PERFORMER BIOS
Funkrust Brass Band is a fifteen-piece brass band playing a unique blend of punk, disco, EDM, metal, funk, Balkan brass and New Orleans second line. Featuring fabulous post-apocalyptic uniforms, choreography, megaphone vocals and all original compositions, they are not to be missed. Based in Brooklyn, Funkrust has performed across New York City and the Northeast in small clubs, big public venues, parades and at festivals to acclaim. Funkrust released their debut album, Dark City, in 2017.
Durational Performance
[/enormousface] is from a little forest outside Seattle and has been doing non-narrative puppet shows, garbage puppet shows about philosophy and unbeing, and not-happenings for ten years in the Americas and Europe. He has also built large monuments to nothingness on shopping carts and pushes them through cities. It feels important that alternative structures be presented publicly, in an accessible place and way, even if they seem not to make any sense, or to be the work of monstrous children with a disgusting pallette of humours. I prefer to mostly work on the street, underground, and to appear in unexpected places.Jennie Portney lives and works both in NYC and Hudson. She is a speech language pathologist, dancer, and musician. Jennie has studied with a number of world-renowned butoh teachers including Vangeline, Diego Pinon,Tetsuro Fukuhara, and Yumiko Yoshioka. She has performed in the Coney Island Butoh Festival every year since its inception in 2015. Her work with dance and movement is inextricable to her deep interests in transmission, communication, and the body as site for excavation.
Hailing from Chicago, Katy Ramirez known as La Reine TheThrill swords swallower and sideshow performer's life in the performing arts started while working nightclubs of Chicago introduced to eccentric parties, performance art, and sideshow. She began performing in and working behind the scenes where makeup dreams were planted. Following passion in makeup that has brought her to New York to be closer to the fashion and performance world. With deep interests in Classic American Sideshow she has trained under some of the best sideshow. She finds comfort in bringing her truth to all forms of her art creations. @katy_ramirez_artistry @lareinethethrill
Wit Lopez, described as a "one-person parade," is a Brooklyn-raised, Philly-made, award-winning performance conjurer and pro-magicianatrix creating art out of the joy and fear of being alive. As a disabled and chronically-ill, nonbinary trans, intersex person of African American and Boricua descent, Lopez's visual and performance work uses absurdity to convey and challenge how they experience the world.
bananas - Worldwide there is no sharp distinction between bananas and the behavior of his bulldog, gratifying his base instincts when a plant is mature. The wrecked man raises his head above the waves and kicks to dig his knife courageously into the unfortunate members of the genus Ensete. The female flowers appear in rows further up the maddened bulldog. The inner part of the common yellow opens one's heart in such an abnormal state it doubles one's suffering. bananas, aka Jamie McGann, performed in last year's CIRC Festival as Rip Darlie.
Special Head feels compelled to be a performer because he's lived an extraordinarily unique life. And through his unique perspective he feels he can offer inspiration and insight to many aspects of the human experience. He was raised in the religions of Baha'i and Native American Peyote Church. It was a very unique upbringing because both religions promote independent investigation of the truth and view other religions as merely different colors of the same rainbow. Performed at: America's Got Talent, MGM Grand, Radio City Music Hall, Pantages Theater, and many syndicated TV shows.
Fantasmal
Cristina Arancibia Brecht was born in Santiago, Chile, where she studied Visual Arts and Pedagogy at Arcis University. She loves marionettes, automation, typewriters, cinema, poetry, collage, antique houses, cemeteries, libraries, silence , skull tattoos and books. Her artwork is based in childhood, dreams and the unconscious, It ranges from painting, puppets, collages, stop motion animation and handmade books, that she also illustrates and writes. She has had several solo and collective art exhibitions in Santiago and Barcelona. With Fantasmal, a collaborative project that she created with her husband in New York, she works with puppets, theater and old optical machines.
