Layers of Male and Female: Liminal Space for Gender in Nihon Buyô

I would like to propose a presentation combining research, visual examples, and a short physical exploration in the form of a demonstration and audience participation, focusing on gender in nihon buyoh (Japanese classical dance/Kabuki dance.) In the world of nihon buyo the gender of the dancer and that of the character being danced are not necessarily the same. An inherent part of the aesthetics of the form comes from this potentiality of the dancer's gender not being homologous with the gender of the dance. Through her own experience as a student and practitioner of nihon buyo, and through analysis of certain performances, professional theatre artist and dancer Colleen Lanki looks at the signifiers which make a dance male or female in nihon buyo, and discusses how these are played out by the bodies of performers of both genders, creating a liminal space where gender layering is played with and enjoyed.