Embodied Transformation

Provides Butoh instruction at universities including Princeton, Cornell, NYU, Brooklyn College, CUNY, Sarah Lawrence College, and Duke University, contributing to the academic integration of Butoh as a dance form.

Provides weekly Butoh dance workshops to incarcerated men and women in New York State correctional facilities, including at Edgecombe Correctional Facility, with classes enrolling between 8 and 100 participants. The program, known as "The Dream a Dream Project," has operated for 17 years and includes final performances for mixed audiences of inmates and civilians, followed by Q&A sessions.

Conducts Butoh workshops that support internal transformation, reported improvements in mobility and balance for participants with progressive disabilities, and psychological healing through reconnecting with dance and expressing wounded aspects of the self.

Recreated Tatsumi Hijikata's 1968 costume from "Revolt of the Body" through archival research supported by the Janet Arnold Award and the Tatsumi Hijikata Archives, integrating historical costume practices into performance and conservation.

Offers on-demand Butoh classes globally through digital platforms, including multi-session workshops totaling up to 10 hours, as well as in-studio classes capped at 10–20 students. Classes are trauma-informed, accessible to beginners and people with disabilities, and based on the book "Butoh: Cradling Empty Space."

Provides private Butoh coaching to individual artists to deepen movement vocabulary, character development, and mental focus, supporting the creation of multidisciplinary solo performances through year-long instruction in Butoh and bodywork.

Leads Butoh workshops for professional dance companies to help dancers access and express emotional dimensions in movement, enhancing performance depth and embodiment.

Presents annual public Butoh performances and festivals, including the New York Butoh Institute Festival and Queer Butoh Festival, which elevate visibility for women and LGBTQ+ artists. The organization presented 15 performances annually between 2021 and 2025, reaching thousands of viewers through in-person and online attendance, and premiered original works such as "Hijikata Mon Amour."

Authored and published the book "Butoh: Cradling Empty Space," launched a multilingual publishing platform exploring Butoh through dance, embodiment, history, pedagogy, and neuroscience, and disseminates research and cultural analysis through public platforms.

Conducts neuroscientific research on Butoh dance, including "The Slowest Wave" project, which measured infra-slow brain wave activity in dancers and explored the effects of Butoh on the brain, supported by a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Dance Award.

Operates an international network of CoLaboratories that conduct research on somatic communication using movement scores and collaborative practices, with sites in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Research focuses on embodied attention, relational intelligence, and the relationship between physical micro-actions and nonverbal communication.

Operates and supports a global network of CoLaboratories—research dance ensembles—that engage in somatic exploration and collaborative knowledge generation. By 2020, seven CoLabs were established across the U.S. and Europe, with reactivation in Italy, Poland, Germany, and France by 2024 and planned expansion to Australia and multiple U.S. locations in 2025.

Organizes virtual and in-person events including general interest meetings, research days, public talks, and trainings to engage dancers, researchers, and the public in somatic communication practices and research findings.

Provides movement classes in Pawling, New York, supported by a community grant, with shared instruction offered over a 7-month period ending in December 2026.

Offers training programs in somatic embodiment, movement scores, and relational intelligence required for participation in CoLaboratories. Programs include in-person ensemble trainings, virtual workshops, and leadership seminars for dancers and mind-body practitioners globally.

Offers the Gibney Company Intensive, education residencies in cities across the U.S., and an 8-session online curriculum to develop entrepreneurial skills and socially-minded arts projects, reaching thousands of artists, youth, and educators.

Runs the first U.S. program using dance as a tool to address domestic violence, including movement workshops for survivors in shelters, school-based youth residencies on violence prevention, and the evidence-based Move to Move Beyond program that supports survivors and their families.

Hosts monthly online and in-person workshops, an annual in-person intensive, and speaker series focused on trauma-informed practices, wellness, and equity in the dance field, engaging artists, educators, and activists.