Fernando Juarez is a multidisciplinary artist from Juarez Mexico. with more than ten years working as a graphic designer and art director in the advertising and music industries. He has been designing and illustrating record covers as well as merchandising for well known musicians. His portfolio range from Punk to Hip Hop artist, where he always explores with dark and morbid aesthetics.On the side Fernando is a music composer and performer under the alias "Un Hombre Solo." Along with his wife Cristina, they created Fantasmal, where they design and perform obscure puppet shows in New York City.
Aida and Amanda started doing butoh performance together in the streets of Ibiza old town in 2013. Since then they have been creating different site specific performances for art galleries, street art fairs, art and music festivals, and collaborating with other artists such as PJ Wassermann Psychedelic Chillout music.
Everything is FineAmanda Orlov is a dancer from Ibiza (Spain) with formation in Classical, Contemporary and Jazz Dance, Belly Dance, Skinner Release Technique and Pilates. She has worked and organized workshops at IDHHB California, where she was in contact with the sacred dances with Merlo McFarley. Amanda is been doing butoh since 2003 in Germany, Barcelona, Madrid and Ibiza with Natsu Nakajima, Ko Morobushi, Karlota Ikeda, Tadashi Endo, Yuko Kaseki, Katsura Kan, Imre Thormann, Atsushi Takenouchi and others. She lives and works in Ibiza teaching Dance and Pilates at her own Studio (Orlov). www.facebook.com/AmandaOrlov
Aida Miro is a NYC based multidisciplinary artist originally from Ibiza (Spain) dedicated in body and soul to painting and butoh dance. After graduating in Fine Arts in Valencia she moved to Barcelona to do Circus. She is been doing butoh since 2007 learning from different teachers such as Yumiko Yoshioka, Imre Thormann, Atsushi Takenouchi, Masaki Iwana, Rhizome Lee, Vangeline, Minako Seki, Itto Morita, Daiichiro Yuyama (Dai Rakudakan), Dai Matsuoka (Sankai Juku). She is PhD in Art Education by the University Autonoma of Madrid with her thesis in butoh dance as art therapy.
www.aidamiro.com, www.instagram.com/aidamiro
Tom Cunningham has achieved the rank of Deluxe Helper in the Church of Bing Bong. Tom carries the truths of Bing Bong in all areas of his life, including but not limited to his work at the Film Forum concession stand and monthly puppet shows at the fabulous Jalopy Theatre. He is grateful to be alive.
Sam Wilson is the newest member of the Church, meaning she may secretly hold some reservations but she would never express any of that doubt with the public although she works at several bars. She is thrilled to be at Coney Island and joining the Church was her in there so she took it. She is also a member of the BoxCutter Collective a collective of puppeteers in Brooklyn.
Joe Therrien did not find Bing Bong until later in life, after he received his MFA in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut. In addition to his religious duties and daily spiritual calisthenic regiment of Bing Bong, Joe also performs regularly with the hippie-puppet-cult: The Bread and Puppet Theater. When not culting, Joe creates original work with The BoxCutter Collective, as well as performing in a monthly puppet residency at the Jalopy Theater.
