A free symposium, Contemporary Social Issues in Butoh Performance, will kick off the festival and offer attendees a warm and interactive space to discuss compelling topics including how the roles of gender, race and culture intersect with contemporary Butoh practice. Featured panelists include:

Rosemary Candelario, PhD, Associate Professor of Dance, Texas Women's University and Author, Flowers Cracking Concrete and Editor, Routledge Companion to Butoh Performance

Michael Sakamoto, PhD, Associate Director of Programming/Asian Art and Culture for the Fine Art Center at UMass Amherst

Alissa Cardone, MA, MFA, Associate Professor of Dance, Boston Conservatory at Berklee