Transformative Dance Theater

Performed by: Gio Kusanagi & Jia Doughman

Thursday, May 26, 7:00 PM

Amos Eno Gallery is pleased to present Transformative Dance Theater performed by Gio Kusanagi and Jia Doughman at the gallery’s new location at 56 Bogart Street in Brooklyn, NY.

The performance will take place from 7:00 - 8:00 PM on Thursday, May 26 followed by a reception with wine and snacks. This event is free and open to the public.

In an attempt to explore relational aesthetics, Gio and Jia will invite audience members to share their current challenges in life. The performers will embody these challenges through dance and music as they shift to a phase of transformation.

Dance: Gio Kusanagi

Violin: Jia Doughman

Gio Kusanagi is an interpretive dancer/performance artist who is a native of Japan. He studied Butoh (Japanese avant-garde dance) with Moe Yamamoto, Toru Iwashita, Kunisuke Kamiryo, Yoshito Ohno (son of Kazuo Ohno), Yukio Waguri, Seisaku & Yuri, Ko Muroboshi, and Kayo Mikami; a Butoh-inspired interpretive dance with Akira Kasai; Japanese sword dance with Kensei Namiki; traditional style swordsmanship with Ken Morita; Ballet at various dance schools including Morgantown Dance Studio, Modern Dance with Bill Evans, Kista Tucker, Don Halquis, Angela Dennis, Kristina Isabella, and Pilobolous Dance Company; Jazz Dance with Liz Rossi; Contact Improvisation with Jordan Fuchs and Contact Improvisation groups in Philladelphia; Break Dance at Harajuku Dance Academy; Central Asian Dance, Persian Dance, and Middle Eastern Dance with Narah Bint Durr; West African Dance with Jonathan Burbank; and Eurythmy (a form of modern dance founded by Rudolf Steiner) with both Akira Kasai and with Jolanda Frischknecht. He was also trained in Mime, Laban Movements Analysis (Bill Evans and Kista Tucker), Bartenieff Fundamental (Bill Evans and Don Halquis), Alexander Technique (Suzanne Oliiver), Qigong, Tai Chi, and various other forms of martial arts. He has integrated the essences of all the movement-arts he has learned and performs originally choreographed interpretive dance repertories in collaboration with artists of various disciplines. Gio also teaches classes and workshops on Butoh dance, Tai Chi, Qigong, and dance therapy for self-exploration through various locations in West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. Further, he has produced multiple dance theaters in various cities, including, but were not limited to NYC, Dayton OH, Cincinnati OH, and Morgantown WV.

Jia (pronounced Jah) Doughman picked up the violin at the age of 3. She's classically trained, and is currently expanding her repertoire to include such genres as film scores, improvisation and music from different cultures. She holds an MFA in acting from Harvard, and a BA in chemistry from Case (an engineering school). After graduating, she auditioned and did Theatre and independent films; She was nominated for the Ovation Award amongst other awards for her Los Angeles premiere of the play Opus. Three years ago she went to Berlin Germany, started writing, busking (street performing), and recording voice overs; There she was able to grow her own projects and incorporate her multiple disciplines into them. Currently, she's working on a Documentary on ’Buskers from a Busker’s Point of View”, and a solo Theatre show, and she’s honored to be collaborating with Gio Kusanagi on ‘audience interactive inspiring performance art’ pieces. You can follow her on FB for updates on her projects at ‘Jia Doughman’.