Sayoko Onishi
Choreographer, dancer, founder of New Butoh® (Onishi dance Method)
Bio
In 2005, at the conference ‘Butoh and New Butoh’ held at the University of Palermo, Italy, Yoshito Ohno identified her dance as ‘New Butoh’.
Sayoko Onishi has long been moving beyond the concept of traditional butoh, fusing her previous experiences with new elements. And it was in Sicily, where Onishi worked for a decade as a dancer, choreographer, that she contributed significantly to the consideration, birth and development of New Butoh®. The historical richness of Sicily, with its Phoenician, Greek and Arab influences, drove Onishi to include new elements in the Butoh narrative.
Onishi has interacted with diverse forms of dancers and a wide variety of artists.
New Butoh® brings together all of Onishi's life experiences.
She studied ballet, contemporary dance, Japanese traditional dance and butoh.
Later she specialized in tai chi and qigong in China.
She has received numerous dance awards in Germany and Japan.
Currently, she is based in France.
Since 2009, she has been a leading member of the French theatre company Man'ok & Cie.
She is also a member of the theatre association Independant Little lies and she is a producer of her own projects in Luxembourg. Since 2020, She has been a director of pedagogy at the New Butoh® school.