The following description comes from the event organizer.

Prepare to be swept away by a wild, whimsical whirlwind of rambunctious dance, theater and Live music of all shapes and sizes at the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend!  Featuring over a dozen vignette solo and ensemble performances probing the fantastical dancing FUSION of Butoh-inspired performance art and burlesque entertainment, this night-time blowout is the culmination of the 2nd-ever Salish Sea Butoh Festival in the beautiful Victorian seaport Port Townsend, Washington. We invite you to celebrate with us!

This year, Salish Sea Butoh has assembled a wide array of musicians, magicians, singers, performance artists, puppeteers, and dancers, all of whom have been tasked with presenting original stage works that explore “BUTOH CABARET“ through the lens of their own particular aesthetic, discipline and artistic lineage.  As a point of artistic reference and inspiration, our show is informed by the radical Japanese choreographer Tatsumi Hijikata who developed Butoh with his ensemble of burlesque dancers in an effort to defy and subvert authority, including conventional notions of dance.  This iconoclastic, avant-garde dance form was developed hand-in-glove with the CABARET scene of the Tokyo underground throughout the 1960’s.  During the day, Hijikata trained his dancers in exercises and techniques that would become Ankoku Butoh.  At night, they experimented with bringing their exploration into the competitive marketplace of cabaret & burlesque. According to dance scholar Rosemary Candelario, ”his shows got a reputation for being a kind of 'weird, funky cabaret' in which nudity appeared along with Surrealist and Dadaist images."  Inspired by this historical reference, Salish Sea Butoh challenges artists to explore the theme of FUSION & ALCHEMY by deconstructing and reinventing their particular art form, whatever it might be, and combine elements from the worlds of both cabaret and Butoh. We asked: If the theme is FUSION/ALCHEMY -- of the self, of society, of art, of politics -- what will it take to bring this about??

THE AUDIENCE TOO is encouraged to come be a part of the experience!  Wear your most expressive/outrageous costume/look, and help celebrate the festival's theme of FUSION/ALCHEMY.  An on-site makeover room will stand ready to accessorize willing participants, and photographer Patrick Ward will have a photo booth set-up during part of the evening.