The reviews are coming in.
“Maura Nguyen Donohue’s genius with her Maura Nguyen Donohue / InMixedCompany was to resuscitate the ‘social issues’ genre and infuse it not just with artistic integrity but entertainment and cross-genre originality and fluidity. ....This starts from the moment veteran Slant virtuosos Rick Ebihara and Perry Yung enter as supposed sailors just arriving in town as well as at the show before curtain. As with her earlier “Lotus Blossom Itch,” the Slant guys do help to leaven the message and are thus part of the reason Donohue is able to make social issues / message work as theater.” - the Dance Insider

“Richard Ebihara, performing with Perry Yung and Miri Park, arranged seemingly disparate music into clever mash-ups that made sense.” - New York Times

Read the entire reviews:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/arts/dance/rebecca-stenn-and-maura-donohue-in-soaking-wet-series-review.html?_r=1&ref=dance
http://www.danceinsider.com/free/0524.html

We had a lot of fun referencing American and Japanese pop culture. My dance is heavily influenced by Kazuo and Yoshito Ohno, father and son Butoh dance legends.

Kazuo Ohno.

Kazuo and son, Yoshito. I studied with them in Yokohama, Japan in 2002 - 2003 as I was studying shakuhachi.

Butoh dance is very similar to Honkyoku music. For me, they inform one another. The way a shakuhachi tone moves is similar to the way the body/soul moves in Butoh dance.  It is indescribable by words and can only be experienced live in a room. I can only say that when performed with conviction, both evoke the deepest part of the human experience. Kazuo Ohno was/is my hero as he plunged the depths of humanity to share his vision of life. He took great risks in a culture and time that did not allow for risk taking. We, who are influenced by world culture are enriched by his sacrifices.

I was fortunate to have merged both the Honkyoku and Butoh world for a moment in UMIO UMIO, a performance I created with Kinya Sogawa and Kazuo Ohno and his son Yoshito in 2003. We performed at the International House of Japan and at the Kazuo Ohno Studio in Yokohama. In the photo above, Yoshito is dancing with his father Kazuo in their studio (Kazuo continued to dance from his wheel chair until he was completely confined to his bed). Kinya is looking from the side. At one point. Kinya played a Hocchiku for Yoshito and his company. Each dancer came in with bamboo poles and stood silently with the poles upright as the master moved within their spirits.  My work in Strictly a Female Female may have confused some of my students at first as they’ve never seen me in my first career, but judging from the feedback I think it will allow them to explore the shakuhachi in a more personal and organic manner, one closer to their own life experiences.

Now to catch up on some flute work!
Namaste, Perry