Tanya Solomon has been a cast member of the Coney Island Sideshow and Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, the producer and host of Force Majeure Vaudeville, and will be touring nationally this summer with her solo show "Tanya Solomon: Truth Assassin". www.tanyasolomon.net
PNK VLVT WTCH Ensemble
Nunu Canal (Nurya Chana) weaves together ideas from molecular cell biology, embodied anatomy, ecology, hypnotism, mysticism, primitive art and architecture, and awareness techniques. She has intermittently trained for many years with Butoh masters and occult teachers and began performing as the director of Representative I in 2013. In her current work, she creates specific sets, structures, sound, and costume to describe searching, philosophical narratives. Previous venues include Basilica Hudson, Time/Space Limited, LabSpace, Tarot Reading Room, Rosekill, The Shirt Factory, Socrates Sculpture Park, The Met Breuer (with Rabid Lords Gang), Gallery Four, and Coney Island USA. www.nuryachana.comPNK VLVT WTCH is a multi instrumentalist and performance artist embodying both masculine and feminine spirits. Either as solo performer, trio or ensemble their work is grounded in Surrealism and Witchcraft both emotional and archetypal. Live or recorded original music is always the spine and soul of Pnk Vlvt Wtch performances. In the summer you can find Pnk Vlvt Wtch at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow as the Outside Talker. Pnk Vlvt Wtch is the curator of a monthly music series hosted at C.I.U.S.A. Follow MUSIC OF CURIOSITIES CONEY ISLAND: YouTube/Twitter/Instagram/Facebook
Jezebel Viper is a queer Creatrix of archetypal imagery and sensual movements. She has studied and performed Improvisational Tribal Style Bellydance with troupe Luna K'Tanah from Philadelphia. Currently she collaborates with Pink Velvet Witch Ensemble through fusion bellydance, sword balancing, sculpture, costuming, and digital illustration. Her artwork is heavily influenced by esoteric symbolism, erotica, and surrealism.
Obsidian Absurd is a New York based performance artist, dancer, and producer. With a background in belly dance, Butoh Ritual Mexicano, and sword balancing, Obsidian combines these forms into theatrical performances, which often explore concepts of gender and identity. Obsidian dances in the Coney Island Circus Sideshow as a sword-balancing mermaid and performs with the avant-garde collaborative troupe Pink Velvet Witch Ensemble. Obsidian just received her 5thgrant award from Staten Island Arts for producing "Kala Lolo: A Night of Queer Amusements," a queer variety show based out of Staten Island.
Rebecca Sylvia Posner is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and somatic educator. Her work blurs the line between object, rite, and performance, and has been seen and experienced at a range of venues including The Exponential Fest, Chashama Performance Series, Brooklyn Museum, in a vintage diner, the New Mexico desert and within corporate ATM vestibules. She's grateful for the risk inherent in performance, the surprises that come from that, and the inspiration she has discovered creating work for CIRC. www.rebeccasylviastudio.com
Ren Gyo Soh is a multi-award winning New York-based group founded by Yokko in 2014. It produces mainly Yokko's choreographed works through collaborations with other artists by using Butoh, movement, physical theatre, acting, yoga, and voice. It hosts workshops regularly nationally & Internationally. Its major works are Butoh Medea (Best One-Woman Show, Best Choreography, Best Physical Theatre at United Solo 2014-15) and SHINKA (Outstanding Production, Choreography, and Ensemble at Planet Connections 2018) Up-Coming: UNFIX NYC 2019 -creating awareness of ecology through performing arts-(May 25) www.rengyosoh.com
Yokko (Artistic Director, Ren Gyo Soh) is an Actor, Butoh & Theatre Artist, Movement and Yoga Instructor from Japan. She has acted in, devised and choreographed a variety of local and international shows, having won several awards including "Best One-Woman Show" "Best Choreography" for Butoh Medea (United Solo 2014: Theatre Row) and It has been touring and also nominated for Asian Arts Award at Edinburgh Festive Fringe 2015. Other credit: "Outstanding Choreography" for SHINKA (Planet Connections 2018). Up-Coming: Hide Your Fires at Lounge Theatre at Hollywood Fringe 2019 MFA in Acting (The Actors Studio) www.yokko-online.com
Laura Aristovulos (performer) is a performance artist specializing in originating new works. She is passionate about a variety of theatrical expressions, from movement and straight theatre to musical sketch comedy. She is proud to perform with Ren Gyo Soh. LauraAristovulos.com
Jennifer Marinelli (performer) is an actress and physical performer hailing from Michigan. She has worked with Ren Gyo Soh since the 2017-18 Season. Jennifer has also worked with the New York Shakespeare Exchange, Open Hydrant Theatre Company, Hudson Warehouse, Woodshed Collective, and more. Jennifer graduated from Michigan State University and has trained with Shakespeare & Company, The William Esper Studio, and The Barrow Group. jennifermarinelli.com
Dustin Maxwell (performer) is a dancer, choreographer and visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He started his dance training in his home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico where he studied ballet and Limon with his first teacher, Joanne Emmons. He then completed his BA in Dance from the University of Minnesota. He began training in Butoh with his teacher, Gadu in 2009 and has continued that training with Yokko and Vangeline in New York. Currently he is focusing on performance collaborations and developing his own performance work. He is an ERYT 500 yoga teacher and Thai Yoga Bodyworker.
