In a shared evening, Sansei solo artists Judith Kajiwara and Colleen "Coke" Nakamoto will premiere a body of new works.  Each brings a unique cultural sensibility to her artistry with an evocative emphasis on the internal challenge to move with honesty and gratitude.  Joining them in this multi-media program will be guest artists Bobby Nakamoto and Jonathan Relucio.  They will integrate live music as well as their individual renditions of butoh poetry to this exciting program, with lighting, video, stage design and direction by Cary Matsumura.

BIOS:

From odori to African dance, Judith Kajiwara has spent a lifetime studying numerous movement & dance forms, blending them together in her 25+ years as a dance teacher and choreographer. In 1996 she premiered her first full-length butoh solo, The Ballad of Machiko, at NOHspace. Since then she has focused entirely on teaching and performing butoh as a gentle pathway to spiritual growth. As an angel sculpture artist, hyponotherapist and energy worker, she founded Enter the Stillness Arts to bring awareness to the interconnection between the healing and expressive arts.

When Colleen "Coke" Nakamoto learned ballet, tap and Bon Odori as a girl, she secretly knew it was game over! She then studied jazz and modern techniques, fulfilling but never claiming a minor degree in Dance. Following a period of body amnesia, poetry, hula kahiko & 'auana, qi gong, hatha yoga, text/movement explorations and Interplay served as her antidotes. She has currently landed in contemporary, butoh, hip-hop and improvised forms, often adding text to the mix. Formerly a community-based therapist, her current hope is to reach out to others by reaching deeply within.

Bobby Nakamoto is a jazz and R&B artist, a multi-instrumentalist whose primary voice is the saxophone. He creates, performs and produces music that inspires, empowers and uplifts communities and audiences wherever he lands. Bobby has gigged throughout L.A. and the Bay Area with the bands Private Practice, the Blue Cats, and Mindless Groove. He is the co-founder of the band Chocolate Rice (www.chocolaterice.com), and is currently working on a solo CD project while deepening his compositional and performance chops in SFSU's Jazz and World Music program.

Jonathan Relucio attempts serenity during his long extended season of confused wandering. His body stores experiences of disco, Pilipino cultural dances (Tinikiling, Singkil), backspins, eskrima serrada, djaying, Interplay, housing, capoeira, nei and chi gung, cha-cha, Iyengar yoga, basketball, vipassana meditation, salsa, butoh, marathon running, holotropic breathwork, biodanza, trance and lots of social justice movements. In addition to his body, Jonathan will play with a Behringer DJX700 mixer, two Technics 1200 turntables, two Concourse needs, Sony Vaio PCG-651R laptop, and Scratch Live Serrato for Incarnate.