Making her onstage debut in the United States, Carlotta Ikeda, one of the world's most celebrated performers of Butoh, will present "Waiting: A Butoh Dance Performance."

DATE:
Tuesday, Feb. 13

TIME:
8 p.m.

LOCATION:
Irvine Barclay Theatre
Map: www.thebarclay.org/contacts_map.asp

INFORMATION:
Limited free reserved seating available to preregistered credentialed press. Media should contact Jacqueline Sisemore. Phone: 949-824-3141; E-mail: jsisemor@uci.edu.

Tickets are $15 for general public; $9 for students. Tickets may be purchased at the Barclay. For additional information on ticket availability and purchasing, contact the Barclay at 949-854-4646. (www.thebarclay.org).

BACKGROUND:
Ikeda is renowned worldwide for her performance of Butoh -- a contemporary avant-garde Japanese dance form born in the '60s that defies traditional choreography through its use of body movement, improvisation, lighting, make-up and design, often to a controversial theme. Raised in a village on the Japan Sea, she moved to Tokyo and trained in the American modern dance style of Martha Graham and the German Expressionism of Mary Wigman. Later apprenticing with a "second generation" Butoh troupe, in 1974 she founded the first all-female Butoh dance company, Ariadone, which is today based in Bourdeaux, France. In 1979, "The Last Eden" was staged in Paris to great acclaim, and in the years since she has toured Europe repeatedly. "Waiting," a solo dance based on the writings of Marguerite Duras, will be Ikeda's first performance in the U.S.

The Chancellor's Distinguished Fellows Series brings distinguished scholars and nonacademics to campus to share their experience and expertise with the UCI community. The series features fellows who have been selected for their contributions in disciplines that address the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world. For more information on the series, visit www.chancellor.uci.edu/cdfs.shtml. Prior to her performance, Ikeda will conduct a workshop on Butoh for UCI students.