Miles Butler (performer) is honored to be working with this great group of artists and humans. Recent: Caveman Play (Third Space), Shinka (RenGyoSoh), The Little Prince (EPIC Players) The Tempest (EPIC), Loudmouth (Rebel Playhouse), Naked Hamlet (Torn Out Theater), Alexander Who's Not Going To Move (Two Beans, National Tour). DC: Studio Theatre, Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and various. Upcoming: Expansion of Inward Spiral with Japan Performing Arts, Inc. Proud EPIC Players member and Brooklyn College Alumnus. Love to my family, Amy, and TJ Oshie www.milesbutler.com
Alyssa Jackson (cello) is currently a student at Fierstein Graduate school of cinema with a concentration in media scoring. She has an undergrad in performance in cello and inspires to open her mind and music to new possibilities playing cello.
Rui Dun (assistant director) is a theater artist from China, based in Brooklyn, New York. She has collaborated with artists from China, Turkey, England, United States to create work that speaks of cross-cultural experience. Credits include: The Author's Voice (3LD), The Feast (3LD), The Mistress of Wholesome (3LD), by wing,fin,hoof, or foot (stage manager), Anne Frank Lives! (Hudson Guild Theater), SHINKA (assistant director,PCTF), If Women Rose Rooted (devisor, The Tank). MFA: Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University.
florkhis is a shape shifter in life and play, a movement explorer and an image maker, who investigates the human experience. Florence Poulain and her partner Kristopher Johnson created Deep Tanks, an Arts & Performance initiative in 2010. Deep Tanks Butoh is a weekly community practice, offering dances in museums, festivals, and public forums. Florence is a blossom in Latin and Orkhis are testicles in Greek: a seedling of female and male energies growing into its own Florkhis. This dance is dedicated to Malcolm E. Little aka Malarts, extraordinary human being.
The Butoh Rockettes
Celeste Hasting is a NYC based choreographer, performer, costume, soundscape and video designer. Her solo and group work blends dance, theater, butoh and visual art using concepts of universal archetype. Is director/choreographer of the satirical group "The Butoh Rockettes" since 2000, presenting at PS122, St. Marks Church, Abrons Arts Center, HERE, CAVE, Dixon Place, the NY Butoh, White Wave Festivals, CRS, many clubs, in Germany, France, Japan, Venezuela. Was lead dancer for 12 years performing with postmodern butoh company Poppo and Gogo Boys, and Akira Kasai, Yukio Waguri, Masaki Iwana, Tetsuro Fukuhara, Richard Move, Noemie Lafrance, Nancy Faragallo, Mariko Sanjo etc.
Irene Siegel is a Brooklyn-based performer, educator, activist and writer. For decades she's performed with many wonderful creators and made her own solo & collaborative work throughout the US & Europe. Recent favorite projects include work with The Butoh Rockettes; Rachel Thorne Germond; Sarah Sunde; Hadar Ahuvia; Aftselakhis Spectacle Committee; Mikerline Haitian Dance Company; & There's No Law physical theater collective. Irene has also loved teaching, translating, performing and advocating with refugees, community members & professional dancers in Athens through passTRESpass; and in Palestine/Israel, New York, & Kenya. She also teaches Arabic, French, Hebrew & Jewish Studies, and holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley.
Aya Shibahara is a dancer, choreographer, performing artist and Film maker born in Japan. Since moving to New York in 2000, worked with many choreographers and artists. She began her own creation work in 2002 and has been showing her own work in both the United States and Japan. Aya is happy to performing with Celeste Hastings Butoh Rockettes.
