ButohOUT! Australia
From workshops to sold-out shows, ButohOUT! is a home for authentic expression and artistic transformation.
ButohOUT! creates space for all bodies and voices to move, be moved, and shape Melbourne’s contemporary art story.
Discover past productions, meet the artists, and stay in touch with what’s next.
Excerpt from
Production - Performance Seasons
Each ButohOUT! Season began not with a script, but with an invitation. Our open workshops & performances welcomed people of all backgrounds, bodies and experiences into the creative process—laying the foundations for new works through shared movement, reflection, and experimentation. These sessions were spaces of activation, innovation, transformation, and celebration. They gave rise to the themes, imagery, and energy that shaped each year’s final production. A seasoned performer or simply curious, the workshops & performances made space for everyone to contribute, connect, and create together.
Workshops & Creative Process
Roving — Gunbu (群舞)
Forum & Discussion
Events for Seniors
AWARDS & REVIEWS
Over the years, ButohOUT! has garnered recognition from across Australia and beyond. From heartfelt community praise to critical acclaim, the work has resonated deeply with audiences and reviewers alike. Featured in the Melbourne Festival, honoured with Green Room Award nominations, and celebrated by national and international arts press, ButohOUT! has established itself as a vital voice in contemporary performance. These accolades reflect the dedication of our artists, the power of collaboration, and the unique impact of Butoh in an Australian context.
“Yumi Umiumare and the ButohOUT! Ensemble elegenatly place, embrace, displace and reinstate their audience in and out of layered worlds from the box office till the bow.”
“Umiumare [has] created a unique expression of Butoh that’s become part of Melbourne’s cultural currency.”
“ButohOUT! feels like Samuel Beckett meets Beyoncé via Eraserhead.”
ABOUT
ButohOUT! is the only creative platform of its kind in Australia focusing on this distinctive art form and it is important to continue to build on its growing reputation.
ButohOUT! has woven its way into the fabric of the Melbourne art scene since 2017 and it has built a unique Artists-led creative and laboratory space across Victoria, Australia.
Providing artists, and community members of all ages a creative ground, ButohOUT! celebrates diversity and authentic expression through the idiosyncratic artform of Butoh, and continuously aims to actualise our vision for a radically inclusive artistic practice.
