Science Meets Butoh: MAN WOMAN’s Groundbreaking Collaboration to Explore Heart Synchronization in Performance
New York, NY —— Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute and ELF are thrilled to announce a pioneering collaboration with a team of international scientists to explore the fascinating intersection between science and Butoh dance. In a bold new direction, the duet MAN WOMAN, performed by Vangeline and Akihito Ichihara, is now the subject of a live biometric study examining real-time heart synchronization between the two performers.
This groundbreaking research uses wearable heart monitors to track the dancers’ heart rhythms during their deeply emotive, somatic performances. The goal: to investigate how Butoh, a form of Japanese avant-garde dance theater known for its meditative slowness and psychological intensity, might generate physiological coherence — a potential marker of deep interpersonal connection and empathy.
Visualization of Vangeline and Akihito Ichihara’s heart synchronization during their rehearsal of MAN WOMAN at Dance City Newcastle on June 10, 2011.
Vangeline and Akihito Ichihara at Dance City Newcastle with Marianne Sice testing the Sound Of Soul technology.
Zoom team meeting on June 15, 2025
Merging Science and Art
The study is led in collaboration with an international team of visionary researchers:
Peter Granger, Co-Founder of Heartbond Ltd (UK), began his career as a geophysicist before transitioning into psychotherapy and relationship counseling. His research focuses on heart synchronization in bonded relationships, leading to the development of innovative technologies to measure and enhance interpersonal connections. https://www.heartbond.co.uk
Claire Berry, Co-Founder of Heartbond Ltd (UK), brings her experience from educational and therapeutic settings to the project. She has been instrumental in applying heart synchronization research to real-world scenarios, fostering deeper connections in various communities.
Prof. Dr. Judith Revers, Professor of Arts Therapies at Medical School Hamburg (Germany), is both a practicing artist and a specialist in the integration of therapeutic arts. Her work explores how embodied artistic practice can lead to healing and transformation within clinical and creative settings.
Dr. Petia Sice, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Northumbria University (UK), is a pioneer in human-centered systems thinking and a principal research collaborator on this project. Her interdisciplinary expertise in complex systems, consciousness, and organizational wellbeing provides foundational insight into the dynamics of coherence and human connection.
Dr. Laurie Rauch, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Neurobiology of Exercise and Sports Medicine at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), contributes deep expertise in psychophysiology and coherence, bridging performance science with somatic expression and integrative health research.
Marrianne Sice, Interdisciplinary Artist, Musician, and Artist Development Coach based in the UK, is affiliated with Heartbond Ltd as a creative collaborator. Her work bridges music, movement, and emotion, contributing a deeply felt dimension to the research through lived artistic inquiry.
Akihiho Ichihara, Butoh dancer, Sankai Juku, Artistic Director, Elf Dance Project.
Vangeline, Butoh dancer, Artistic Director, the Vangeline Theater/ New York Butoh Institute.
Vangeline and Akihito Ichihara at Dance City Newcastle being fitted with polar sensor technology on June 10, 2025 with Marrianne Sice and Dr. Petia Sice.
Akihito Ichihara holding the polar device.
Preliminary sessions have already begun in the UK, with both dancers outfitted in biosensing technology capable of detecting real-time heart rate variability and synchronicity. The team of scientists noted that the preliminary tests yielded results that were both remarkable and highly promising.
“We’re excited to take MAN WOMAN into uncharted territory by exploring how our bodies not only move in harmony but may also feel in harmony,” said Vangeline and Akihito Ichihara. “This project represents a natural evolution of our interest in the intersection of Butoh and science.”
In an era where human connection is increasingly mediated through technology, this study seeks to bring scientific validation to what artists have long intuited: that movement, ritual, and presence can create profound energetic bonds between people. It also offers a new frontier in performance studies, dance therapy, and psychosomatic research.
The implications of such work could reach far beyond the stage — with potential applications in psychology, team dynamics, interpersonal empathy training, and somatic education.
About the Work: MAN WOMAN
MAN WOMAN is a Butoh duet conceived as an exploration of duality, gender, and unity. Performed by Butoh artists Vangeline and Akihito Ichihara (Sankai Juku), the piece strips movement to its barest essence, creating a liminal space where identity and connection unfold organically over time.
As the artists inhabit this space, the synchronization of their hearts may provide a powerful visual metaphor — and measurable data — for the potential unity between self and other.
