Butoh Ritual Dance and Theater Presents Raw Butoh Night: Happy Chocolate with Vangeline and Coco Villarreal
Company:
Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute
Butoh Ritual Dance and Theater presents Raw Butoh Night, with a performance of “Happy Chocolate” by Vangeline and Coco Villarreal on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 7:30PM at StudiodB, Uferstraße 8-11, 13357 in Berlin, Germany. Tickets start at €17.17 and can be purchased here.
This is an evening to encounter Butoh in its depth and rawness, and to meet one another through performance and movement.
The program brings together three performances by selected artists, alongside an improvised duet, “Happy Chocolate,” by Vangeline and Coco Villarreal. The duet marks their first collaboration since performing together at the New York Butoh Festival in 2007 and premieres a new experimental work created specifically for this evening. Details about the three additional performances will be announced soon.
The evening will conclude with an interactive live music and dance improvisation: an open stage / open jam in which audience members are warmly invited to join and participate.
The event will take place at Studio dB, an independent cultural and creative space located at Uferstraße 8–11 in the historic Uferhallen complex in Berlin. A 285 m2 warehouse space committed to interdisciplinary and experimental practices.
Vangeline is a New York–based teacher, choreographer, and dancer specializing in Japanese Butoh. She is the artistic director of Vangeline Theater / New York Butoh Institute and is widely recognized for her rigorous, research-driven approach to the form, expanding Butoh’s relevance in the 21st century through performance, activism, and interdisciplinary inquiry.
Through her all-female dance company, Vangeline creates socially engaged choreographic works that unite Butoh with activism and amplify historically underrepresented voices. She is the founder of the New York Butoh Institute Festival, dedicated to uplifting women in Butoh, and Queer Butoh, a festival centering LGBTQ+ artists within the form. She also created The Dream a Dream Project, an award-winning program now in its 18th year that brings Butoh into correctional facilities across New York State. Her work has been presented internationally in Chile, Germany, Italy, France, Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Vangeline is the author of Butoh: Cradling Empty Space and led the first scientific study measuring the effects of Butoh on the brain. She has taught widely at leading universities and continues to shape the global conversation around Butoh today. www.vangeline.com
Coco Villarreal is a Mexican Butoh dancer, director, and singer with over 20 years of training under masters Diego Piñón, Akira Kasai, and Taketeru Kudo. Born in Mexico City’s opera milieu, he has directed IX-Butoh since 2009, developing a visceral style rooted in guttural chant, anti-form, and somatic intensity. He has performed at Butoh and theater festivals worldwide — including New York, Amsterdam, Spain, and Mexico — and has led workshops and performances across diverse settings, from Tulum beaches and Berlin neighborhoods to Turkish marathons and Indonesian jungles, cultivating a global following drawn to his raw, transformative stage presence. www.ix-butoh.com
Vangeline Theater is a New York–based butoh dance company and the home of the New York Butoh Institute, a leading center for butoh education, performance, research, and archiving. The organization is dedicated to advancing butoh in the 21st century while honoring its historical, social, and cultural roots.Vangeline Theater/ New York Butoh Institute engages local and international communities through public classes, workshops, festivals, and collaborations with renowned butoh artists. Its work foregrounds social justice, gender equity, and LGBTQI visibility, including the annual New York Butoh Institute Festival and Queer Butoh. Its award-winning Dream a Dream Project brings butoh dance to incarcerated populations across New York State, contributing to rehabilitation and creative empowerment. All programming is inclusive, accessible, and trauma-informed, reflecting a deep commitment to equity, diversity, and anti-oppressive practice.
