SPECTRAL: solo performed by Vangeline with video projection- 60 minutes
Vangeline in Spectral - photo Beatrice Schelyer
Review- Hyperallergic Magazine- Spectral: The Ghost Dance of Butoh
by David LaGaccia on March 4, 2013
"A terrific visual experience... extremely well done..the dance of darkness became a dance of light"
TIME OUT CHICAGO BEST DANCE VISIT 2011
Honorable mentions: Best dance visits | 2011 in review
Posted in Unscripted blog by Zachary Whittenburg on Dec 28, 2011 at 8:00am
Vangeline
" Her solo, SPECTRAL, which she performed shaking violently, in a heavy white dress, holding a piece of twine and with both eyes rolled back into her skull, was bone-chilling "
Vangeline in Spectral- photo by Michael Blase
Critically acclaimed Butoh dancer Vangeline brings her contemporary exploration of the afterlife to the stage.
Choreographed and conceived by Vangeline, described by the New York Times as “captivating in her devotion to simple movements,” SPECTRAL is a performance of Butoh, the avant garde art form born in 1950s Japan. Vangeline's solo, which conjures up haunting images of the ghosts of women past and their often forgotten sacrifices, has been critically acclaimed by Time OUT Chicago (Best Dance Visits 2011) and featured in the film The Letter (2012) with Winona Ryder and James FRANCO.
Spectral is inspired by the former 19th century Duch textile mill in Garnerville New York. The mill, built in the 1830’s, employed over 800 women at one time. Over its 170 year history of prosperity, tragedy and abandonment, a strong presence developed within the walls, between the buildings and along the empty roads. Inspired by the history of all the women who worked at the mill making uniforms for soldiers during the Civil War and World War II, Spectral conjures up haunting images of the ghosts of women past and their often forgotten sacrifices.
Vangeline in Spectral- Photo by Michael Blase
ABOUT VANGELINE AND VANGELINE THEATER
Vangeline is an award-winning teacher, dancer, and choreographer specializing in the Japanese postwar avant-garde movement form Butoh. She is Artistic Director of The Vangeline Theater Inc., an all-female dance company that she founded in 2002. With her all-female dance company, Vangeline’s socially conscious performances tie together butoh and activism. Her performances have dealt with subjects as varied as feminism, climate change, war and perceptions of gender.
Vangeline’s Butoh work has been commissioned by Grammy award-winning artists SKRILLEX and Esperanza Spalding, and is featured in a major motion picture “The Letter” with James Franco and Winona Ryder, as well as on CNN's Great Big Story. Recently her solo BUTOH BEETHOVEN: Eclipse received critical acclaim in New York and was dubbed: ‘incredibly moving and powerful. It is clear that Vangeline is an artist who knows the darkness of Butoh well, and has the incredible skill to make that darkness dance...Vangeline has the control and poise of a true master of Butoh."
Vangeline in Spectral
Watch Vangeline on CNN"s Great Big STory