Vangeline Theater announces a Fundraising Gala on Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 8pm at Temple NYC, Brooklyn. Proceeds from the gala will support sending dancers to Houston, Texas, from February 6-10, 2023 to make history conducting a pilot study for The Slowest Wave – the first neuroscientific study of Butoh. The evening will feature performances by Kelsey Strauch, Margherita Tisato, Vangeline and other surprise guests. Tickets are $35. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit vangeline.com/calendar-of-upcoming-events/2022/12/11/vangeline-theater-fundraiser-december-11.
As part of a Gibney Dance DiP residency, Butoh artist Vangeline will spend January 2023 developing The Slowest Wave, a pioneering project combining Butoh and neuroscience. In collaboration with neuroscientists Sadye Paez, Constantina Theofanopoulou and Jose ‘Pepe’ Contreras-Vidal, and composer Ray Sweeten, Vangeline is choreographing a 60-minute ensemble Butoh piece, which is uniquely informed by the protocol being established for a scientific pilot study researching the impact of Butoh on brain activity. Vangeline and Sweeten are building on a 20-year history of creative collaboration with a soundscape that is informed by techniques of brainwave entrainment (techniques that affect consciousness through sound). The Slowest Wave investigates the relationship between human consciousness and dance through the use of scalp electroencephalography (EEG); and will foster connections and understanding between dancers, artists, scientists, engineers, and audiences from around the world.
Following the DiP residency, the dancers’ brain activity will be recorded for the pilot study at the University of Houston, Texas, in February 2023, culminating in a live performance with real-time visualization of the dancers’ neural synchrony and slow brain wave activity. Results will then be disseminated in scientific journals. More info about The Slowest Wave pilot study is available here.
Donations to support this study are also being accepted at gofundme.com/f/the-slowest-waveneuroscience-pilot-study.
For more information about Vangeline and her work, visit vangeline.com.