultural Affairs
Award for butoh performances, classes and Dream a Dream Project 2017
New York Department of Cultural Affairs
Award for butoh performances, classes and Dream a Dream Project 2016
New York Department of Cultural Affairs
Award for butoh performances, classes and Dream a Dream Project 2015
New York Department of Cultural Affairs
Award for Butoh Blossoms 2012
Japan Foundation
Award for Curious Fish 2008
Japan Foundation
Award for the Slowest Wave 2022
National Endowment for the Arts
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsTotal number of classes offered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Ethnic and racial groups, Incarcerated people
Related Program
Butoh classes and workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This represents the number of butoh classes offered to the community in a year, including classes and workshops offered in New York State and nationally, as well as classes in correctional facilities
Average dollar price for classes
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Incarcerated people
Related Program
Butoh classes and workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Classes are $20/class, but our classes in correctional facilities are free.
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Incarcerated people, People with disabilities, LGBTQ people
Related Program
Butoh classes and workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This represents the number of students yearly in our classes and workshops nationally, including our program in correctional setting.
Total number of performances
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Butoh performances
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of butoh performances offered to the public by Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute. 2020 includes the number of live and virtual performances.
Total number of free performances given
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Free Butoh performances
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This the number of free Butoh performances offered to the public in New York by Vangeline Theater
Number of inmates/offenders in dance classes at correctional facility
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Incarcerated people
Related Program
The Dream a Dream Project
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the number of inmates/offenders in dance classes at correctional facilities enrolled in Vangeline Theater's "Dream a Dream Project, Dance Workshop for Incarcerated men and women".
Number of paid registrants to classes
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, People with disabilities
Related Program
Butoh classes and workshops
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Vangeline Theater's goals are to engage, empower, and educate through Butoh. The company has been a leader in the development of contemporary Butoh dance since its founding in 2002. Vangeline Theater aims to preserve the legacy and integrity of Japanese butoh, while carrying the art form into the future. Vangeline Theater is as interested in preserving butoh as it is in nurturing the current generation of emerging Butoh artists. Community involvement is at the heart of our work: Vangeline is the winner of the 2015 Gibney Dance's Beth Silverman-Yam Social Action Award, and the founder of the 15-year running, award-winning program “Dream a Dream Project", which brings Butoh dance to incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities across New York City. We are invested in social justice and equality; our programs aim at elevating the visibility of women, LGBTQI people, and we strive to feature and serve people of color.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
As our organization and the scope of our programs are expanding, we are closely examining the capacity building needs of our organization. Like many other small-sized organizations, it is necessary for us to strengthen our company's infrastructure and management capacity. We are now focusing our efforts on strategic planning, fundraising, office administration, financial management, and board development. We plan on consulting with non-profit specialists to develop creative strategies so we may sustain long-term growth for our organization. The primary focus of this effort will be infrastructure support, fundraising and maintenance. We are especially focusing on a 5-year strategic planning, with a special emphasis on Board Development and fundraising strategies.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our organization's capabilities include the following:
1. A meaningful vision.
2. A relentless desire to pursue that vision.
3. Strong leadership from the founder.
4. A strong board of directors.
5. Hard working and competent officers.
6. A talented and committed corps of Volunteers.
7. A newly-forming, diverse, very experienced, very talented Board of Advisors.
8. Financial support to fund the foundation's operations.
9. The technological capability to conduct marketing and awareness operations online, including online classes and performances, and networking.
10. The expertise to properly handle contributions, and a sound plan for expansion.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Vangeline Theater's accomplishments are the following:
- From a small grass root organization, we have created contemporary butoh works trusted and recognized by funders and the public;
-Become an ambassador and a voice for contemporary butoh in the US in the 21st century;
-Become a champion for women and LGBTQ people in the field of butoh;
-Pioneered a program that brings butoh and dance to the incarcerated population in New York state;
-Brought butoh into popular culture with a high profile presence in music videos, Hollywood movies, and live performances with renowned national and international popular artists;
-Brought high quality, in-demand butoh classes, workshops, and performances to the public on a consistent basis in NYC and the US since 2003;
- Founded the NY Butoh Institute, dedicated to research, education, and archiving;
-Published a book about butoh (Butoh: Cradling Empty Space-2020).
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
VANGELINE THEATER INC
Board of directorsas of 04/04/2022
Mr. Geoff Shelton
The Vangeline Theater
Term: 2017 - 2027
Jane Friedman
Howl Arts
Term: 2013 - 2023
Amanda Caughey
Geoff Shelton
Salvador Dali Archives
Jane Friedman
Howl Festival and Howl Emergency Life Project
Vangeline Helene Gand
New York Butoh Institute
Paul Barlett
Environmental Scientist/St Paul University
Shoshana Green
San Francisco Butoh
Davey Mitchell
Dancer
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/06/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.