MAN WOMAN will premiere in New York City in April 2026, followed by its UK Premiere at Oxford University in September 2026. https://www.vangeline.com/man-woman
ALT TEXT:
Performer Vangeline, painted entirely in white and wearing a sculptural costume by Machine Dazzle, kneels on a dark stage beside fellow performer Akihito Ichihara, who sits on the floor. Her arm gently cradles his head, which is adorned with a dramatic tangle of sculptural tendrils. Both performers are covered in white body paint, creating a spectral, sculptural effect. The pose—tender and protective—is inspired by a photographfrom Man and Woman by Eikoh Hosoe, echoing themes of intimacy, gender duality, and surrender. The black stage floor is streaked with white pigment, enhancing the surreal atmosphere. From the 2024 performance MAN WOMAN, photographed by Michael Blase.
A close-up photo of a laptop on a wooden table in a cozy café or pub. On the laptop screen is a website titled “synchronising hearts,” with glowing heart-shaped waveforms in shades of pink, purple, and orange on a black background. The visual suggests a focus on biometric or emotional connection. The setting includes drinks and condiments in the background, with people chatting nearby. The laptop displays the Windows taskbar and browser cookie settings. The photo connects everyday life to the theme of embodied digital collaboration and heart-based performance research, as explored in the MAN WOMAN project.
A close-up of a laptop screen showing a PowerPoint slide titled “Heart Rate Variability (HRV) = The Heart Rhythm,” from a presentation by the HeartMath Institute. The slide includes a line graph of ECG heart beat data, with peaks labeled “R” and intervals marked in seconds and BPM. A hand points toward one of the peaks on the graph. On the right side of the slide, an image of a heart rate monitor strap is labeled “ECG (Voltage across heart).” The bottom of the laptop screen shows a Windows taskbar and clock, capturing a real-time presentation moment during the research phase of MAN WOMAN.
A smartphone rests on a wooden floor displaying biometric data from a session titled “Vangeline and Ichi 1 at Dance City,” dated June 10, 2025. The screen shows two colorful graphs labeled HR (heart rate) and HP (heart performance), with blue and red lines labeled "Vangeline" and "Ichi" respectively. The visual represents real-time physiological data, likely captured during a duet rehearsal or performance. This tracking is part of the MAN WOMAN project’s exploration of heart synchronization and Butoh, using data visualization to measure interoceptive connection between performers.
A screenshot of a Zoom video call featuring eight participants involved in the MAN WOMAN project. In the top row, from left to right, are Vangeline (wearing a bright pink flower in her hair), Peter and Claire (appearing in a shared video frame), Marianne (labeled with she/her pronouns), and another participant with long white hair reading or looking down. In the bottom row, Akihito Ichihara sits in a room lined with bookshelves, and Judith Revers appears in a separate frame in front of a white wall with shelves behind her. The participants are mid-discussion or listening attentively, representing artists, collaborators, and researchers involved in the project’s exploration of heart synchronization and Butoh.
A close-up image of a hand holding a POLAR heart rate sensor in a brightly lit dance studio with wooden floors and mirrored walls. The strap is black, soft, and elastic, designed to be worn around the chest for real-time ECG monitoring. A phone or device rests on the floor in the background. This sensor is one of the tools used in the MAN WOMAN project to track heart synchronization between performers, supporting its research-based choreography.
In a rehearsal studio at Dance City, three artists—Marrianne Sice, Akihito Ichihara, and Vangeline—sit on the floor in front of a wall-length mirror. Marrianne, partially visible in the foreground, interacts with a laptop connected to a black medical device labeled “Sound of Soul, Aqua Quinta,” which is wired to ECG electrode pads. Vangeline sits cross-legged in the background with eyes closed in a meditative posture, while Akihito Ichihara holds a phone, possibly documenting the session. The wooden dance floor and mirrored wall reflect the group’s focused and reflective energy during a MAN WOMAN heart synchronization session.
A group of performers sit on the wooden floor of a rehearsal studio at Dance City, lit softly by daylight. A mirrored wall reflects the participants, who are arranged in a circle or arc. In the foreground, wires extend from a heart-monitoring device, and a laptop sits open nearby—evidence of the ongoing MAN WOMAN project, which explores physiological synchronization through Butoh. The performers appear calm, attentive, and immersed in the research process.
This program was supported in parts by Surface Area Dance Theater, the Japan Foundation New York, the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, Chelsea Factory, Mercury Store, and the Monira Foundation.
