INTERVIEW: Butoh, Bouffon, puppetry all used in new dance work ‘The leg.’
Photo: The leg. continues through June 7 at Mitu580 in Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of notAmuse Theater / Provided by Emily Owens PR with permission.
The leg., a new dance work playing through June 7 at Mitu580 in Brooklyn, combines a variety of styles to tell its unique tale. The work, conceived by Sophie Amieva and Katerina Marcelja, includes Butoh, Bouffon and puppetry to build a narrative around the themes of spirituality, pain, pleasure and politics, according to press notes.
Amieva pulls double duty, also serving as the director of the piece. To create the work, she, Marcelja and the ensemble drew on the writings of Foucault and Preciado for inspiration. The journey they’ve been on in developing this piece has essentially asked the creative team — and now the audience — to interrogate the nature of make-believe, the power of transformation and the role that the subconscious plays in everyday living.
Recently Amieva exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox to share more information on this unique work. She also serves as artistic director of notAmuse Theater, which is presenting the dance piece at Mitu580. Her biography includes work in several different realms, including being a physical actor, clown and Butoh dancer. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How long have you been developing The leg.?
It’s really a two-part answer. The leg. is part of a wider, multi-year project that I’ve been developing since 2022. I shared the first excerpt, In Progress, at A.R.T./New York in Brooklyn last year and will present the final part in either 2026 or 2027. But, in terms of this specific production, and part of that process, I gathered my team for workshops last autumn and early this year, before beginning intensive rehearsals back in February. So, on the one hand, three years, and on the other, just three months!
What do you find unique and interesting about the Butoh style?
I’ve been studying Butoh for a decade and have incorporated this practice into productions by my ensemble throughout my company’s history. Butoh performance is durational, slow, and based on infinitesimal movements and gestures, designed to bring the audiences’ focus to their own bodies, sensations and micro-movements, facilitating a heightened level of awareness and focus within themselves. My Butoh dance practice explores the deep connection between the body and mind. Here, I must give a shout out to my long term Butoh mentor, Vangeline, who taught me so much about the form.
How are inflatables used throughout the show?
I don’t want to give away all our secrets! But what I can say is they are various kinds of inflatables: medium size inflatables with some dynamic elements propelled by air and very large inflatables. Actors interact with these creatures, and they function as characters in themselves. Sometimes the human character and the creature characters merge or transform into a hybrid character. Because of their scale, the larger inflatables belong to the environment of the world we are creating. In this world the environment participates in the action as much as every other character and creature. The large inflatables are maneuvered and puppeteered by the actors eliminating the distinction between character and surrounding or actor and set. … It is a challenge in tech! But one I think is worth it.
For the unbeknownst, what’s Bouffon?
I love this question. Coming from ancient Carnival traditions and popularized in 1950s France, Bouffon is a form of heightened, physical street theater that uses satire to expose the mechanism of power in our society and break taboos. It is a form of clown, but one that is highly political and can be controversial. Bouffons is the ultimate art of mockery and satire. It is big, loud, in your face, and takes serious situations and makes them absurd. Basically, it is so crazy that it provokes laughter — it is the perfect foil to Butoh.
What do you think the piece says about spirituality?
I think there is a lot of joy in our show, which feels like an act of resistance in this moment. It is a wordless, immersive comedic-poetic show that takes the audience into a fantastical and visceral journey where physical comedy and dance meet to explore the links between spirituality, pain, pleasure and politics. And I think this show is a response to this overwhelming feeling, at least speaking for myself, of fear and confusion in our current moment. My intention through the process and the show is to take care of us — the actors, the team, the audience. To release, to let go. How do we do this? We will find out this week!
What have the first nine years of notAmuse Theater been like? Have you achieved your original goals?
I believe I have. Back in 2016, I was emerging from a decade in which I had two young children, so naturally your priorities shift in that time. I was still working, performing and teaching, but I wasn’t able to spend the same time generating work as I had before I had my kids. When I started noAmuse, once they were both in school, it was kind of a new era in my career, where I was determined to make only original work, only on my terms. We’ve done nine major projects in these first nine years, and each of them have allowed me to grow us an artist, and us to grow as a company. We have developed a strong audience and a great team as we look ahead to our 10th anniversary. I think, as an artist, you are always hungry for the next project, but so far, so good.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The leg., co-conceived and directed by Sophie Amieva, continues through June 7 at Mitu580 in Brooklyn. Click here for more information and tickets.