Jil Guyon is a multi-award winning multi-disciplinary performer and visual artist. Her performance-based videos have screened at theaters, cinemas, museums, galleries, and concert halls worldwide, including Lincoln Center's "Dance on Camera" Festival, "Women and Fashion FilmFEST" (Best Experimental Film), "San Francisco Dance Film Festival," among others. Her interdisciplinary performances have been presented at the Queens Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and diverse venues throughout the US, Europe, and Japan. She has also performed with video/performance pioneer Joan Jonas, and site-specific choreographer, Noemie Lafrance. Guyon is a Lumiere Prize nominee, and holds an MFA from Hunter College.
Face Your Face
Anjoli Chadha is a dance/movement therapist and a graduate of Pratt Institute. In 2008, she began as a dancer in New Delhi, India with Emperor Minge, a six-piece psychedelic cabaret band. Her training is in Indian and Afro-Brazilian martial arts. These days she loves to Samba! Anjoli facilitates dance and movement workshops for emotional and group healing work. She performs all around NY. sentientdancenyc.com
Si Golraine is a Ukrainian born artist based in New York City. She has been on a multimedia art road since she was 6. She got education in classic music and modern vocals in Ukraine, then continued with visual art, guitar and theater in United States. After a while of experiementing with different ways to do art, she concentrated in visual art in the past 3 years. Being a painter, she is determined to find a way to unite the power of all the arts in her work and collaborations with other artists to contribute in the culture and true spirit of our time.
Erica Chadha is a film makeup artist. She's worked in Bollywood, Tollywood and for other foreign films. Nowadays, she is a pre-school teacher, teaching art, dance and clowning around with her children audience. She enjoys painting people's faces on canvas as well as painting on people's faces. Erica was brought up in India. In her childhood home, she, along with her siblings would be required to entertain (sing and dance) the visiting house guests.
Dimitri Saari is a visual artist specializing in mask making, puppetry and also costume design. A teaching artist in the New York City area for almost 14 years is passionate about the importance of art education in schools. He has created masks for many local theatre and dance companies as well has performed in festivals and street parades. His work is often inspired by his studies, travels and most recently, 90's NYC and Mexican Pop culture.
Sick Nick, the Bellevue Boy has collaborated with Charles Wain and the Seven Dramaturgs for over four decades under the pseudonym NOMADMONAD.
Wharton Tract was born and raised in Philadelphia. Musically he has worked with blues musicians Sonny Rhodes, Junior Wells and Carey Bell; in theater with Jason Miller, Jules Tasca, Theatre Double and other Philly theaters. In 2002, Wharton joined Gabriele and Nick in International Culture Lab's production of Say Uncle at the Los Angeles and Wellington, New Zealand, fringe festivals.
Amos Wengler is the troubadour and bard of Coney Island. The songster has for the last couple of decades provided the soundtrack for Coney Island. Amos can be seen every year at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the big stage strumming his guitar and crooning out his love for Coney Island. He's also a presence at almost all of Coney Island's events, especially those that are meant to save his beloved land. Being a long-time Coney Island Polar Bear, he has a couple tunes for that. Amos's catchy diddy for Mermaid Parade every year is a can't miss.
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See ICL's YouTube channel for a playlist of 2018's stellar acts, including a documentary about the 2018 Festival (teaser here).
Coney Island USA exists to defend the honor of American popular culture through innovative exhibitions and performances. Presenting and producing exciting new works, the organization’s approach is rooted in mass culture and the traditions of P.T. Barnum, dime museums, burlesque, circus sideshows, vaudeville, and Coney Island itself. Serving both New York City and an international community that includes visitors to Coney Island and enthusiasts of various cultural forms, Coney Island USA's signature activities include the Mermaid Parade, the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, the Coney Island Museum, and new theatrical work. coneyisland.com